It was one of the greatest comebacks in Rockets history, certainly the most memorable Rockets moment in my age, but also it was a turning point for Dwight. We already knew that he’s playing at his best in postseason, he brings it, but in this game he simply turned the corner. He lost control of himself for a while, he made some dumb decisions, people where laughing at him at the stands (I need that Ballmer GIF on him shooting free-throws ASAP), Blake attempted and made that sick 360 in the situation when he didn't need to just to clown him and his so-called ability to control the paint, McHale even buried him and his confidence with Doc’s response on hacking strategy, but he was able to respond. He was able to step on the court being down 19 and played the 3-time DPOY caliber defense on 12 minutes stretch with his back against the wall without making any kind of mistakes, he buried Blake Griffin – the most productive player in the postseason – to the ground & when his teammates saw that HE IS IN - that turned up everything, Smith, Ariza, Brewer... Terry was great on CP3 also. Team defense and effort both were unlocked & unleashed We may not win in it this year, maybe we wouldn’t win it at all with Dwight, but Howard today showed that HE SIMPLY HAS IT. He has that championship mentality inside of him. Champion is someone who gets up when he can’t Dwight did it tonight in a game that slipped out of his hands badly. That's what you wanted to see from your franchise center
If he can just improve on free throws he would be unstoppable. Took the high road when asked if it was sweeter to get this win here in LA.
He really puts his will into the game, you can really see it that said, freethrows man, gotta make things easier
Thought he was losing it in the 3rd for a Second But dude played 24 straight minutes and calmed down, good job
Time in LA was short, understands fans want to see him lose and their team win, he just cares about getting a win for his team.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VIDEO: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockets?src=hash">#Rockets</a> after leaving the court <a href="http://t.co/v1CxR5ceRt">pic.twitter.com/v1CxR5ceRt</a></p>— James Starks (@JamesStarksKPRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesStarksKPRC/status/599084081607913473">May 15, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Look at Dwight at the very end. He gets it.
Dwight shows sign of being weak mentally sometimes(stupid techs, fouls, etc).. but I am IMPRESSED by his ability to not fold completely under the pressure. DeAndre was eating his lunch at times and he still ****ing stuck with it and dominated the paint defensively in the 4th... LOVE IT
There's no quit in the guy, he came here to win and nothing else, he will elbow, smack, punch his way to a win if he has to. That's what we want to see. f those people that questioned him in the regular season for his demeanor, Dwight means business in the playoffs, always has.
I'm happy for Dwight, if we had lost that game he would have got ate up by the Media...He played Phenomenal defense, stayed composed, and silenced his critics for the time being
But if he could only shoot 60% on the FT line... Seriously couldn't believe as things were slipping away that Doc didn't go into Hacka Smoove/Howard mode full on, that struck me as odd. Would love to love D12 unconditionally, but his boned headed fouls,awful FT shooting recently, and his turnover "proneness" always make it hard for me to fully believe in or trust the guy to get it down when he is most needed. I truly thought he was going to get tossed before the 3rd qtr ended, but to his credit he settled the "stupid" part of himself down and really played exceptionally well (sans the awful FT shooting as always !!!). He, Josh and Brew were critical to that insane 4th qtr rally.
What did he do in the 4th. D, rebound, screens. He didn't once asked for a POST up. He directed his team around, calming them down. He gave it his all, and you wouldn't have known if not for that timeout due to exhaustion. You can learn a lot being blown out or losing close game. You can also learn a lot coming back from 19 down and win big. Now, you just internalized what it takes, really takes to win. I hope this is it... not just for him, but the whole team.
Mchale should just put Dwight on Griffin to start the game on Sunday or at least for stretches. I know the rationale is that he may get in foul trouble but the same risk is there trying to box out Jordan all night. Blake was competely neutralized by Dwight's defense. If the rockets can keep the Clippers' offense at bay for stretches then we win the game. L.A. hasn't really played good defense all season. So, as long as we D them up we win.
Pissed me off early with the dumb fouls/flagrant.... But played like a champion down the stretch! Always thought D12 would be huge for us - today he exceeded!
Reminds me of: Shaq, 2000, Game 7 vs Portland. Down big going into the fourth, you could see he only cared about basketball from that moment on. Before that, he always carried himself with awareness of the environment, like he has to present some face or front. That fourth Q he was completely into the game. Similar vibe from DH12 tonight. James is not there yet. The cooking theatrics, the swag... That's cool for reg season, but here in these games, we need 100% mental concentration.
I think I found the Clippers version. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oabcM9SOF-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
