I apologize if this has been brought up elsewhere, please kill this if it's somewhere else, I just haven't seen it. Ok so, after having watched the preseason games, and watching Howard's play in the low post, something concerns me, and I hope that someone will help him out, I mean McHale and Hakeem both there, they should get this corrected soon, don't you think? What I am talking about is Howard's drop-step spin to the right down near the basket. He seems to always do this, and it just never works. Maybe he was deliberately trying to work on it in preseason, I don't know. But every time,I mean what seems like EVERY time, as he turns, he holds the ball right out in front of him, waist high, and every time the ball gets slapped out of his hands. Every time. He needs to either keep it up high like Yao finally learned how to do, or he needs to spread his base wider and keep the ball lower, so that when he make the move up after the spin, he will be more likely to get hacked on the arms instead of making it so easy for the defenders to just swat down and knock it free. Has anyone else noticed this happening? I am not saying he sucks or anything, just that it seems like it is happening a lot more than it should. Has this move been in his arsenal in the past? It would actually be good news if it is a new move for him, and he has been working at it a lot in preseason, but I have not watched him enough prior to this year to know if it was there like that before or not.
This is the reason he led all centers in turnovers per game last year. He always getting that ball stripped. Keeps it way too low. It doesnt help that hes an undersized center either. Mchale and Dream will work with him
If you're expecting Orlando Dwight dominance, then you will be disappointed. I would be satisfied with Lakers Dwight.
Laker fans have been saying the same thing all last season. I don't think the issue is that he keeps the ball too low. He turns towards the defense too much. It's ok to hold the ball low and away if your defender is on the opposite hip. Dwight probably turns right regardless of where his defender is out of habit. If you are going to do a move out of habit, it should be something near unblockable, like DMo's right-handed hookshot. (full hook, not a baby hook)
Dwight is left hand dominant in the post, it appears to me. He needs to vary it up a bit. A little too predictable.
You are right, that is something I noticed as well. He also tried several mid range bank shots and I don`t think he made even one. I would think, these are the things he has worked on this preseason because he wants to add them to his repertoire - but they are clearly not working yet.
I've heard Dwight himself say that he is 6'9". As for Dwight's less than pretty post up game, I'm not too concerned. I think part of that was the team wanting him to give Hakeem's post up moves a try in the preseason. I don't think they'll force feed him as much in the regular season or playoffs.
What's the exact difference other than 1 less shot attempt and 2 fewer rebounds? You're either forgetting Dwight was hurt last year, or you think he'll never be healthy again. There wasn't much difference between ORL Dwight vs LAL to begin with.
1. Dwight won't be playing against Duncan and Marc Gasol every night. Those are two of the best defensive bigs in the league. 2. Even for Duncan and Gasol, it is a risky proposition to swipe down on Dwight. For every turnover they create, they'll get a foul called the next time. I'll take that trade off. 3. Against lesser opponents, without the respect of the refs, you will see all those swipes be called as fouls. For instance, against the Pelicans, Dwight went to the line 10 times. If Dwight starts consistently getting stripped by the Greg Stiemsmas and Kousta Koufuses of the world, then I'll be worried. Otherwise, he'll be fine.
The issue is not just the guy who's guarding him, but also help defense. Like other posters say, he's moves are too predictable and with pretty much no counter moves. And he doesn't have the touch of some of the more classic post players such as Yao. His only hope of becoming a dominant post player is to be able to get a few go-to moves down like second nature. But I am not holding my breath. I think the posting up Howard experiment will be scratched after a couple of months and the coaches will convince Dwight to stick with PnR which is his greatest strength on offense. I can understand why Howard wants to be a post player. For a big guy who doesn't shoot jump shots, the only play that gives him total control is the low post game. PnR is nice but there's no guarantee he will get the ball in any given play. It is controlled by the guard.
Dear LORD... must we really discuss these things? Imagine if we opened a thread for EVERY ONE of DREAM's moves... "WTF?!?!? Why are you opening up a thread for every one of DREAM's moves? THEY ARE TOO MANY!" :grin:
The only players we should be worried about are the Tim Duncans and the Marc Gasols. We are competing for a championship, not a great record. With Howard being the number one or number two reason why we are hovering contention status, it could become an issue. With that being said, we have probably the best big-man staff on the planet to work with Dwight and he will be dominate in so many ways this year.
Well then like I said: if Duncan and Gasol want to keep swiping and get those 2 or 3 turnovers a game, while being in foul trouble all game themselves, I'll take that trade off. Eventually later in the game, when they have a couple of fouls on them, they will have to stop reaching and play straight up D. Harden actually uses this exact move, except on his drives instead of post ups, where he reaches his arms out and invites the defender to swipe. It's how he draws the majority of his fouls, just like Dwight. Dwight may lead centers in turnovers, but he also leads the league in free throw attempts. Those two come hand in hand.
They will not get too many fouls on Dwight unintentionally. The times they will actually foul Dwight is to avoid an easy basket or to put him on the line to stop the clock and get possession of the ball. I don't know if Howard "inviting" his opponent to foul him is optimal. I mean, you're talking a 50% free throw shooter. Better to NOT draw the foul and just go for the buckets where his points per possessions are higher. Sure it may get the lesser Centers in foul trouble, but Marc/Duncan will be better than that. Harden on the other hand, wants the foul to be called where his points per possession is higher. He is also capable of getting an and 1 while doing so. Harden also has one of the strongest hands in the league and invites players to swipe the ball knowing that they will not knock it lose. All in all, Dwight and Harden fit each other better than any duo in the league today and they compliment each other so much (not saying they are the best duo, just that they fit each other better).
not always about height. have to consider his strength, reach, wingspan, jumping ability. He can outjump out muscle out reach 90% of big men
That's something else to watch for: Dwight's freethrow percentage. Dwight has been in the league for close to 10 years and for the vast majority of that he has been a 60% FT shooter, which is a big difference from the past 2 seasons. It is clearly mental, and his impending FA status weighed the most on this aspect of his game. I don't expect him to return to his career %s his first year in Houston, but still an uptick from 50%. I think next year is when you will see him fully settled and at peace with his place on the team and in the city, and return to a 60% foul shooter. But even at his current %s, I would still take the lower PPP as a trade off to getting the opposing team's best bigmen into foul trouble. It opens the lanes for our guards to penetrate and disrupts their entire defensive scheme.
