Current Whiteside or peak Dwight Howard?

[HenryGarfunkle]

Whiteside is just a shot blocker/rebounder right now

The entire Magic offense and defense revolved around Dwight at his peak, and he should have an MVP to his name

People keep talking about Whitesides impact like he's LeBron James or something. This guy isn't bullying people in the paint nor is he a fantastic defender right now. He's tall as **** with a long wingspan and good blocking instincts .... but he routinely gets scored on 1v1 in the paint and isn't quick enough to defend the pick n roll well

He's a fantasy beast, a stat-sheet stuffer. But he's no Dwight Howard and he never will be

[TiagoSimoes]

Whiteside is a really nice player, but i think his lack of passing/bb iq is such a liability.

And to answer OP's question, Peak Howard, not even close, dumb question.

[TheNaturalWR]

Am I the only Heat fan that doesn't think Whiteside is that good? I can't be the only one....

[HenryGarfunkle]

Am I the only Heat fan that doesn't think Whiteside is that good? I can't be the only one....

You're not the only one bro... he really isn't THAT good.

Offensively the guy is flat-out bad, or average at best

and he gets overrated defensively because of blocked shots, similar to how people thought Ibaka was elite defensively because he led the league in blocks

[jimmy77x]

Am I the only Heat fan that doesn't think Whiteside is that good? I can't be the only one....

Pretty much. Scrubside is just an Identical player to Deandre Jordan. Only scores on dunks/ putbacks and being hand-fed points. Good at protecting the paint, so he's pretty much a rebounder/ rim protector who has 0 offensive talent.

[ShaqTwizzle]

Zinger >>> Peak Dwight >>>>> Joel Anthony 2.0

[Smoke117]

Pretty much. Scrubside is just an Identical player to Deandre Jordan. Only scores on dunks/ putbacks and being hand-fed points. Good at protecting the paint, so he's pretty much a rebounder/ rim protector who has 0 offensive talent.

lol...Whitesides impact defensively this season is much bigger than Jordans ever was. I don't know how saying Whiteside is better than Porzingis has started such ridiculous backlash against him now...but whatever.

Is he better than a peak Dwight Howard? Of course not. I don't remember anyone even entertaining that notion.

[GrapeApe]

Zinger >>> Peak Dwight >>>>> Joel Anthony 2.0

I know you're joking, but Joel Anthony couldn't even catch a pass. No exaggeration, he may be the worst offensive player in NBA history. Whiteside is peak Hakeem in comparison.

As for the thread topic, obviously peak Howard is better. Whiteside has somehow become underrated and overrated at the same time. I think it's due to his emergence out of nowhere being so unique and unprecedented. It's still difficult to know what to make of him because we've never really seen anything like this before. He's one of the most interesting and intriguing players to come along in years.

From the "underrated' perspective, let's look at what he's doing right now. He's leading the league in shot blocking and doing it at a historic level. He's 4th in the league in rebounding, 2nd in fg%, and 6th in PER. He's averaging 15 ppg so it's not like he's a complete stiff offensively. Yes Wade does spoon feed him many of his points, but nevertheless he's a threat on offense, especially in the PnR. It's early, but right now he's a legit all-star and DPOY candidate. All of the aforementioned is pretty insane when you consider he's still yet to play a full NBA season's worth of games.

Now let's look at things from the "overrated" perspective. As someone mentioned, he's a fantasy machine and it's easy to get enamored by his numbers. The fact remains that he still has some serious holes in his game. He's not a great post defender, he gets lost too frequently on rotations, he's turnover prone, he's a poor passer (10 career assists), and he's severely limited with the ball is in his hands. He has cleaned up the foul issues though.

Bottom line, it's still too early to make any definitive judgments about him. If he keeps playing at a high level while continuing to expand his game and improve, he has the potential to be a major force in the league for several years. Even if he's overrated to some degree at this point, his impact is undeniable.

[Spurs m8]

**** both of these dudes, The Zinger will be where its at tbh

[WadeStan]

I know you're joking, but Joel Anthony couldn't even catch a pass. No exaggeration, he may be the worst offensive player in NBA history. Whiteside is peak Hakeem in comparison.

