Everybody keeps acting like the Lakers’ trade for Dwight Howard is a really big deal, but didn’t the Lakers already have a pretty good center in Andrew Bynum? And aren’t Bynum’s 2011-12 statistics of 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game comparable to Howard’s averages of 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game?
Yes, Bynum is a heck of a player and yes, at 24 he is almost two years younger than Howard. But Howard influences the game in ways far beyond his gaudy stats. He is a nearly impenetrable force defensively, as you can see in the video below.
