Howard's PER the last 3 seasons:
03-04: 15.78
04-05: 15.80
05-06: 19.37
06-07: 23.05

Here's what Hollinger wrote:
Howard's PER jump hasn't been as large as some of the others, but making moves in the 20s is much more impressive than the same leap in the teens. The Mavs' second banana has looked more and more like leading man material of late, especially when he led a Dirk-less Mavs team to a tough road win in Denver last week.

The key for Howard has been increasing his scoring load while simultaneously improving his accuracy. Most players' percentages suffer when their shot attempts rise, but Howard is taking nearly two more field-goal attempts a game than last season while raising his shooting mark from 47.1 to 48.5 percent. He's also become a 3-point threat, knocking down 43.3 percent on nearly four attempts a game, and his 83.3 percent mark from the line is easily a career best.

Howard's improvement is even more impressive when one considers he made a similar-sized performance leap a year earlier. He's no spring chicken either at 26, making his continued development an ongoing surprise -- not to mention a steal for the Mavs, who plucked him with the final pick of the first round of the 2003 draft.

What a great pick by Dallas.