ambchang
10-04-2013, 02:04 PM
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/63101/kareem-abdul-jabbar-talks-dwight-howard
As Abdul-Jabbar’s, or any other critics’, arguments become more convincing, the mystery of Howard’s wonderful results on the court becomes more exciting:
Since 2005, Howard's teams have consistently outplayed the opposition with Howard on the court, usually by a significant margin. Beginning in 2007-08, his plus/minus numbers on the season, per NBA.com/stats, were +5.9, +7.0, +7.5 and +6.4. These are rare numbers. The Lakers and Howard had horrible 2012-13 seasons, but the team was +1.8 with Howard on the court.
Howard joined the league out of high school, can't hit free throws worth a darn and has one of the most criticized offensive games in the league. Yet, the lowest true shooting percentage of his career was 56.5 percent -- and he has often been much better than that, including an entire season at an incredible 63 percent. For fun and comparison, the player with the most polished offensive game -- Kobe Bryant -- has only surpassed 56.5 percent in three of his 17 seasons. Howard has a career playoff true shooting percentage of 62 percent.
Howard has won plenty in the playoffs, and once led Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and company to the 2009 NBA Finals, while anchoring the offense and defense.
In other words, what's wrong with Howard is pretty easy to spot. He looks clumsy with the ball, basically. He makes mistakes. What's more interesting and important, however, is what's right, because clearly it's something. These aren't cutesy stats, and they aren't cherry-picked from a month here or there. Nearly a decade of efficiently turning possessions into points, playing league-leading defense and outscoring the opposition is exactly how you win games. That is value.
As Abdul-Jabbar’s, or any other critics’, arguments become more convincing, the mystery of Howard’s wonderful results on the court becomes more exciting:
Since 2005, Howard's teams have consistently outplayed the opposition with Howard on the court, usually by a significant margin. Beginning in 2007-08, his plus/minus numbers on the season, per NBA.com/stats, were +5.9, +7.0, +7.5 and +6.4. These are rare numbers. The Lakers and Howard had horrible 2012-13 seasons, but the team was +1.8 with Howard on the court.
Howard joined the league out of high school, can't hit free throws worth a darn and has one of the most criticized offensive games in the league. Yet, the lowest true shooting percentage of his career was 56.5 percent -- and he has often been much better than that, including an entire season at an incredible 63 percent. For fun and comparison, the player with the most polished offensive game -- Kobe Bryant -- has only surpassed 56.5 percent in three of his 17 seasons. Howard has a career playoff true shooting percentage of 62 percent.
Howard has won plenty in the playoffs, and once led Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and company to the 2009 NBA Finals, while anchoring the offense and defense.
In other words, what's wrong with Howard is pretty easy to spot. He looks clumsy with the ball, basically. He makes mistakes. What's more interesting and important, however, is what's right, because clearly it's something. These aren't cutesy stats, and they aren't cherry-picked from a month here or there. Nearly a decade of efficiently turning possessions into points, playing league-leading defense and outscoring the opposition is exactly how you win games. That is value.