That is the most negative way I've ever seen of calling someone the best at their position in the league. I mean, I get it...there are currently at least 3 wings and 2 point guards who are more impactful than any current true center, but just because there are a lot of great perimeter guys right now, being the game's best two-way big man is suddenly worth nothing but a "yeah, he's decent"? I'm not mad so much at their specific definition of elite, which always varies from person to person. I'm not even miffed by leaving him off the league's top ten players - I might agree! But I do get sick of the way ESPN writes their headlines and insider teasers in such an attention-grabbing, negative way whenever it comes to Howard.
This was a very well written article, with plenty of good information. Its unfortunate so many Rockets fans immediately assume its stupid or a waste of time just because he differs on whether Howard is "elite" (what does that word even mean?). Howard has been a very good player this season, and there are signs he's improving of late. Taken in total, has he been at the same level as he was in his prime Orlando years when he was a clear-cut elite player? Probably not.
I read the article and I think I see a major flaw in his stats on Howard's defense. He talks about opposing team's points within 5 feet of the basket while Howard is playing. If you have ever watched a Rockets game, you know that number has to be inflated based on how many easy offensive rebounds we give up that lead to close second chance points. Which isn't Howard's fault when he goes for a block against someone who has gotten past our weak perimeter defense. I still think that he is a great to elite defender who has above average offense for a center, which is enough to put him ahead of the others such as Hibbert.
I beg to disagree. There was no Need to write this article. It's written to coincide with Dwight's visit to Lakerland. Like they say, there's lies, damn lies and statistics, that you can pick to make whatever point you want. Quoting statistics, however interesting, without an appropriate contextual background is misleading. Dwight has been steadily improving his game, both defensively as we'll as offensively, as his health and athleticism are returning. His post play has improved since he's been working with CD and his team mates are learning to better feed the post as well as the lob pass. He is also getting the ball earlier in the clock than at the start of the season. Sorry, not impressed by statistics thrown around to make a headline.
Initially I was going to agree with posters and say this is a lame article from LA-lovers/espn, but upon reading the article, it really isn't that bad. It's decently unbiased and makes good points. The author's definition of elite is top 10 player in the nba. The author even acknowledges that Dwight is prob the best center in the game...but just no longer a top 10 player in the nba (hence, 'elite'). I can agree with that. Dwight's doing fantastic this season and I love what he's bringing to the team. Is he the same as he was in his prime at ORL? No, but competition has changed since then too...doesn't mean he isn't helping to make Houston a contender, because he is. Author was pretty fair.
How does people think the basketball world only revolves around the Lakers....... How bloody blind and arrogant can people be?!
So...to sum up the article. Best Offensive Center in NBA + Good (at minimum) Defensive Center in NBA =/= Elite. Kevin Pelton is ass.
Well, he does make good points that Howard is not as good as he was when he was the third best player in the league. He tends to focus on the stats that hurt Howard. He has a paragraph or two about how efficient he is, but then attacks the post up game. If he is efficient overall, the post up game obviously is not holding him back. Indiana has a great team concept of defensive rebounding. Dwight is almost twice as likely to get a defensive board as Hibbert. Indiana is the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA. This limits high percentage shots off of rebounds. He has some good points. Howard is much better than last season and not as good as before.
So, he's the best center in the nba but not a top 10 player? I think the writer is missing the significance of a center to an nba team. Rim protection is so key, without it you have nothing. There were some solid points made in the article but one thing this tells me is that we are far away from quantifying defensive impact.
Of course Dwight is still elite. You can't help these Lakers idiots expecting Dwight, while still injured, to average 30/15 a game and anything less is under achieving.
There are 3 truly elite players in today's NBA: LeBron, Durant, and Paul. I guess if the article is asking whether he's part of that group, the answer is no. If the question was "is he the best center in the league?" or "is he a top 5-10 player" then the answers should be yes. This team is virtually the same as last year, with one significant difference.....Howard. The addition of Howard has us in the running for the #2 seed, rather than just trying to get into the playoffs.
I agree. The title is misleading though, and using an arbitrary word to describe proficiency in basketball is bound to upset some of the less open minded posters
Agree with this. Hell, we even lost key bench players like Delfino and have been largely without Asik's services.
Howard's first month was pretty awful, his post game has been 0.9+ since then, and the team is getting more used to moving out of the double teams into open shots.
My only problem with the article is that he mentions the "The Dwight Effect" and proceeds to leave out the key stat of that piece: the shots in the paint that don't occur because Dwight is within 5 feet of the offensive player. That is much more important than FG%. A bad shot near the rim is better than no shot near the rim.
I think uni-brow will surpass howard in the next year or two. He's the next Tim Duncan PF/C type player In his 2nd year he's already averaging 20+ 10+ and 3+ Blks! a game and you can tell his offensive skillset already has much more potential than howard
