Head to Head: The Most Underrated Star?

Over the last four years, Dwight Howard has become one of the most hated players in the NBA. His ugly exit from the Orlando Magic upset many people, as did his decision to leave the Los Angeles Lakers after just one season with the team. Howard has been criticized, mocked and booed, and that’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

However, with so much vitriol being directed at Howard these days, it seems that people have started to underrate him as a player. Say what you want about Howard’s personality or loyalty, but there’s no questioning that he makes a huge impact when he’s on the court.

This postseason, his contributions have been huge for the Rockets. He’s averaging 17.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 1.5 steals, while shooting 60 percent from the field through Houston’s eight playoff games.

And while last year’s first-round loss to the Portland Trail Blazers was brutal for the Rockets, don’t forget that Howard carried Houston during that series by averaging 26 points, 13.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, while shooting 54.7 percent from the field.

Back when Howard was dominating in Orlando, he was often referred to as by far the best center in the NBA. Now, especially with his recent injuries, he’s sometimes left out of that conversation altogether. It seems that has more to do with fans disliking Howard and writing off his success than it does with his recent production, since he continues to leave his mark on games.

Not to mention, Howard’s offensive abilities have been underrated for years. Some people continue to say that Howard can only dunk the ball, but he has developed an array of post moves and can be very effective around the basket. A player doesn’t average 26 points in a playoff series without offensive skills.

When Houston played well with Howard out of the lineup earlier this season, it gave critics even more ammunition to say that the big man wasn’t important to the team’s success. But anyone who has watched this postseason sees that Howard is still incredibly talented. He swats away shots – like when he had five blocks in 17 minutes in Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks – and scares opposing players away from the paint. He can still put up jaw-dropping rebounding numbers, such as his 26-rebound performance in the first round. And he can still put the ball in the basket, scoring 28 points in Game 2 against Dallas and finishing with 22 and 24 points in the first two games against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Howard’s injuries and changes of scenery have caused many basketball fans to turn on him and overlook him, but he remains a dominant force down low. He’s an integral part of a very good Rockets team, contributing significantly on both ends of the floor.

– Alex Kennedy

The most underrated star in the NBA is ironically one of the biggest game changers in the NBA playoffs. Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley, Jr. has been on the outskirts of All-Star discussions throughout his career. He is overshadowed by other young guards with mega marketing deals, such as Derrick Rose, John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Damian Lilllard. It doesn’t help that league MVP Stephen Curry is at the same position as well.

Conley’s impact has flown under the radar (he averaged 15.8 points, 5.4 assists and three rebounds in the regular season), but there is no denying the difference he makes after returning from facial surgery in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors. He scored 22 points (8-12 from the field), including nine in the first five minutes of the game, to spark the Grizzlies in a critical win to tie the series.

Conley will become a focal point of this series and is the driving force behind the Grizzlies’ efforts to upset the top-ranked Warriors. He may have finished a distant 10th among Western Conference guards in All-Star voting, but he is making a case for why he’s the most underrated of the group during this postseason.

– Jessica Camerato

Every so often, we are asked to give an opinion on which star or player in the NBA is either overrated or underrated.

For me, answering the question inevitably begins with putting some sort of context around what it means to be a star. If the question were asking about a superstar, I would probably go with Chris Bosh, who I am on the record as having a very high opinion of.

So, what’s the difference? For me, it’s simple. A superstar is someone who I think can be the best player on a championship contending team and a star is someone who I think can, at best, be the second-best player on a championship contender.

As it relates to Bosh, I think the entire league and its spectators have learned to appreciate the versatility of his skill set and the way he impacts the game. He spent four years being hidden by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and ended this past season on the shelf. Consider this an honorable mention for him, since I rarely let an opportunity go by in the conversation of “underrated” players without extolling his virtues.

But back to DeRozan. I rate his skill set highly enough to think that if he were playing with someone like James, Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant, that their team would be a contender. DeRozan has steadily improved over the course of his still young career and at just 25 years old, he hasn’t reached his physical peak yet. That’s scary.

He earned his first All-Star berth last season and was integral in the Toronto Raptors winning back-to-back Atlantic Division titles after winning 48 and 49 games over the past two seasons, respectively. In each of those seasons, he has shown a propensity to hit big shots and has steadily improved his all-around game. That’s partially indicated by the numbers he has put up the past two years, as he has been in the neighborhood of 20 points, four rebounds and four assists per game.

To me, another important part of being “underrated” is being underpaid, relatively to your peers and teammates. If anything, it’s a two-way street. Stephen Curry is grossly underpaid relative to his value, but I don’t think anyone can make the case that the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player is underrated, because, aside from winning the award, he is talked about all the time.

So, you need to go largely unnoticed and be underpaid to get my vote here, and DeRozan fits the bill. He isn’t often mentioned as being among the better shooting guards in the Eastern Conference, despite the competition being relatively weak. In terms of his compensation, DeRozan is earning just $10.1 million next season and he seems to have overplayed that.

Not capable of leading a contender on his own, DeRozan is both never talked about and producing at a very high level. He gets the nod from me over guys like Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic and Eric Bledsoe of the Phoenix Suns—neither of whom have delivered wins like DeRozan.

 – Moke Hamilton