Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard Talks to B/R About Defense, Lakers, Celtics, Gasol

Adidas was kind enough to set up an interview for me on behalf of Bleacher Report with Dwight Howard.

Howard is heavily involved with the new "all adidas" marketing campaign, and he’s headlining their “Game Face” portion featured on Facebook.

Watching some of his clips, Howard’s "game face" seemed to shine through after he posterized a defender or after swatting a ball into the stands.

While talking with Howard, it came as no surprise that defense became a major topic of discussion. When I asked him who he found to be the toughest player to defend in the league, he had a rather unexpected answer for me.

"I'd say Marc Gasol," Howard said. "He's one of those players that not a lot of people talk about, but he's a seven-footer who can shoot the ball, post up and just about do it all."

That’s high praise coming from Howard, and I’m sure the Memphis Grizzlies hope Gasol doesn’t catch wind of this when it comes to contract negotiations this summer.

The two big men have matched up on five separate occasions and Gasol has fared well against Howard. The Spaniard has averaged 14.4 points on 65.9 percent shooting during their battles, both of which are above his career averages of 12.7 points on 54.5 percent shooting.

Of course, you can rarely talk about one of the Gasol brothers without mentioning the other.

"Both of the Gasols," Howard continued. "Both of them are tough to match up with."

While Pau Gasol hasn’t been as efficient as his younger brother against Howard, he has put up an impressive 17.3 points on 53.4 percent shooting through 12 games—both numbers just about at his career averages. However, you must take these numbers with a grain of salt as there are a number of mitigating factors involved.

Luckily, Howard doesn’t play in the Western Conference. Otherwise, he'd be dealing with the two premier Spanish players far more often.

Regardless of who his opponent might be, it doesn't seem to bother him.

“I enjoy playing everybody," Howard claimed. "I love the game. I love the challenge. Playing against somebody good brings out the best in you.”

A lot of NBA players say this, but rarely does it feel genuine. However, Howard legitimately sounded like he enjoyed competing at the highest level.

When it comes to the opposite end of the spectrum, Howard outed teams, rather than specific players, that give him trouble on defense.

"I would say, just, it depends on the team," Howard told me. "One-on-one, there's not a lot of people who can stop anybody one-on-one in the league without a lot of help. It's very tough."

Of course, that's a different story for Howard, who just so happens to be the best defender in the league and the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Howard’s defensive win share rating comes in at 6.5, which is a dominating 1.8 points over the next highest player on the list, Kevin Garnett. His defensive rating also leads the league at 94.4, just beating out Garnett once again.

Howard's on pace—and a near lock at this point—for his third straight Defensive Player of the Year award, which is a testament to how dominant he has been on the defensive side of the ball these past few years.

Of course, Howard isn't the only defensive force in the league. It seems that one of Howard's Eastern Conference rivals—led by one of his childhood idols and the man he's competing against for Defensive Player of the Year—has made life the most difficult for him throughout his tenure in the NBA.

According to Howard, “Boston has a team that makes it tough to score on.”

That should come as no surprise, with their suffocating defense and defensive stalwart, Garnett, patrolling the hardwood.

Boston and Orlando happen to be, respectively, ranked second and third in team defensive efficiency with Boston allowing the least amount of points per game and Orlando close behind in fourth.

I figured he would be relieved to see Kendrick Perkins get shipped out west to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but when I asked him, he said, "It doesn't really bother me if he played in the East or West. The matchup between me and him was fun."

Perkins has been effective against Howard, able to match him in size and strength.

However, Howard seems to believe that he has Perkins' number.

"I would say the last series we had with the Boston Celtics with Perkins, I was very successful," Howard said. "Just doing little things rather than just trying to overpower a guy like him."

In their 22 matchups, Perkins and the Boston Celtics have limited Howard to 15.7 points per game on 51.7 percent shooting—both well under his career averages. Those numbers should theoretically increase now that Perkins is no longer in Beantown, something that bodes well for the Magic's playoff hopes.

"I think in the last series, I figured out some ways to score on them," Howard reiterated to me.

In the playoffs last season, Howard went off for 21.8 points per game while shooting 56.8 percent from the field against the Celtics. When put in perspective against his career averages against the team, it's clear that Howard is doing something right.

Howard gave Perkins credit for his defense, but was quick to stress that team defense is much more critical.

"One thing he did, the Boston Celtics did, they did a good job with helping," Howard told me. "They made the lane, the painted area, seem clogged up, which made it very tough to do what I wanted to do."

Coincidentally, the other team that Howard found to be the most difficult to score on just so happens to be the Celtics' longtime rival and the Magic's NBA Finals opponent from two years back.

“The Lakers," Howard said. "They make it very tough with their size and length."

Los Angeles has an imposing frontcourt with a number of big bodies to rotate on Howard. Also, with Andrew Bynum's resurgence and focus on defense, things will only get tougher should they face off again.

Historically, Howard has played well against the Lakers, but they haven't made life easy for him. You wouldn't be able to tell from Howard's last encounter with the Lakers by looking at his gaudy scoring line of 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but don't forget to check the nine turnovers in the box score.

Many believe that the road to the NBA Finals goes through the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference—the two teams Howard has had the most difficulty with.

If Howard wants to get back to the promised land and hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy over his head, he has his work cut out for him.