This is the third edition of Magic Debate. In this game, posters go head to head and debate Orlando Magic topics. One winner moves on from each of the three matches and one wildcard will be selected to compete with the three winners in a championship. There will also be a loser bracket so we can determine who came in what order. Without further ado, here's this match's debaters. Only Chuck, Riot, and The One and Only may post in this thread! Good luck to all of you. Here is your question. <font color=""Blue"">Question: Who will be the #1 option for the Magic this season? Dwight Howard is a superstar in progress but forward Rashard Lewis can definitely put points up on the board as well. Who will be our #1 option and who will average the most points per game?</font>
I think without a doubt, Dwight Howard will be our focal point on offense. We'll run the offense directly through him. Like most offenses, the big man in the middle will be key. If we do indeed keep Turkoglu, then we'll constantly have spacing on the floor, which will undoubtedly open up Dwight's game. Do I think Dwight will average the most PPG on our team? No. I think Rashard will pick that title up. In Seattle he has never really had such a dominate presence in the paint, that can be equated to Dwight. Just like Rashard making Dwight's job easy, it'll be the same vice versa. Our offense and defense at the moment with this roster, is pretty well rounded. I won't say perfect, but it will be enough to give Rashard the opportunities he needs in order to put up a good sum of points on the board. I don't think he'll exactly have an insane break out year, but I can see him improving a bit on his old averages.
It really is hard to say who will be the number one option this year. If our coach was still Brian Hill I think the obvious answer would be Rashard Lewis; I say that because last year under Brain Hill, Dwight only got 10.7 shots per game, and some of those were from his own offensive rebounding. In comparison, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Tukroglu received more shots per game than Dwight Howard. Dwight was supposed to be the first option last year and still averaged a small amount of shots per game even without a big time scorer like Rashard. So now with Rashard Lewis, one can only think that Dwight will still not be the first option. Things are different now. We’ve fired that idiot coach Brian Hill and now that we’ve hired Stan Van Gundy, I think we can definitely expect the offense to be run through Dwight, which will result in plenty more touches. After all, SVG did work with Shaq a couple seasons ago. I think it’s safe to say that this is Dwight’s team. He is the face of this franchise. If you look at the other teams with dominant big men, you’ll see that they’re the cornerstones of their teams. Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Jermaine O’Neal, Eton Brand, Dirk Nowitzki, I could go on… And Dwight Howard is no different. Sure we got Rashard Lewis to help, but that’s the only reason we got him, to help Dwight Howard. We had a number of options this year to help Dwight Howard; there were guys like Vince Carter or Gerald Wallace that we could’ve signed, but it just so happens that we picked Rashard. Rashard is going to help draw attention away from Dwight so that Dwight will have fewer men guarding him and will be able to score a lot more. Rashard isn’t going to be the only one helping either. To draw even more attention away from Dwight, we have sharpshooters like Hedo Turkoglu and JJ Redick (who will be seeing more playing time), those two players will also create more scoring opportunities for Dwight. The addition of Adonal Foyle will help Dwight focus more on his offense as well. Last year when Tony Battie went down with an injury and our defensive big, Darko, got to play with Dwight, Dwight’s numbers were phenomenal. I believe Dwight was scoring 20+ PPG in that time he played with Darko. Foyle could serve a similar role, a defensive minded big to help out Dwight so that he isn’t the only one blocking shots. Don’t get me wrong, Rashard is going to help out when it’s crunch time and when we need a go-to-guy to hit the game winning shot. But there’s no reason for him to be hyped up as this guy who’s going to come in here and score 25 PPG for us. I’ll say it again, this is Dwight’s team and this is his time.
