Being Dwight isn't easy

While an MVP showdown between Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose would have been nice for the fans of Orlando to see, Sunday's off day might not be such a bad thing for Howard.

After his 18th technical foul of the season netted him a one-game suspension, Howard won't be available for the 1 p.m. ET tip, but it's probably best for the superstar big man and his team that he gets an afternoon off, anyway.

Because being Dwight Howard isn't easy.

Howard has played 2,862 physically taxing minutes in 76 games this season, for an average of 37.7 minutes per game. He is 10th in the NBA in total minutes played and 12th in the league in minutes per game. Among true centers, Howard is the league leader in both categories.

Other players – Monta Ellis, Blake Griffin, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, to name a few – may have spent more time on the court, but there isn't a player in the world – not a center, not a guard, not a forward – who absorbs the punishment Howard endures night in and night out.

Put an average NBA player in Howard's shoes and he's lucky to survive the season with all of his limbs still attached, much less excel the way Howard has this season. But Howard has persevered and averaged a career-high 23.1 points per game while pulling down 14.1 rebounds a night.

There's not a way to quantify the beating Howard takes on a nightly basis, but all you have to do is watch one Magic game to get the idea. He gets scratched, punched, kicked, grabbed, smacked and worse on a nightly basis.

Every game brings new blood and new bruises for the league's top center, but not once this year has an official decided that the contact Howard takes is excessive. Howard hasn't been on the receiving end of a single flagrant foul this season, a statistic that completely baffles Howard and his coach, Stan Van Gundy.

Need tangible evidence to support the claim that Howard takes more abuse than anyone else in the league?

Howard averages 11.8 free-throw attempts per game; the next most attempts belong to Durant, Griffin and Dwyane Wade, who all average 8.6 per night.

Howard has taken 898 free throws this season – 217 more attempts than Griffin, the next-most fouled player in the NBA. And trust me, each one of Howard's trips to the foul line was well earned. Players make sure they get their money's worth when they put Howard on the line because the other option is an easy two points for the Magic.

This is not a new phenomenon for Howard. Last year, he averaged nearly 35 minutes per game and was third in the league in free-throw attempts per game. In 2008-09, he averaged nearly 36 minutes per game and led the league in free-throw attempts per game.

Howard is hurt and exhausted – understandably – and he's said he needs the rest. And the Magic need him to be at the top of his game when the playoffs start next weekend.

So while it's frustrating in the short term, maybe Sunday's suspension will be a blessing in disguise in the end.

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