Dwight Howard v. this year's draft
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
16to93
Bench
Agreed, everybody else, IMO, is like a Tyrus Thomas type of player at best. Except for those two.
Padrino
All-Star
part of dwight howard's potential comes from the simple fact that he's a true nba physical specimen. the guy is straight built to play the center position in the nba of today, in which quickness is such a huge factor. a big like chris bosh has quickness, too, but he doesn't have the strength to be a consistent force on the block, defensively. that's not to say that bosh isn't an excellent player. he is...but dwight howard has the strength to be the next dominant nba center in the soon-to-be-post-shaq league, because he'll be able to play both sides of the court...in a big way. now, as for this year's draft, greg oden is the only player with the specific kind of potential that dwight howard has. oden doesn't have the quickness of a guy like howard, but he's got the strength to be a hugely dominant center in the nba. he has to polish up his offensive game a bunch, but the same goes for howard. those two guys will be owning the nba in the next few years, because they have the entire package (or at least the potential to fill out the entire package) of what you want in a center in this league.
kevin durant has an enormous amount of potential, as well...but not in the way that howard or oden has. durant will, in all likelihood, be a superstar in the nba, and in a relatively quick amount of time. he's got "the next tracy mcgrady" written all over him. mcgrady's career averages: 22.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.5 apg. durant's averages so far this season for the texas longhorns: 24.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.6 apg. i suspect his rebounding numbers to decline when he gets to the nba, and his assists would likely go up a little bit considering the caliber of players he'd be playing with. durant's gonna be damn good...no doubt about that, but i'd still take oden over durant. my reasoning...well, you got it right in the title of the thread, VF...dwight howard is kinda like the measuring stick. he's got the best shot of any recent big man of winning a championship down the road as his team builds around him. historically, dominant centers win championships. simple.
kevin durant has an enormous amount of potential, as well...but not in the way that howard or oden has. durant will, in all likelihood, be a superstar in the nba, and in a relatively quick amount of time. he's got "the next tracy mcgrady" written all over him. mcgrady's career averages: 22.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.5 apg. durant's averages so far this season for the texas longhorns: 24.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.6 apg. i suspect his rebounding numbers to decline when he gets to the nba, and his assists would likely go up a little bit considering the caliber of players he'd be playing with. durant's gonna be damn good...no doubt about that, but i'd still take oden over durant. my reasoning...well, you got it right in the title of the thread, VF...dwight howard is kinda like the measuring stick. he's got the best shot of any recent big man of winning a championship down the road as his team builds around him. historically, dominant centers win championships. simple.
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IMO Durant is more like KG or Dirk than TMac. Yeah he can handle it pretty well like McGrady but he'll be a better shotblocker and rebounder than TMac ever was and he's tall enough to play PF. He has nice range on his J, can handle the ball, and he's athletic so people say TMac but honestly with his height(he's 6'10''), shotblocking ability(2 blocks/game as a freshman), and rebounding(11+ RPG) I like him a lot more as a PF.
Padrino
All-Star
tracy mcgrady: 6'8" 223 lbs.
kevin durant: 6'9" 225 lbs.
kevin garnett: 6'11" 253 lbs.
dirk nowitzki: 7'0" 245 lbs.
durant has great length and some shotblocking ability, but the nba is a whole different ballgame. he's not real strong, and going against nba PF's isn't gonna yield many blocks/gm, if you ask me. he's a good rebounder, and i anticipate that his athleticism will continue to help him grab a solid amount of boards/gm in the nba, but he's gonna have to sprout a couple of inches and gain a bunch of weight before i compare him to KG.
I've seen him listed at 6'10'' on some sites. If he's 6'10'' in shoes that's definitely tall enough to play PF in the NBA. So he's 1 inch short of KG or basically as tall as C-Webb(who is playing center). Also his arms are pretty long, probably longer than McGrady's. Durant is an incredible athlete. It's not like KG wasn't rail thin when he came into the NBA. There's no reason that Durant can't add some weight if he works out over the next few summers.
Padrino
All-Star
i'm not saying durant can't gain wait. i'm not even saying durant won't prove me wrong. i'm just saying, at this point right now, he's built to be a prototypical superstar SF in the nba. i tend to think of him as a tracy mcgrady type of player with some dirtywork tayshaun prince mixed in, and that's not a bad thing at all. college hoops and nba hoops are two different ball games. i think durant will transition well into the nba, but i don't think all of the talents he displays in college will transfer into the nba to the magnitude in which they appear in college. he'll rebound well, he may even block some shots, but i don't expect him to be any kind of defensive monster a la kevin garnett. i don't know how much success he'd have at the nba PF spot, especially considering how far away from the basket he likes to play at times.
