Houston Rockets: Dwight Howard vs. Anthony Davis
For the better part of the last four seasons, the Houston Rockets‘ Dwight Howard has turned into one of the most bashed players in the NBA. Shortly before his Orlando Magic debacle, Howard’s loyalty was brought into question as he enforced Stan Van Gundy’s departure from the Magic and left for greener pastures during the summer.
His season as a ring-chaser with the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t bode well, either. Now with the Houston Rockets, Howard’s reputation as a loyal player, or even a good one, is yet to be reinstated.
In a superstar driven league, Dwight Howard, one of the most talented centers/power forwards in the league, seldom gets recognised or praised in the basketball court. Leaving Howard’s behaviour aside, how does he fare against fan-favourite and leading MVP-candidate Anthony Davis?
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Both, Howard and Davis, come in at almost 7-feet, 6-foot-11 and 6-foot-10 respectively, and upwards of 200 pounds, 240 and 220 respectively. Both big men anchor their team’s defenses and offenses in the post.
Davis is taking the league by storm just as Howard did back with the Magic, however, it is Davis’ improvement through three years in the league which seems to elevate him into somewhat of a never-before-seen level in the league.
Anthony Davis:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/24/2014.
It sure feels as if we’ve seen something like that before…
Dwight Howard:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/24/2014.
Davis clearly overpowers Howard in a rather important part of the game, offense. However, Davis’ overwhelming offense is a direct result of (1) the New Orleans Pelicans‘ lack of talent during Davis’ tenure with the team, and (2) his ability to develop, through the years, somewhat of an outside jump shot.
Howard’s offense, on the other hand, usually gets overshadowed or deemed unnecessary because of the firepower that has surrounded him throughout his career.
Even though they usually take over different responsibilities for their respective teams (Howard plays much more as a center than as a power forward), both, Howard and Davis, are at their best when they defend the rim, locking-down their team’s defense in the paint, and when they attack from the post and/or inside the paint/restricted area.
Anthony Davis:
* Davis’ chances at developing a borderline-decent jump shot should scare the league.
Dwight Howard:
With Kobe Bryant‘s Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant‘s Oklahoma City Thunder struggling, it is Anthony Davis’ Pelicans which have dazzled and, hopefully, emerged as the newest competitor on the Western Conference’s Playoff Death Race.
Unfortunately for both, it is only if Davis leads the 7-5 Pelicans into the Western Conference playoffs and if Dwight Howard can keep himself on the court, that they’ll both be considered as worthy MVP candidates.
Even if it seems as if Davis has no ceiling at all, it is rather odd that, throughout a durable and pretty solid 11-year career in the NBA, we’ve never heard Dwight Howard’s name come up in MVP discussions.
Don’t you think it’s time yet?