76ers’ Wright says Bynum is better than Dwight Howard

We are still in the honeymoon period with Andrew Bynum in Philadelphia. Fans love him. Teammates love him. Coaches are excited about ways they can use him in the offense.

That honeymoon will end, it always does. Ask every Philadelphia sports hero. It will be interesting to see how Bynum handles it when things turn, when the tabloids smack him around a little.

But we are not there yet. Until then, it is strawberries and champagne and the beach in Fiji. It is a honeymoon. And among those insanely happy people to be playing with Bynum in Philly is Dorell Wright.

Wright went way over the top speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying Bynum is better than Dwight Howard.

“He’s going to need two defenders to stop him; I would say he’s the best big man in the NBA right now, hands down,” Wright, speaking at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, said. “He’s a guy that can give you baskets with his back to the basket; a guy who makes free throws at 7-feet. You’ve just got to respect him.”

The reporter gave Wright an out and said is this because Howard is coming off back surgery?

“No way, I’d say it any day. It’s because I know he can put his back to the basket and give us a basket and request a double team and make free throws,” Wright continued. “It’s his all-around game. Hopefully he can stay healthy and we can ride, he can put us on his back and he can take us as far as we can go.”

Dorell, you are wrong. Well meaning, but flat out wrong.

No doubt Bynum opens up the Sixers offense and is going to make things better. I don’t want to demean Bynum here, I like the guy. And if you just look at the offensive stats Bynum and Howard are comparable — Bynum averaged 1.03 points per possession last season, Howard .97 but with a higher percentage of the team offense run through him. In the post they were almost identical (.88 and .89 points per possession). Howard is better as the roll man when he gets the ball back, and he draws more fouls. But it all evens out because Howard shot 49 percent from the free throw line, while Bynum was 71 percent. There is no hack-a-Bynum.

Honestly, the offensive numbers are pretty much a wash.

But there are two key areas where Howard is superior. One, consistency of effort. Until the back injury and whatever went down at the end of Howard’s time in Orlando, the guy brought it every night. You gut his best effort. Bynum… let’s just say the Lakers intentionally tried to get him touches early in the game so he wouldn’t go on mental walkabout some nights. When challenged (like facing Howard) Bynum was there and ready, but that wasn’t every night.

Second is defense — Howard is a flat out better defender. While opponents overall shooting numbers are again similar against them watch the film and you see Howard blow up pick-and-rolls and recover much faster than Bynum, who often sits back on those. Howard is faster weak side to strong. Bottom line is Howard is more fleet of foot and uses that to be a far more disruptive defensive presence than Bynum. Again, don’t get me wrong, Bynum is a good defender and the Sixers paint protection just got better. But Howard is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year for a reason.

But Dorell, it’s a free country. Believe whatever you want.