Andrew Bynum: Lakers Star Making Case as NBA's Best Center

Everyone wants to talk about the negatives surrounding Andrew Bynum—his ill-advised threes, his temper, his recent ejection. It is not often we talk about the 22 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 blocks he averaged in the month of March. Or the 26 points and 11 rebounds he's averaged since his return from injury in April.

Or the fact that he's probably the best center in league right now.

His main competition, Dwight Howard, also happens to be more popular for reasons other than statistics. The star center's ongoing, and incredibly awkward, controversy with Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has overwhelmed his team of late, and the Magic suffering in the standings because of it.

Orlando finally snapped its five-game losing streak on Saturday when Howard grabbed 22 boards and scored 20 points. His previous three games—he missed two of the five losses due to injury—saw him average only 13 points and nine rebounds.

He's been a roller coaster of highs and lows far too many times this season.

Bynum, meanwhile, has turned in the healthiest season of his career and by far the most impressive.

It isn't hard to see why people focus on the negative, especially considering he's on a highly scrutinized team, but Bynum is as impressive a player as he is an immature 24-year-old right now.

Although the Lakers struggled mightily without Kobe Bryant on Saturday, the league's leading scorer is listed as day-to-day with a shin injury, Bynum quickly took up the reins as the go-to man for LA.

It's hard to argue with his improving production and he's still just scratching the surface of his overall potential. Eventually Bynum will find his way into the news for all the right reasons, and that is because he's making a strong push as the league's best big man.