National Basketball Association

Can Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard be the best PF/C combo in the league?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

It’s safe to say that the Atlanta Hawks’ best two players are Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap. Can make the case that they’ll have the best power forward/center duo in the league this season?

When the Atlanta Hawks added Dwight Howard this past summer, they knew what type of player he was. They knew he was physical, efficient around the rim, good post defender, great at grabbing boards, and still very athletic for his age. Atlanta also knows from personal experience, the capabilities of Paul Millsap, and how versatile he is for a power forward. Millsap does it all, from shooting 3’s to posting up. Atlanta realize’s both Howard and Millsap’s value, but what the Hawks organization didn’t realize, was that they may have created a two-headed monster between the two.

Last season Howard and Millsap averaged a combined 30.8 points, and 20.8 rebounds. Yes, last season Al Horford and Millsap averaged 32.4 points, and 16.3 rebounds, but any NBA analysts would pick the combination of Howard and Millsap. This is a better combination because of the significant increase in rebounding. This is what makes Millsap and Howard a deadly force coming into the season.

Horford is a good player, but when you have two big men that like to shoot, the margin for error is slim. Sure, it creates more floor spacing, but it’s a waste if the offense can’t execute. The Atlanta Hawks were 18th in offensive efficiency last season, so the floor spacing didn’t exactly work as planned.

Millsap and Horford were too much alike as players, and when things weren’t falling, the Hawks struggled to score easy baskets, and clean up mistakes.

Now, Atlanta has two big men with contrasting styles that’ll compliment each other. One is physical and athletic, the other one is a good defender and can shoot. Also, they both have playoff experience, and are seasoned vets in the NBA.

The only way we can properly examine whether or not the Dwight Howard/Paul Millsap duo has the possibility of being the best PF/C combo in the league, is to compare it to other elite PF/C combo’s in the league.

Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan

There is no doubt that Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are the most explosive PF/C duo in the league. Athletically, no other duo can compete with those two. Griffin and Jordan averaged a combined 34.1 points and 22.2 rebounds. These are monstrous numbers, but would these two average the same numbers in a system where ball movement is their key to success? Atlanta ranked second in assists per game last season, the Clippers ranked 11th. If Millsap forced up more shots, he could probably average more points than he does currently, but as we all know, that’s not in Coach Budenholzer’s DNA. When Dwight played for the Rockets last year, he only averaged 8.5 shot attempts. This is a low number for someone who can grab anything you throw at the rim. Howard was second in the league in field goal percentage last year shooting 62 percent. DeAndre Jordan was ranked first with 70%. This season, Dwight Howard won’t be playing with a guy that averages almost 20 field goal attempts (cough, James Harden). What puts Griffin and Jordan ahead of Millsap and Howard is age. They have more upside. They can get better next season. On the defensive end, it’s pretty even. Millsap is a way better defensive player than Griffin, and Jordan beats Howard defensively.

Lamarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol

In the offseason, the Spurs picked up Pau Gasol in place of Tim Duncan. They couldn’t have picked anyone better to fit in their system. Together, Pau Gasol and Lamarcus Aldridge averaged 34.5 points, and 19.5 rebounds. Again, they scored more than than the duo of Howard and Millsap, but averaged less rebounds. I know, they only averaged .5 less rebounds. This may not be a huge deal now, but considering Gasol’s 36 years old, his rebound numbers may decrease big time this season. Defensively, Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard are a little more threatening, offensively, LA and Gasol have the advantage. Both LA and Gasol have a better defensive efficiency ranking than Dwight, but that could change with Howard being in a defensive based system. Also, Dwight still has the athleticism and rim protecting prowess to scare players away from driving to the hole. Unlike Blake and DeAndre, Gasol and LA are getting up there in age (specifically Gasol), and their numbers could go down.

Currently, these are the three duos that are expected to be on the top of the list of elite power forward/center combos. There are other duos that could possibly take a leap forward, and be in the conversation next season. Derrick Favors and Greg Monroe, Robin Lopez and Nikola Mirotic, and even Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingas have a chance to be considered some of the top PF/C combos in the league, but they have to prove it.

It’s not all about stats, its about how much these duos do for their team, how they mesh, what type of system are they in, and how efficient they are. Anything could happen this season, egos could get in the way, injuries will happen, and players will either underachieve or overachieve. When people name off elite combos, they usually favor one component over the other, so picking the most elite duo is somewhat a personal opinion. I guess we’ll just have to see, the 2015-2016 NBA season starts next week.

All Stats obtained from BasketballReference.com and NBA.com