On the Bulls radio pregame show last night, The Swirs asked Bill Wennington
to make a case for Dwight Howard as MVP. And like he did so many times
from 1994-1999, the Canadian Basketball Hall of Famer delivered. (On a
side note, how good does a Beef Wennington sound right now??)
Wennington used LeBron James, considered the favorite in the MVP race, and Kobe Bryant, considered a close second, as a base for comparison. As you can see below, Bron Bron and Kobe rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in points per game, but are not in the top 5 of any of the other major statistical categories. Superman, on the other hand, is 1st in both rebounds and blocks and third in field goal percentage. Have a looksee.
|
|
LeBron |
|
Kobe |
|
Dwight |
|
|
James |
|
Bryant |
|
Howard |
| Points |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
15 |
| Rebounds |
|
28 |
|
56 |
|
1 |
| Blocks |
|
28 |
|
82 |
|
1 |
| Steals |
|
6 |
|
24 |
|
57 |
| Assists |
|
10 |
|
27 |
|
128 |
| Field Goal % |
|
30 |
|
44 |
|
3 |
| Free Throw % |
|
90 |
|
19 |
|
138 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| FG Attempts |
|
1,104 |
|
1,206 |
|
699 |
| FT Attempts |
|
518 |
|
417 |
|
596 |
Another interesting stat our favorite Canuck pointed out is that DH ranks 15th in points per game even though he has shot 37% fewer shots than The Chosen One and 42% fewer shots than The Black Mamba. If instead of shooting 60% from the foul line Howard had shot, say 75%, he would rank eigth in points per game.
Whether you think Dwight Howard deserves the MVP or not, it certainly paints an interesting picture.
Either way, not bad for a 23 year old...