HighFlyingMonkey
Starter
Good question, VF. I'd say in the future:
1. Oden
2. Howard
3. Durant
Dwight Howard is an athletic freak. 6'11 with a 35" Vertical, and he plays the game with tenacity. He was leading the league in rebounding earlier this year. He's still extremely raw, but he's got all the tools to become the next Shaq, or even better because he tries harder on defense. In fact, his game reminds people a lot of Shaq back when he was at LSU, and considering that Dwight came straight out of High School, that's an accurate place on the learning curve for him. He's going to be a traditional C that can carry a franchise to a championship like the C's of yesteryear.
Oden, in my opinion, will be the best out of these three guys. First of all, he's a legit 7 footer, and very long. And he's been playing Center for longer than Howard, who was a guard before he hit a growth spurt, so he's more naturally acclaimed to the Center position. He's already ahead of Howard's learning curve in terms of offense; First of all, he has a better arsenal of post moves, and second, he's learning to use his left hand effectively because of the injury to his wrist. But what intrigues most people is his awesome defense. If he came into the league right now, I'd say he'd be the best defensive center in the NBA, maybe after Mutumbo or Zo. Oden plays angles extremely well, and his timing on blocks is phenominal. It truly is scary how well he fits exactly what the Kings have lacked over the past few years.
Durant will be a superstar wing in the league, so he's not really comparable to Oden or Howard, who will be dominant centers. Really, the only wing who have led their team to an NBA championship without a legit center is Michael Jordan; that's pretty elite company right there. Durant will be a special talent and a mismatch nightmare in the NBA, however. He's just going to need some serious help down low you want to go for gold.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if take a Prime Howard or Prime Oden and put next to him, say, a current Kevin Martin, then you've got a legit contending core. If you put a current Kevin Martin next to a Prime Durant, you're going to need another serious piece to make a contending core. Hope that helps
1. Oden
2. Howard
3. Durant
Dwight Howard is an athletic freak. 6'11 with a 35" Vertical, and he plays the game with tenacity. He was leading the league in rebounding earlier this year. He's still extremely raw, but he's got all the tools to become the next Shaq, or even better because he tries harder on defense. In fact, his game reminds people a lot of Shaq back when he was at LSU, and considering that Dwight came straight out of High School, that's an accurate place on the learning curve for him. He's going to be a traditional C that can carry a franchise to a championship like the C's of yesteryear.
Oden, in my opinion, will be the best out of these three guys. First of all, he's a legit 7 footer, and very long. And he's been playing Center for longer than Howard, who was a guard before he hit a growth spurt, so he's more naturally acclaimed to the Center position. He's already ahead of Howard's learning curve in terms of offense; First of all, he has a better arsenal of post moves, and second, he's learning to use his left hand effectively because of the injury to his wrist. But what intrigues most people is his awesome defense. If he came into the league right now, I'd say he'd be the best defensive center in the NBA, maybe after Mutumbo or Zo. Oden plays angles extremely well, and his timing on blocks is phenominal. It truly is scary how well he fits exactly what the Kings have lacked over the past few years.
Durant will be a superstar wing in the league, so he's not really comparable to Oden or Howard, who will be dominant centers. Really, the only wing who have led their team to an NBA championship without a legit center is Michael Jordan; that's pretty elite company right there. Durant will be a special talent and a mismatch nightmare in the NBA, however. He's just going to need some serious help down low you want to go for gold.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if take a Prime Howard or Prime Oden and put next to him, say, a current Kevin Martin, then you've got a legit contending core. If you put a current Kevin Martin next to a Prime Durant, you're going to need another serious piece to make a contending core. Hope that helps
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Vlade4GM
All-Star
well wright has a good shot at being an all-star level player, not as good as howard though. there are a few others that have outside shots at being all-star caliber, but no one as good as howard's potential cept oden and durant.
I REALLY REALLY like Brandon Wright and think he is to Oden/Durant as Chris Bosh is to Wade/Lebron .
Except that Kevin Garnet is really about 7'2. 7'1 at the shortest. He doesn't want to be known as a 7-footer, though, so they list him at 6'11. Durant's game isn't very much like KG's at all. He's a taller T-Mac. He COULD develop more of a post game to be like KG, though. If he becomes a KG/T-Mac hybrid, it could be scary for the league.
Larry89
Disgruntled Kings Fan
So he uh, hides his height?
