[CBS Sports] Howard no lock for Lakers; interested in Rockets

Good question because Dwight's people have indicated that the "system" a team offers is very important to him. He wants to go to a system which allows him to succeed.

With regard to the system Houston will be selling Howard...

OFFENSE

1) Run (Fast Pace) - Howard as the leading rebounder, will often outlet to trigger the fast break. Can finish the fast break as the trailer. Will get plenty of rest with Asik backing up.

2) Half court - will get touches in the post, if double tean is drawn, kick it to corner shooters (Parsons and co.) or Lin and Harden for a drive. Lots of PnRs with Lin and Harden (look for the lob pass).

3) Chances for offensive rebounds and put backs off of our plentiful three point attempts

DEFENSE

1) Twin Towers with Asik represent an intimidating inside presence. Beverley and Lin (and Harden when he wants) can pressure the outside shooting.

2) Twin Towers will hoover the defensive boards.

3) D-Mo and Jones could play stretch 4s with Howard anchoring the center.

OTHER

1) Young team, relatively healthy.

2) Time to bond and grow with the team. All seem like good locker room guys.

3) Time to develop a post game from the greats: McHale and Olajuwon

4) Very professionally run organization which brings out player's full potential using advanced metrics and the latest in sports science.

 

touches were apart of it but what I heard from ESPN LA was he also didn't like the pace of how they played also

 

this is the only thing that worries let say he don't want to run up and down would that mean he would cross Houston off his list or you think they can sway him into playing this style

 

McHale adjusts his system to the players, not the other way around. We had a completely different offense with Scola, Lowry and Dragic than we did this year.

 

I don't think pace would deter Dwight from Houston.

He's not exactly the slowest Center in the game or out of shape.

We fast break when we can and Dwight will more often than not be the one with the outlet pass.

He will also have motivation to get down the court to finish the fast break. Remember he has great hands and can finish spectacularly.

 

other than thar Houston is gonna be raw if Howard comes to the H !

 

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Don't understand what you are trying to say with that statement.

I think Houston has the best talent and system for Dwight, especially if McHAle incorporates some post plays or more offense through the post which we all know he's been dying to do.

Show me another team whose system and supporting cast are better for Dwight.

 

I said raw like Houston is gonna be a beast with Howard that's what I meant lol

 

You had to have realised when he gave the same starting lineup as last year and said "can go all the way" that he was trolling, old ****ty lineup will still be an old ****ty lineup.

 

raw? to mean beast. Forgive me, I haven't heard that colloquialism before.

Are you sure you don't mean ROAR like a lion?

 

Nup, just ruin the advantage big market teams like LA and NY have.

The NBA will be a more competitive league. That's the point of the cap.

Biased refereeing is another matter altogether.

 

Antwaan Jamison signed with the Lakers last year for $854,389 and, ironically, that's about as much as he deserved last year. These guys are just going to have to take less to play on the Lakers. Also, Metta World Peace will probably opt out of his $7.7 mil so he can sign a smaller and longer deal with the Lakers. Not sure if it's a good idea, but it gets the Lakers past next years hump. He's been talking about this a lot on the Time Warner interviews

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ce-opt-los-angeles-lakers-145259206--nba.html

If Howard and CP3 want to win like they keep saying they do, maybe they need to walk the walk and take less money to make this work. I don't think the Clippers will pick up option on Willie Green even though he played well whenever VDN actually let him play. Pierce will get paid by Celtics on the buyout so he can afford to play for almost nothing in order to move back to his house in LA for the NBA season. Oh, we'd also be dumping Caron Butler's contract along with DeAndre to a mystery team to be named later. Maybe Celtics take them all so they can have Bledsoe along with the package. Korver and Reddick are sort of pipe dreams on my part, but I've always wanted one of those guys, or the red mamba Matt Bonner, on the Clippers.

 

Ruining big market teams ruins the league though. Isn't the NBA always a lot sweeter when the Lakers are on top? Oh wait, wrong board...haha. The NBA refs are just going to have to be a lot more creative.

On an off topic note, just saw Hangover 3. It was pretty funny...I mean really stupid, but at least not a complete replica of the original movie like Hangover 2.

 

Metta ain't opting out of ****.

 

Yep, he would get $8m anywhere else.

An option for the Lakers is to trade Gasol.

Amnesty MWP.

 

Pace is exactly what Mike D'Antoni wants and Dwight Howard doesn't want on the Lakers. Dwight Howard's best value is his presence on defense. This means he will be anchoring the defense and will not be rolling out on fast breaks. Instead, he will be the last one down and not be in the play on the other end if his team chooses to push the pace. If Howard would just accept his role as the defensive anchor and not worry about offense because the Lakers have Kobe, Pau, Nash, etc...D'Antoni's system would work. Problem is, Howard knows that chicks dig the long ball and doesn't want to just focus on the defensive end like Ben Wallace or something.

The only offense Howard has flourished in, ironically, is Stan Van Gundy's and he sold him out to the chopping blocks. If you surround Howard with shooters and set up a half court offense with him down low and a bunch of shooters around, then he will be happy. Teams will have to give up open 3 pointers if they send any double teams his way. Rockets do have shooters so they can sell him on that idea, but it, in turn will convert Harden into nothing but a spot up shooter when Howard is in the game.

The Lakers actually tried a lot of different options with Howard this year, but the problem is, once he gets doubled, he doesn't have the post moves to score. And I was a bit surprised at how bad his hands were fumbling a lot of passes away. I don't know where people get that Howard is a good pick and roll guy. He had Steve Nash on his team and was never able to get open on the pick and roll this year...when Steve Nash was actually healthy that is. Gasol was much better off the pick and roll with Nash actually. The best play they had was with Gasol rolling out of a pick and roll and dumping Dwight ally-oop passes when the opponent 5 commits on him.

 

Lol. Dwight hasn't even left the Lakers yet and this guy is preemptively butt-hurt already.

 

Metta World Peace would be a complete moron if he opted out of a gauranteed $7.7 mil, but he's mentally instable so I think he will do anything to stay on the Lakers. Remember when he snuck into the Lakers locker room and approached Kobe in the shower to tell him he will do whatever it takes to get on the Lakers?

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/Ron-Artest-and-Kobe-Bryant-In-The-Shower.html

Artest has the yellow fever big time and is a regular at all the Asian Clubs and in Koreatown. Maybe that was his angle all along, but he still loves being on the Lakers and doesn't want to be amnestied.

 

Not just the excessive but hurt, but the unrealistic arrogance and belief that the Lakers can just put a bandage on a gun shot wound to the chest and everything will be great. The Lakers are circling the drain, they are lotto bound next year. Their best player may leave that cesspool as a free agent, and the rest of the team is old and broken down. It isn't getting better, and this nonsense about a bunch of good players signing for the minimum is a joke. If they sign anywhere it would be Miami.

The Lakers ownership structure sucks, their head coach sucks and their line up should be sent to the Elmer's glue factory.

They need to face it, their situation sucks with or without Howard and his proclamation to Cupcake to "do something about that."