Written by Zach Harper | 04 June 2009

Dwight Howard versus Andrew Bynum



I know what you're thinking - "is this really a position battle that needs to be broken down for this series?"

Well, this could possibly be the most important match-up of the entire series and it's entirely up to the psyche and competence of one Andrew Bynum. Andrew Bynum is nothing more than an expensive role player on this loaded Lakers roster. He doesn't have to do a lot for them to win on most nights and whenever he gets matched up with an undersized, 6'8" and under frontcourt (like when Yao went down in the Houston series) or DeAndre Jordan, he can show flashes of deserving to make eight figures per year for a professional sports team.

So Bynum has virtually no stress at all when he is pretty much on par in terms of career accomplishments thus far of Greg Oden, who gets scrutinized at every drop of the hat. He doesn't have to perform because Kobe is Kobe, Pau is perfect on Phil Jackson's team, Trevor Ariza is one of the most perfect role players in all of basketball and Lamar Odom is transcendent when he has the right amount of Lemondheads and Gummy Worms. But Bynum now HAS to step up and be a man like the kid in your local community college catalog. And he has to do it against Dwight Howard.

That's right; he has to battle in the post with Adonis in Adidas. He has to battle with a guy who thinks that he's at 20% his potential despite the fact that he's averaging 21.7 points and 15.4 rebounds with 62.2% shooting in the playoffs. He has to battle with the guy who intimidates LeBron James from attacking the rim. He has to battle with the guy that has Patrick Chewing as his coach. (What's up, Ryan? Aaaaaaaarggggghhh!)

Andrew Bynum has to find a way to be competent for 20 to 30 minutes every game. If he doesn't, Pau Gasol will be forced to guard Dwight Howard and he's simply not strong enough. If he doesn't the Lakers will lose the rebounding battle and be forced to rotate chaotically to each open three-point shooter. If he doesn't, DJ Mbenga will be forced to play meaningful minutes in a series that he has no business dressing out for. And if he can't solve the ongoing mystery of how someone not named Kendrick Perkins or Yao Ming defends Dwight then the Lakers will be at a huge disadvantage.

Let's look at the career head to head numbers in six games:


Now, these numbers seem a bit deceiving at first glance. It looks like Dwight it utterly dominating this match-up to an embarrassing point. Howard is scoring 10 more points per game than Bynum. But Dwight is often a focal point of the offense while Andrew Bynum is an afterthought, who is thrown scraps from the dinner table. The Per 36-Minute numbers put Bynum's scoring almost right on par with Dwight's. But the rebounding is where the big issue comes. Andrew Bynum is a Mark Blount-level of useless on the boards compared to Dwight Howard in rebounding.



In their latest match-up, we saw a nearly even amount of minutes between the two centers. And as you might assume, Dwight's numbers completely dwarfed those of the Los Angeles "phenom." Howard had a 25-point, 20-rebound effort with three blocks. Andrew Bynum had 14 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots. But the big thing to look at here is the fact that Dwight made just eight of his 18 shots. Bynum's length bothered him to a significant degree and caused him to force some bad attempts. But Dwight semi-countered that with eight offensive rebounds that lead to put-backs and 16 free throw attempts.

So Bynum CAN be somewhat effective against Howard and bother him with length. However, we're seeing a different and far more confident Dwight Howard in these playoffs than we saw back in January.

Conclusion
The fate of the Los Angeles Lakers doesn't reside completely on the shoulders of Andrew Bynum. But they are ready to leap on for a piggyback ride as soon as Dwight starts exuding his physical prowess inside. A big part will be the decision-making of Dwight when the double team comes (and trust me, it'll be there). In the end though, I just don't think someone as fragile physically and mentally can do proper battle with someone who is the antithesis.
Advantage: Dwight Howard

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