2014 NBA Top 20: #11 Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard

Now, if anyone were to carefully observe Howard’s outing against the Pelicans in the Rockets first pre-season game, one would certainly notice minute improvements and modifications in Howard’s post-up game. Matched up against the lanky Anthony Davis, Howard had a very productive game finishing with 19 points. He displayed a far more aggressive approach, emulating some of the Dream’s greatest post-moves, like the catch-and spin, the reverse-pivot and drop-steps, the jump-hook, the baseline drive and reverse lay-ups. Hakeem’s influence was apparent and while many Rocket fans would be rejoicing at the same, one still needs to understand that Howard is still a liability from the charity stripe and most teams in the league would be more than happy to let him earn everything from the free-throw line. Can Houston risk moving away from the run-and-gun catch-and-shoot Harden-centered offense to please their newest max player?

Add to that the possibility that Asik and Dwight may end up playing together, the paint will be too crowded and thus with almost no space inside, it may suffocate the penetration and limit the likes of Harden and Lin solely to the perimeter. Do you wish to take away the dribble penetration away from Harden, who is quite easily amongst the best in the game at getting to the rim and finishing against contact?

Yes, there is obviously the possibility of McHale and co. finding a way to gel Howard into the system. But, logically that wouldn’t be centered on making him the fulcrum or the pivot of the offense. So, in the first few outings we have seen McHale experimenting with Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones as a possible stretch-four and to open up the paint for Howard and the likes of Harden and Lin. Where does that leave Asik? The Rockets basically have two of the best rebounding big-men in the game, and if one were to compare performance stats per 36 minutes, Asik stands out with the better rebounding numbers. Yes, Howard is a much bigger force on the defensive end with his shot-blocking and rim-protection, but Asik is no meek a defender and would start for most NBA teams.

It may have been simpler if Dwight were a major scoring option down-low, but that is so not the case. Howard may want to believe that his time under McHale and Olajuwon will catapult him in the same legion as the Dream or the legendary Boston Forward, but the 9-year veteran has still a long way to go. As Kevin McHale aptly stated, “Dwight is not going to turn into Hakeem or McHale, he’s going to turn into Dwight Howard. Everybody does things differently. He needs to incorporate that into his game and do what he’s comfortable doing and what we work with him on. He can definitely improve. I think one of the biggest things from last year to this year is he’s healthy again so he has really got to work hard on staying healthy, staying flexible, making sure his back stays as good as it can possibly be he had surgery on it and I really thought that hindered him last year.”

McHale and Olajuwon will for sure do their best to get the maximum out of Howard. But, if one were to be realistic about Howard’s expectations, it is but natural to assume that he has a very tough battle ahead. He has a lot to prove before he can be seen as the alpha guy in the Rockets team over James Harden. Yes, Harden isn’t going to push him like maybe Kobe did, but he for sure would want Howard to earn his respect on the court. That mental toughness will be warranted that Howard has always shied away, the grit and the desire to win that makes champions of prodigies.

The Rockets roster has definitely seen a major upgrade with many pundits almost giving them a legitimate chance of winning the West and at minimum getting to the Conference semi-finals. All eyes will be on Howard, and it will be a hugely skeptical and critical one. It may not be the same prying eyes of Los Angeles, but one needs to remember that Houston is the fourth largest city in the US, and by no means a small town market.

The expectations haven’t been this high ever since Olajuwon led the Rockets to their two titles in the 90′s. The onus is on Howard to step up and actually deliver for once.