Dwight Howard vs. Andrew Bynum: Breaking Down and Comparing the 2 NBA Centers

Tonight we will be in for a real treat as the Orlando Magic take on the Los Angeles Lakers on ESPN at 8:00 p.m.

While the two teams matching up is interesting, it's the battle that will be taking place down low in the post that intrigues us. Arguably two of the league's top centers will be defending each other, as reigning Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard is set to take on the revamped Andrew Bynum.

Far and away, these are two of the league's top centers, and they'll be taking each other on in a modern-day clash of the titans. These two giants tower over their teammates—except for Bynum, who's eye-to-eye with Pau Gasol—and impose their figures over the smaller forwards and guards that attempt to break through and score in the lane.

It's not too much of a debate over who is the better center, but we still do the work for you by comparing these two players and finding out just who the superior big man is between the two centers.

Offense

In today's game, the art of having a center with post moves is nearly dead.

Aside from Marc Gasol and Al Jefferson, there are hardly any centers in the game that can consistently score based on their footwork alone. Long gone are the days of Hakeem Olajuwon's dream shakes, Patrick Ewing's mid-range jump shot and Shaquille O'Neal's jump hook.

Instead, those moves are replaced by big bodies that do nothing other than be large. Guys like Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic, who get paid to do nothing other than to plant themselves in the paint and defend anyone who comes your way and grab the rebound when it comes to you, have taken over as the typical NBA center.

Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum are guilty of being inconsistent and ineffective around the rim as well. Both players are lacking heavily in their offensive repertoire and rely more on their size and backing their opponent down rather than using their feet or a jumper to best their opponent.

Howard may have the better offensive statistics, averaging 18 points per game on 58 percent shooting at 11 attempts per game for his career, but it's Bynum who has the better offensive skill set. He can actually boast some post moves and does use his feet to get close to the rim for easy scores, as well as rely on the traditional method of being tall and dunking over his opponent.

Bynum's averaging 11 points per game on 57 percent shooting at nearly eight attempts per game. He has the better post moves, but he doesn't score nearly as prolifically as Howard can. He can't get to the foul line like Dwight can, can't pass out of a double-team as efficiently and isn't as athletic as Howard, who is the perfect "go up there and get it" type of player.

Defense

If these NBA centers can do anything today, it's play defense.

Or maybe we're just getting fooled into thinking they can play defense? After all, there aren't many centers in the league that can score at will and with so many players that rely on driving today, it certainly inflates the blocks per game of a few select centers.

Either way, Dwight Howard wins the battle with Andrew Bynum when it comes to who the better defender is. I'm pretty sure that three consecutive Defensive Player of the Awards can help support my claim, as well as leading the league in blocks per game twice and finishing in the top five in the two seasons following.

If you're an NBA player attempting to drive down the lane, there aren't many players that would throw you off your route more than Dwight Howard. At 6'11", 240 pounds of solid muscle, Howard is an imposing, dominant and fearful figure that can block shots with his broad shoulders alone. His weak-side blocks are a staple of the Orlando Magic defense.

Howard has averaged two blocks per game in every year of his career aside from his second season. He's averaged three blocks per game twice.

Of course, Bynum isn't half bad of a defender, either. He's not as strong and wide as Howard, but he does have length on his side and that greatly assists him, as he can pretty much defend against any opponent and deter any type of shot that's attempted in his area.

Bynum is a terrific individual and team defender, and he's averaged as much as two blocks per game, which he has done on four occasions.

Rebounding

I've always been intrigued as to why rebounding numbers have progressively declined over the years. It's gone from Wilt Chamberlain averaging as much to 25, to Dennis Rodman averaging as much as 19, down in today's NBA where Kevin Love averaged 15 per game and won the rebounding crown.

My guess is that NBA centers aren't playing as much as they were in the early years of the NBA. Or perhaps too many three-pointers are being taken and that causes long rebounds, which carom out of a center's range. Either way, you're guess is as good as mine.

When comparing the rebounding skills of Howard and Bynum, I don't think it is a fair battle.

