Better peak defender: Mutombo vs Howard
Posted: Mon May 6, 2024 2:56 am
Which of these centers had a better defensive peak?
Sports is our Business
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/
https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=2376611
70sFan wrote:I think Mutombo is on the short list of top tier defenders ever at his peak and Howard is not on that level.
tsherkin wrote:Is there anything behind that? Howard had the Magic as -6.4, -4.3 and -5.3 defenses at his peak, and that was on teams with like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson and so forth. Not like he was surrounded by premium defensive additions. In Denver, Mutombo had one -4.0 team. In Atlanta, he had the 99 Hawks at -5.1 in the shortened season. Philly was -4.1 in 01 and 02. The 03 Nets were -5.5, though he was with Kidd and Martin and only a 21 mpg player for like a quarter of the season.
A rude, 20,000-foot examination to be sure, but as a starting point, yes? What makes you look at Mutombo's defense as so much greater than Howard's, particularly when he was noticeably less mobile?
70sFan wrote:I think we underrate Orlando's overall defense when we apply all the success for Howard.
Why do I think Mutombo was better? He's at worst top 5 rim protector ever, while being significantly more mobile than people give him credit for. Howard was more mobile, but he was also noticeably shorter and less intimidating inside. Deke wasn't Ben Wallace on switches, but people couldn't take advantage of his mobility at all, especially in his 1990s years. Mutombo also remained the quality contributor on defensive end till the end of his career, something you can't really tell about Howard (outside one Lakers year).