Like many others, i was thrilled to know Dwight would be tutored, by not only McHale, but also Dream. Initially, it seemed like he was picking up different moves and trying to incorporate them into his game. It was rough to see, but i figured he'd work the wrinkles out over the season. Fast forward to the playoffs and i'm shocked to see very little improvement in his post game. We can all agree there's only one Dream and his moves are nearly impossible to replicate. However, there are things Dwight isn't picking up on that should have been fixed over the course of a season. Why is this? Either Dwight's not learning, Dream isn't teaching thoroughly, or something is mechanically wrong with Dwight. In this following example, Dwight goes wide on his spin move. As a result, he gives Lopez the extra time he needs to meet Dwight at the rim and stuff his shot. Dwight does this A LOT. Earlier in the season he was actually stepping out of bounds because of it. Now, he's just starting higher to have more room, but he's still going wide. Dream teaches this move very specifically, as you can see at the start of this video, when he tutored Kobe: <object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/UDCR9oU320Y?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/UDCR9oU320Y?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Dream's initial spin takes him from his starting position to being one step behind (or ahead i guess) the defender. Dwight? He reaches back with his foot, just to be able to push off and pivot, and yet still takes a wider path to the rim (blue line). I think the majority of us mere mortals can tell the difference and correct this pretty quickly. I'm not saying we can execute it at NBA standards of speed and agility, but just simply pick up on the logic behind it and make the more efficient move. Why hasn't Dwight been able to? If the Rockets really want to get their money's worth, Dream should be actively monitoring Dwight's play during games and giving him feedback on these little things. This shouldn't be happening at the end the season and certainly not when the "real" season starts. Dwight's not incapable of learning this. If the issue is lack of physical mobility and/or stability, then the training staff has some work to do.
I honestly wonder that at this point. He's 28, by all reports he has been working on his free throw shooting and post game since he came into the league and I have no reason to doubt that. I just don't think he will improve given his historical performance and age.
Free throws are a mental issue, so I guess one could argue he can't "get" certain things in the post, either, but I don't think anyone would describe him as dumb. He can pick up defensive positioning, after all. That's why I tend to lean towards the other possibilities, a mix of a physical issue and Dream's influence not being as constant as it needs to be. You could tell Lopez was getting under Dwight's skin late in the game. Dwight was taking shots at him after plays, which probably led to Dwight missing free throws. That's where Dream would really come in handy. i would love to see him on the bench helping Dwight adjust his mindset as the game goes on, at least during the playoffs.
Dwight is just not that "skilled". Like I expressed in game thread the other night when Shaq was expressing Dwight should consistently average 28 and 15 like he did. Shaq had a similar game to Dwight but Shaq had more "skill". Dwight sometimes looks downright clumsy in the post because of lack of skill and footwork. Dwight's athleticism has been a blessing and a curse at the same time because I believe he was able to get by so much on his athleticism earlier in his career that he didn't dedicate more time to developing more skill in his overall game. I truly don't believe Dwight's games will age well because he just doesn't have that much skill. He's still athletic enough to be effective and to still be a big asset to a team, but people need to stop expecting him to all of a sudden be a big time scoring machine down low that can be consistently counted on.
Dwight is in the league for 10 years, any great improvement in his post game is not about if Dream is teaching, it's really just dreaming. Dwight's greatest weapon is strength and athleticism, but NBA changed the rules because of Shaq, so Dwight has to rely more on skills, which he never had the talent.
There is a reason Dream was unique and it was more about natural gifts than skill. I'm not saying he was not skilled but he would have been Brad Dougherty without his freakish agility and coordination. Teaching Dwight to play like Dream would be like Dwight teaching Dream to have a 40 inch vertical. It just isn't possible.