As for the thread topic, obviously peak Howard is better. Whiteside has somehow become underrated and overrated at the same time. I think it's due to his emergence out of nowhere being so unique and unprecedented. It's still difficult to know what to make of him because we've never really seen anything like this before. He's one of the most interesting and intriguing players to come along in years.

From the "underrated' perspective, let's look at what he's doing right now. He's leading the league in shot blocking and doing it at a historic level. He's 4th in the league in rebounding, 2nd in fg%, and 6th in PER. He's averaging 15 ppg so it's not like he's a complete stiff offensively. Yes Wade does spoon feed him many of his points, but nevertheless he's a threat on offense, especially in the PnR. It's early, but right now he's a legit all-star and DPOY candidate. All of the aforementioned is pretty insane when you consider he's still yet to play a full NBA season's worth of games.

Now let's look at things from the "overrated" perspective. As someone mentioned, he's a fantasy machine and it's easy to get enamored by his numbers. The fact remains that he still has some serious holes in his game. He's not a great post defender, he gets lost too frequently on rotations, he's turnover prone, he's a poor passer (10 career assists), and he's severely limited with the ball is in his hands. He has cleaned up the foul issues though.

Bottom line, it's still too early to make any definitive judgments about him. If he keeps playing at a high level while continuing to expand his game and improve, he has the potential to be a major force in the league for several years. Even if he's overrated to some degree at this point, his impact is undeniable.

Pretty much. Good post.

[DMAVS41]

???

Howard...not close.

[pmj]

Not even close to peak Howard. Better question would be peak Tyson Chandler.

People are underrating Whiteside offensively though, he has great touch around the rim. He looks like a natural with the ball when he has position and is not doubled. His problem is he has tunnel vision, can't pass, and takes bad shots sometimes. He also cries if people don't pass to him. Basically a knucklehead, and it's the reason why someone like Chandler might be more impactful despite Whiteside being basically better at offense, rebounding and blocking already.

[FKAri]

I know you're joking, but Joel Anthony couldn't even catch a pass. No exaggeration, he may be the worst offensive player in NBA history. Whiteside is peak Hakeem in comparison.

As for the thread topic, obviously peak Howard is better. Whiteside has somehow become underrated and overrated at the same time. I think it's due to his emergence out of nowhere being so unique and unprecedented. It's still difficult to know what to make of him because we've never really seen anything like this before. He's one of the most interesting and intriguing players to come along in years.

From the "underrated' perspective, let's look at what he's doing right now. He's leading the league in shot blocking and doing it at a historic level. He's 4th in the league in rebounding, 2nd in fg%, and 6th in PER. He's averaging 15 ppg so it's not like he's a complete stiff offensively. Yes Wade does spoon feed him many of his points, but nevertheless he's a threat on offense, especially in the PnR. It's early, but right now he's a legit all-star and DPOY candidate. All of the aforementioned is pretty insane when you consider he's still yet to play a full NBA season's worth of games.

Now let's look at things from the "overrated" perspective. As someone mentioned, he's a fantasy machine and it's easy to get enamored by his numbers. The fact remains that he still has some serious holes in his game. He's not a great post defender, he gets lost too frequently on rotations, he's turnover prone, he's a poor passer (10 career assists), and he's severely limited with the ball is in his hands. He has cleaned up the foul issues though.

Bottom line, it's still too early to make any definitive judgments about him. If he keeps playing at a high level while continuing to expand his game and improve, he has the potential to be a major force in the league for several years. Even if he's overrated to some degree at this point, his impact is undeniable.

Joel Anthony is an example of how a guy with ZERO BASKETBALL TALENT but fairly decent athleticism, size and hard work can be a starter on a Lebron team

Those Bibby/Anthony lineups were hilarious.

[JohnFreeman]

Are people forgetting how good Howard was?

[Wade's Rings]

Joel Anthony is an example of how a guy with ZERO BASKETBALL TALENT but fairly decent athleticism, size and hard work can be a starter on a Lebron team

Those Bibby/Anthony lineups were hilarious.

He was starting in '09, when Jermaine came he came off the bench.