Ah, finally something to debate. <div class="quote_poster">Riot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Things are different now. We?ve fired that idiot coach Brian Hill and now that we?ve hired Stan Van Gundy, I think we can definitely expect the offense to be run through Dwight, which will result in plenty more touches. After all, SVG did work with Shaq a couple seasons ago. I think it?s safe to say that this is Dwight?s team. He is the face of this franchise. If you look at the other teams with dominant big men, you?ll see that they?re the cornerstones of their teams. Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol, Jermaine O?Neal, Eton Brand, Dirk Nowitzki, I could go on? And Dwight Howard is no different. Sure we got Rashard Lewis to help, but that?s the only reason we got him, to help Dwight Howard. We had a number of options this year to help Dwight Howard; there were guys like Vince Carter or Gerald Wallace that we could?ve signed, but it just so happens that we picked Rashard. Rashard is going to help draw attention away from Dwight so that Dwight will have fewer men guarding him and will be able to score a lot more. Rashard isn?t going to be the only one helping either. To draw even more attention away from Dwight, we have sharpshooters like Hedo Turkoglu and JJ Redick (who will be seeing more playing time), those two players will also create more scoring opportunities for Dwight.</div> It's still Dwight's team, but I don't think Dwight will snatch the title of being the #1 guy yet. His offense is still too undeveloped; mainly because his arsenal mostly consists of put backs, and dunks. Usually when teams make him pass out of double teams, or even put a solid man-to-man defender on him, he buckles. Without moves in the post, besides his vintage turn around to run for the slam, he is really, really raw. Until he can prove he can make something outside of the inner-circle, I don't think Dwight can be our number 1 option yet. We hired Lewis to help Dwight, yes, but it's a bit more indepth than that. We didn't have a finisher, a sharp shooter, and/or someone who goes off for 20 on any given night. We got that in Lewis. Dwight's weakness', passing out of the double team in particular, will be key to the Magic's success this year. If Dwight can learn how to manipulate defenses to open up Rashard, bank on plenty of opportunities for Lewis being the guy with the most points on the board. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Riot:</div><div class="quote_post">The addition of Adonal Foyle will help Dwight focus more on his offense as well. Last year when Tony Battie went down with an injury and our defensive big, Darko, got to play with Dwight, Dwight?s numbers were phenomenal. I believe Dwight was scoring 20+ PPG in that time he played with Darko. Foyle could serve a similar role, a defensive minded big to help out Dwight so that he isn?t the only one blocking shots. Don?t get me wrong, Rashard is going to help out when it?s crunch time and when we need a go-to-guy to hit the game winning shot. But there?s no reason for him to be hyped up as this guy who?s going to come in here and score 25 PPG for us. I?ll say it again, this is Dwight?s team and this is his time.</div> The reason Dwight meshed so well with Darko, was more in part to Darko's offensive abilities. Darko was a superb passer for his size, he had a jumper, and he had more moves in the post than Dwight. I don't think defense had much to do with that success, as if we look at Battie, he is a defensive minded PF as well. If Dwight has a better offensive year than last, I don't think it should be attributed to Foyle.
<div class="quote_poster">The One & Only Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">It's still Dwight's team, but I don't think Dwight will snatch the title of being the #1 guy yet. His offense is still too undeveloped; mainly because his arsenal mostly consists of put backs, and dunks. Usually when teams make him pass out of double teams, or even put a solid man-to-man defender on him, he buckles. Without moves in the post, besides his vintage turn around to run for the slam, he is really, really raw. Until he can prove he can make something outside of the inner-circle, I don't think Dwight can be our number 1 option yet.</div> Yes, Dwight Howard was limited offensively. But do players not get better as seasons go on? Dwight is only 21 years old, he wouldn't even be a senior in college if he had went. Who knows what he'll show us this season, especially now that we have hired Patrick Ewing who is a versatile scoring center and one of the 50 greatest players of all-time. And here's the name of a center that doesn't shoot too many jumpers -- Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is not exactly known for his versatile offensive set and yet he is considered the greatest center of all-time by a lot of people. Also, you have to wonder, if Brian Hill would have given Dwight only a few more touches per game, then Dwight would've averaged at least 20 PPG and he probably wouldn't be so blasted for his offensive production. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If Dwight has a better offensive year than last, I don't think it should be attributed to Foyle.</div> I agree it shouldn't completely be attributed to Foyle, but don't you feel that Dwight will have less pressure on him to do all the defensive work?