Dwight is who he his. This is year nine. Let's stop the wishful hoping and thinking that Dwight is gonna improve or become something he's not. "Oh, he's gonna get to work with Kevin McHale! And Hakeem Olajuwon! And maybe Yao can teach him FT shooting!" Stop it. The sooner you and Shaq and everyone else stop the wishful/hopeful thinking, the better. And I'll probably get blasted but whatever. This. Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I'm certain Hakeem works hard and is a good guy. But $100,000 to teach a God given move? Sure, and I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/387186852220133376">October 7, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The USA beat Nigeria 156-73 that day but Hakeem wants to teach Melo post moves for $50,000. As for his fellow countrymen who can't play....</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/363293670063087616">August 2, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The one thing Amare has is offense. He doesn't need to spend $50,000 for one week to work on something he is an expert at.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/363294615513731073">August 2, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>And neither does Carmelo. It's all one big publicity stunt. For the team, player but mostly Hakeem.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/363294827980398592">August 2, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I can't take it anymore. RT<a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi">@ArashMarkazi</a>: Dwight says he wants to learn from Hakeem.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/354449326052876288">July 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>"Hakeem, can you teach me your God given ability," said fill-in-the-blank NBA with too much money and time on their hands.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/354450938091671552">July 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>All these NBA big men would be better off going to Gianluigi Buffon's goalie camp. They can learn footwork as well as the Italian anthem.</p>— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisolaNYDN/statuses/354457386989273088">July 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Dwight should still be able to score in that situation. The move wasn't the issue. And I think he's doing a lot better than I thought, certainly I see improvement. I think people just expect the world in one day. Maybe my expectations were different, but I thought this year was a WIP year and it's next year we'd see more improvement from DH. But I am actually impressed at how much he has improved. I am puzzled by the constant criticism of his game, but then again, I was not a fan of signing him a year ago. I felt he could not improve at all.. He's definitely improving. So I actually am in the pro-Howard camp now.
Actually Hakeem was pretty raw early on. He could run, jump, dunk, rebound and block, but the polish didnt come till later on. The battles he had early in his career in the summertimes against Moses really helped accelerate his development. Dwights problem is he has no touch. He has no feel for the ball. There is no reason he should be missing 3 to 4 ft bunnies. He also is standing way too upright in his post moves and has trouble pinning guys behind him. He needs to practice a jump hook all summer long.
I get he's not skilled like other guys. You guys keep missing the point. I don't expect the fluidity and speed on the move that guys like Dream and Kobe show, i just expect him to get the mechanics down. If you grabbed a random guy at the local court, and went over that move time after time, stressing the importance of the initial movement, you don't think he'd get it eventually, regardless of his level of athleticism or basketball talent? He may not score off of it and even look awkward, but i bet he spins correctly. Dwight's either forgetting how to do it or can't get stable enough to spin correctly, and therefore needs to step back first. (i know a defender may push him and cause instability, but this happens way too often for that to be the issue). It's like teaching someone how to dance and showing him 5 steps and they keep taking 7 or 8. Forget their rhythm or whether it looks good, getting the steps down are just a matter of knowing where to move your feet. Even a poor dancer should get the steps right, they just wouldn't look rhythmic because they aren't skilled enough to pull it off.
I don't think it's an age thing. Kobe was older when he went to Hakeem and he was much better in the post afterwards. You just have to have a certain level of handles, agility, and touch to pull off most of the moves. That's the reason why most people say Hakeem's moves are actually meant for wing players. Someone like Blake Griffin would benefit a great deal from working with Olajuwon.
Dream is wasting his time with Dwight. Dream should be working with TJones. Jones has the natural ability to learn some of those moves.
I don't think he's dumb. I can't really diagnose from here whether it is mental/physical/lack of tutoring or some combination thereof. I just have no hope that he will improve significantly from where he's at.
Dwight shouldn't be learning from dream, he should be learning from McHale. The only guys with the coordination and finesse to be worth Dream's time are Blake Griffin, KD, and possibly Anthony Davis & LMA.
+1 Jones already has a good post game, he can use Dream to become elite post game. Dwight needs someone knows him and find a post game that fits him, not just simply learn something from a legend with a natural talent.
I'm pretty sure Dream and McHale work with all our bigs. They also don't have very much time during the season and particularly the postseason to do one on one.
We really should be investing in a young defensive big. When I see Blake Griffin out there or DeAndre Jordan, then watch Dwight, it ain't even close. It ain't second nature to him; his moves are so mechanical. It should be instinctual, like a Harden stepback. Then there's the mental toughness issues that unfortunately our two stars share--confidence and poise. Hopefully Dwight would be willing to play TJones' kind of game--defense, rebounds, putbacks. Add the pnr.