It's funny how some people here are ranking Amare over Bynum when Bynum completely dominated Amare every time they matched up this season. But then Amare is not a true center so I don't hold that against him. The main reason for all the hype around Bynum is because of how terrible he was in his 1st year and how far he's come. Take it from a guy who watches almost every Laker game, Bynum looked like a huge mistake. The only area of the game where he showed potential was shot blocking, he was always a natural shot blocker. As far as every other aspect of the game, if you could equate basketball to school he belonged in the special ed class and I'm not exaggerating. I'm talking about awkward post moves and point blank bricks that you don't even see at rec leagues. He showed huge progress in his 2nd year and even more enormous improvement in his 3rd year. By his third year he was getting better literally every game. He would make a certain mistake in one or two games straight and then he would never do it again. He went from never dunking the ball to finishing everything around the rim. You guys are Yao fans so you know what that's like. Bynum had to shed that soft label just like Yao and now he is an outstanding finisher which is why he led the league in FG%. In his 3rd season alone Bynum showed more finesse and post moves than I've seen from Drop Step Dwight in his whole career. I know I'll get laughed off the board for saying this but Bynum has the potential to be better than Dwight. I say this because Bynum started off with finesse and footwork and only after that did he develop his power game so he has great fundamentals with athleticism on top of it. Dwight is all power and it's going to be very difficult for him to go backwards and polish up his game at this point. Pay attention to the Lakers next season and there won't be any more arguments. You'll be able to see for yourself.
That's what scares me most about Bynum, the guy has said that as a kid he patterned his game around Tim Duncan. He's also worked with Kareem, trying to perfect his back to the basket game. So he's learned from two of the best finesse big men of All-Time, which shows because he has a pretty nice shot for big. But he also has power, he's a legit 7 footer who's around 285 lbs and he knows it. I think he's got an incredible potential because at an extremely young age, he's already shown a nice power/finesse combination. He's got Franchise Center written all over him.
No laughing here. I also think Bynum will end up being the better player. D. Howard is good but if anyone is holding their breath waiting for him to develop consistent, fluid and most importantly, effective post moves then stop because it won't happen. Bynum will have a sick offensive repertoire in another 2-3 years. Howard will still be a dunker who will be figured out by the rest of the league.