Yeah I have been following Brandan Wright ever since UNC's season started and he will be damn good. He gets underrated because everyone is only interested in talking about Durant/Oden but he's a really nice defensive player and a pretty good offensive player. He needs to work a bit at his rebounding and stuff but he's really talented. I'd be really happy if we could get him.
Vlade4GM
All-Star
yes, he could definitely be more aggressive on his rebounding. i think that's his biggest concern along with his lack of bulk, but i don't think that will be a problem down the road. he plays very well within unc's offense, doesn't force up many shots if at all and is unselfish. if he was the main guy on that team, he'd have much better numbers.
nbrans
All-Star
Call me a contrarian, but I don't think Dwight Howard is dominant enough offensively to be a true supertar. He's a seriously incredible physical specimen, but he doesn't have great hands and he's not very coordinated. He's been in the league for three years now now, everyone has been saying that he's due to become a dominant player, and yeah, he's only 21, but the problem isn't that he can't get a shot off -- he misses a whole lot of shots close to teh basket.
Now, of course, he's averaging 17/12 without a post game, so, yeah, he's awesome, but I don't think he's going to be someone you can give the ball to in the post and expect him to get you points consistently.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him on the Kings and it's great watching him play, but I don't think he has the cieling of Oden and Durant. Oden has the size, athleticism AND the coordination, Durant is another player entirely, but we've never seen someone with his size and skills.
So I'd say Oden/Durant (take your pick) then Howard.
Now, of course, he's averaging 17/12 without a post game, so, yeah, he's awesome, but I don't think he's going to be someone you can give the ball to in the post and expect him to get you points consistently.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him on the Kings and it's great watching him play, but I don't think he has the cieling of Oden and Durant. Oden has the size, athleticism AND the coordination, Durant is another player entirely, but we've never seen someone with his size and skills.
So I'd say Oden/Durant (take your pick) then Howard.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I think there is a chance that Howard tops out at "merely" 20-15-2 rather than 25-15-2, but damn. The only player I've seen in recent history to come into the league at his age with his size and just easy ability to dominate the glass was Tim Duncan. And he just turned 21 in Dec.
At roughly the same age (20-21):
Garnett: 18.5pts (.491 FG%) 9.6reb 1.8blk
Webber: 17.5pts (.552 FG%) 9.1reb 2.2blk
Howard: 17.6pts (.593 FG%) 11.9reb 1.8blk
At 20-21 Duncan was still in college. But when he was 21-22 (his rookie year) he averaged:
Duncan: 21.1pts (.549 FG%) 11.9reb 2.5blk
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SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I think the argument that Dwight may not be a "true" superstar is a legit one. He provides a lot of intangibles but if he becomes a guy that can single handedly carry a team offensively I would be surprised.
4cwebb
Starter
Are Howard's hands the reason he doesn't get as many shot attempts as he should for the Magic? I have not watched a single Magic game this year, but check in on the box scores just to see how Howard is doing most nights, and it seems as if someone else on the Magic leads the team in shot attempts.
Howard might not have the offensive game right now to be a go to guy on every possession, but if I'm the coach of the Magic, I don't care right...they aren't going anywhere until he starts to become that guy, and I think the best way to develop that ability is to treat him like that guy, night in and night out.
As for whether he would be a better choice than Oden or Durant, I'm not certain...Durant may end up being a superstar, but as others have pointed out, the guys he is favorably compared to (TMac, KG) haven't exactly set the basketball post season on fire in their careers (at least not by themselves).
Oden is clearly playing against inferior physical talent night in and night out...even JNoah for the Gators looked like a 6'6" guard playing against Oden. He'll still have size on his side in the NBA, but I'd be surprised if he comes into the league and has a consistent offensive impact right away.
Regardless, it will be fun to watch for the next decade. Throw in Lebron (who's only 22, and who I think is more of a physical freak than any of these guys...he's like a 6'8" running back on the court), and the other rising stars, and the NBA appears to be in pretty good hands.
RaY Z
Starter
make howard play the kings all the time and he's a superstar...
HighFlyingMonkey
Starter
You have to remember that he came straight out of High School, so the development curve is going to be longer for him in the NBA. So, it's like him in his 4th year = Shaq as a rookie, and Shaq wasn't exactly the most fluid post player when he came into the league either.
Personally, I think Dwight's going to gradually increase his arsenal, rather than the explosion a lot of people are waiting for. He'll still be one of the top big men in the NBA, it's just going to take some time. That's why I put him on top of Durant.