You can't compare the stats of Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard because of the constant injuries that Bynum has suffered from throughout his career. It's not exactly fair to compare the stats of a center who's maintained a great state of health for the entirety of his career to a center who has been injured for the majority of his career.

However, this year has been best when it comes to comparing these two. With Bynum maintaining his health for the first time in a long time, we're able to see just what type of player he is. So far, we're vastly impressed by Bynum's recovery as well as his overall game. He's currently averaging 14 boards per game, four of them coming off the offensive glass.

Still, he doesn't compare to the rebounding prowess of Dwight Howard. He had a three-year string of winning the rebounding crown, which was snapped by Love last year, but he has since assumed control and is currently leading the league in rebounds at nearly 16 per game. If he's able to maintain that number, it'll be his career high.

Even though Bynum has length on his side, Howard has a wide body that's equipped with wide shoulders. His body allows him to check other potential rebounders without fouling, and his athleticism allows him to get that extra inch or two that most opponents can't reach to.

Intangibles

This is the downfall of both of these two stars.

Intangibles include their leadership skills, their mental state at certain moments and basically, everything else that doesn't involve scoring, rebounding, blocking shots or playing defense.

These players don't have much of any. Both players' mental capacities are extremely lacking and are the weakest part of their games, especially in the case of Andrew Bynum. Sure, Dwight Howard will pout and moan about every foul that isn't or is called, but he doesn't take out his aggression like Bynum has in the past.

When Bynum gets frustrated, he doesn't get even, he just gets mad and ornery. Watch as he punctures Gerald Wallace's lung with an elbow in a close game that was in favor of the Charlotte Bobcats, nearly ends Michael Beasley's playing career and, his most recent antics, his elbow on J.J. Barea only minutes before his Los Angeles Lakers were eventually swept by the Dallas Mavericks.

Forget Bill Laimbeer, Bynum is the one who needs to see a therapist and get some anger management. Three separate elbows to three different players, with two games that were actually close. You can argue that the elbow to Wallace was inadvertent, but it's hard to argue that when you notice the other elbows he throws.

It's bush league playing by Bynum and it sheds him, as well as his team, in a negative light.

Howard isn't the type to commit dangerous fouls, but he is a poor leader at times. If the Orlando Magic aren't giving him the ball enough, he shouldn't be spouting it off to the media, he should be letting his teammates and coaches know first.

Also, he complains about every foul call. What's the point of talking to the official on the other end of the court when the opposition is scoring in the lane because you're not there?

As you can tell, these players can become extremely frustrating to watch.

Overall

I wrote an article like this yesterday, breaking down the matchup between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and decided to let you, the reader, decide on who was the better player.

I'm not going to do that this time, however, because it's so one-sided that it would be ridiculous for me to not pick a winner. Obviously, Dwight Howard is the better player out of these two. Even if Andrew Bynum gets 100 percent healthy, he still won't be better than Howard because he doesn't have the athleticism, the ability to remain healthy or the mental capacity to compare to Dwight.

Bynum is definitely the more skilled player in the post, as he can use his feet as well as his body, but that's the only advantage he holds over Howard. He's not a better scorer, defender, shot blocker or teammate in the slightest. The fact that he's desperate enough to throw elbows into players much smaller than he is does enough justice to convince me that he is the inferior center to Howard.

Dwight is too skilled all around. He's lacking heavily as far as offense goes and should be taking more advantage of his size, but he's the best post defender we've had since Ben Wallace and the best rebounder since Dennis Rodman. He's an absolute force on the glass and is the best shot blocker we've seen since Dikembe Mutombo's early days.

If the Orlando Magic ran an offense like a normal team by not jacking up 30 three-pointers per game, Howard would get more looks, could get into a rhythm easier and improve his offensive game overall. It's just a shame that he has to be on a team that constantly ignores his talent in order to revel in scoring three-pointers 30 percent of the time.

Until Andrew Bynum or any other center says otherwise, Dwight Howard is the league's top center, and it's not even really that close.