<div class="quote_poster">Riot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yes, Dwight Howard was limited offensively. But do players not get better as seasons go on? Dwight is only 21 years old, he wouldn't even be a senior in college if he had went. Who knows what he'll show us this season, especially now that we have hired Patrick Ewing who is a versatile scoring center and one of the 50 greatest players of all-time.</div> By no means am I saying that Dwight will not develop. It's a given that Dwight will come into next season with more experience, and no doubt Ewing will show him some of the ropes. However, I don't think he'll be on that level yet. A surplus of post moves don't come out nowhere in a matter of months. If Dwight is going to be the man this season, I have a hunch it'll be near the end of the season. When he's gotten used to using those moves in game. Though, I don't think he'll be able to catch up with Rashard in PPG. If we were talking about the 08-09 season, then I would be more hard-pressed in deciding. Not now, though. Rashard's coming off a break out year, and Dwight still has to develop to get that "omph" to his game, so to say. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Riot:</div><div class="quote_post"> And here's the name of a center that doesn't shoot too many jumpers -- Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is not exactly known for his versatile offensive set and yet he is considered the greatest center of all-time by a lot of people. </div> I strongly disagree. Many people underrate Shaq in this respect; he was a superb passer in his Magic-Laker days, and he had quite a few moves in the paint. One glaring difference between Shaq and Dwight: the hook shot. Shaquille is 10x more proficient with it. http://www.82games.com/0607/06MIA16A.HTM Looking at it from a statistical standpoint, Shaq relied more on his post game these last couple years than his brute strength and dunking ability. Logically he can't anyway, he isn't as dominant as he used to be. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Riot:</div><div class="quote_post">Also, you have to wonder, if Brian Hill would have given Dwight only a few more touches per game, then Dwight would've averaged at least 20 PPG and he probably wouldn't be so blasted for his offensive production.</div> It depends. Based on Dwight's turnovers, his limited offensive game, and his percentages, I think Dwight would have struggled just to reach that 20 ppg plateau. I'll round up the stats and explain, nothing durvasa-esque. This'll also count as a rebuttal to the first quote as well. Dwight had around 4 turnovers per game, while only averaging about 11 FG's. Many of Dwight's points come from 'easy buckets.' What I mean by this is, offensive rebounds, tip ins, and dunks. Tip ins and dunks alone account for 35% of Dwight's shot attempts. That's 4 FG per game alone from easy buckets. 7 FGA to 4 turnovers per game isn't very efficient. Now I rounded up, but you get the picture. When Dwight's given the ball, he can't do much with it. Usually, if you've seen Magic games I'm sure, when Howard gets the ball, he resorts to a very raw, high-school type play where he tries to run around his man to dunk it, or go for a close shot. This is where Dwight starts to feel the heat, especially when double teamed. If he gets trapped, he has trouble passing out of it. Usually means a turnover or a low percentage shot. If Dwight got the ball more last season, I think his field goal percentage wouldn't be as high as it was, and his PPG would only marginally improve. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Riot:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree it shouldn't completely be attributed to Foyle, but don't you feel that Dwight will have less pressure on him to do all the defensive work?</div> Last season with Darko, Dwight had the pressure from defense relieved a bit. What I'm interested in, though, is the fact that Foyle can guard a lot of centers well, and that will probably leave Dwight with more energy/room to work with on offense. So yeah, I agree with you here.
<div class="quote_poster">The One & Only Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">By no means am I saying that Dwight will not develop. It's a given that Dwight will come into next season with more experience, and no doubt Ewing will show him some of the ropes. However, I don't think he'll be on that level yet. A surplus of post moves don't come out nowhere in a matter of months. If Dwight is going to be the man this season, I have a hunch it'll be near the end of the season. When he's gotten used to using those moves in game. Though, I don't think he'll be able to catch up with Rashard in PPG.</div> I think what it comes down to is that Dwight is our centerpiece. We are going to run the offense through him. And Rashard is most likely going to beat Dwight in PPG; but that's because Rashard is a scorer, he's going to rack up a bunch of shots regardless of who he plays with. It doesn't really mean much. Rashard may average 22 PPG and Dwight may average 20 PPG; A measly 2 point difference, but technically Rashard is the leading scorer. I don't think it's going to be a big difference in their averages of PPG. I have a feeling it will be similar to the 2004-05 Heat (which SVG coached) when Wade averaged 2 more points than Shaquille O'Neal, but Shaq was still the Big Dog on the team, and the reason for all their success. So, to answer the original question: Rashard will lead the team in PPG, but Dwight is still the main man. I mean, who averages the most points doesn't matter anyway. We brought in Rashard to do his job and score because we want to surround Dwight with players who will help him win games for the Magic. When it all comes down to it Dwight will be the main reason why we do good this season.
