LeBron James is arguably having the NBA’s best regular season even though Chris Paul is flirting with quadruple-doubles, Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups has changed the culture in Denver. But the league’s MVP conversation must include Magic star Dwight Howard, the 23-year-old “man-child,” as the Nuggets’ Anthony Carter said, “or whatever you call it. He’s just big for his age and way ahead of his time. He can be stopped, but sometimes you think he’s unstoppable.”
Howard entered Saturday with averages of 20.3 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots. He leads the NBA in blocked shots and is tied at the top with former Nugget Marcus Camby in rebounds.
“You certainly have to talk about him, because he’s a guy that everything we do revolves around him at both ends of the floor,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said, “and we’re winning at a very high level.”
Amusing exchange.
Reporter: “Is (the Nuggets’) Dahntay Jones becoming like a Bruce Bowen-type defender? I heard in the Suns’ locker room, they were whining about him after the game on Thursday.”
Denver coach George Karl: “That makes me excited that other guys are crying about him. Our guys cry about him, too, at practice. They say he fouls a lot. With (the Spurs’) Bruce Bowen and Dahntay, I think that’s a good comparison. But Dahntay’s in first grade.”
Reporter: “What grade is Bowen in?” Karl: “Bowen’s probably a doctorate.”
