Kevin McHale is one of the best low post players of all time. He was not blessed with the freak athleticism of his player Dwight Howard. As a coach, he has not been as successful, and his recent statement in praise of the enemy has sparked a debate on who is the best Center in the NBA.

The Bulls grounded the Rockets in an embarrassing loss just when the latter team was surging for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. McHale had to compliment his adversary. About Joakim Noah, from ESPN Chicago: "He's played very well. He should be defensive player of the year. He's done a great job with these guys. They've been winning a lot just on his energy and effort, his kind of determination and toughness. Those are all qualities everybody appreciates.

He's just more confident in what he's doing. He's making plays with the pass. He's driving and kicking. When he was coming out, I thought he'd be a pick-pop-and-drive playmaking 4. He's doing more of that now."

ESPN's Bradford Doolittle had an in-depth comparison between Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah:

In terms of scoring: "Howard is by far the more efficient scorer, with a true shooting percentage (.595) that is easily the best among centers with above-average usage rates. Noah (.538) has a level of shooting efficiency more typical of a high-volume center like Jefferson. The respective turnover rates of the centers are virtually identical and are high for the position."

In terms of team defense: "Subjectively, Noah is a more versatile defender who gives the Bulls the option of switching the pick-and-roll against even many of the top opposing perimeter players. The Bulls have actually been one point better per 100 possessions with Noah off the floor, while the Rockets have been one point better with Howard playing. Neither figure means much in a one-season sample, and Noah is hampered by the court time he shares with Carlos Boozer. In the end, you have to consider what the players contribute to, and the Bulls have one of the league's best defenses."

In terms of individual defense: "Both players are the defensive backbones for their teams, so more consideration needs to be given to team defense than on-ball indicators. Both are good on the ball. The stout Howard is, as you'd expect, better against post-ups, while the more agile Noah has the edge against isolations and the pick-and roll."

Bottom line: "Though Howard has three more years of NBA experience than Noah, it's the latter who is actually the older player. So it's safe to say that even now, if an NBA expansion team could pick any center regardless of cap considerations and such, it would almost certainly take Howard. However, in this instance, we're trying to decide the first-team All-NBA winner for this season. It's awfully close. The deciding factor for me is that Noah has a bottom-line edge in WARP, his edge has been gradually growing, and he has compiled his numbers with a weaker supporting cast than Howard has in Houston."

Howard is still the most gifted big man in terms of talent, but he has been projected as a whiner. He has more experience than Noah even though the latter is older, but it does not reflect on the court. Howard still has his goofy personality from high school which is what many critics blame for his inability to maximize his physical gifts. Howard and LeBron James are the most gifted athletes the NBA has, and look how far James is from Dwight.

In contrast, Noah has shown the intensity and discipline that held over from the two championship seasons he had with Florida before making the jump. He has made the most of whatever skills he has. With the tutelage of Coach Thibodeau and the fact that he has been in Chicago his entire career allowed him to be the best player he can be, and at this time, that player is better than Dwight Howard.