one good dunk doesn't make up for his horrible offense he displayed the entire game, no, the entire season. his D is also not what it used to be and Capela is much more solid rim protector at this point.
He's not elite, but if he's 18ppg 13 rebs in todays nba, whats wrong with that? I think the problem with him and houston is why run high pnr for a guy with 8ft range? I mean Shaq wasnt at tok setting picks. He should just move from blk to blk maybe dive into the dots, thats it. He should get cross picks to pin defenders and such. Somehow, they expect him to be hakeem on the blks.
injuries have taken away his power to a degree, but people don't bring that up. he was never going to be Orlando Dwight anyway
people say his defence isn't as good as it use to be......well he can't guard 5 players, which he seems to have to do because his team mates let them in the paint far too often
Centers without a jumper generally have a shorter productive career.. Saying that I'm thankful that he chose us instead of any other team in free agency.. He even chose us over money (another 20 million) and brought us to the wcf - that was one hell of a run and the most excited I've been as a Rockets fan in the last fifteen years Sigh.. Like others here I agree that he still can be a very important piece on our roster.. But at what cost...
Your eyeball test is right. If Howard qualified he'd be 2ND in the NBA in FG%. He is doing what he's supposed to do, just focusing on efficient shots and less of the ineffective post-ups. Dwight is still elite at rebounding, efficient shots, elite/near elite defense and shot blocking. He doesnt have durability anymore to bang around in the post. Cuz of that he doesnt draw foul shots and calls (the actual main benefit of his ugly postup game). Thats why he's not elite anymore. There still are very few options better than Dwight, unless its wanting to go back to the Omer Asik approach. Or of course promote within with Clint Capela
idk what "elite" means any more, esp. when talking about centers these days. offensively he was never very skilled. and now he's over his peak and is starting to decline. i said this a number of times, but it's actually kinda obvious. we can still use him effectively, tho. but is his 22mil (?) player option gonna give the team headaches?
hmmmm....wrong era eh!? Dwight isn't a max player anymore but he can "bring it" still in spurts and that's the enigma especially come playoff time
I'd do that deal, though not in a heartbeat. If people think Dwight's post game is ineffective, then goodness Cousins will provide the SAME viewing pains. Cousins is not a good 2 point shooter from the post or anywhere. His offensive saving grace now is he's added the 3 point shot. Cousins is better at free throws than Dwight, younger and a little more durable, better shooting touch (without the makes). Other than that, Cousins is equally turnover prone, foul prone, lesser on defense, and questionable locker room presence. I'm not a Cousins fan, but I can give him slack because of being in the Kings crappy franchise. A change of scene would do him some good
There is a big difference between a player averageing 28 points, and 14 points. Howard's offensive game is no where near DMC's. You shouldn't be comparing Cousins efficiency and turnover rate to Howard's, but rather to Hardens. Cousins is a elite offensive player and with the role of being a teams #1 offensive option comes lower efficiency and higher turnovers regardless of position. I'll take arround 25 ppg on 45-50%, 12 boards, 3 assist, 1stl, 1 blk with 3 turnovers any day. That being said, I see no way in hell we would ever get Cousins. Unless we're trading Harden, we're not getting Cousins. He is a very special talent and he will not be thrown away for trash.
You could have started a post 1 or 2 years ago.... He is still a special player on Defense. He is not a dominant player any more on most nights.
He's not elite and he never will be again. He's missed a ton of games the last few years and will probably never play 70+ games again. The big question is whether Morey has the balls to do the right thing and pass on a contract for Dwight if he ops out after the season.
im not ready to give up on him but things dont look good. teams slow start to the season effected everyone, no one was immune to it. thornton was shooting lights out, then he joined the brick bros. dwight being eased into the season cuz of hsi back didnt help at all. now he's trying to get back into rhythm and game shape. i cant say for certain "rhythm" is significant but there are lots of slow starters in the league and dwight has been one of them with the rockets. it sucks but we gotta wait for these old geysers and brick bros to get theri sht together. capella def should be seeing more time
But Dwight made those clutch freethrows vs PHI Spoiler Besides the 2014 Playoffs, Howard hasn't been elite since ORL.
i wouldn't have problems with Dwight if he's not getting paid 22 freakin' million a year. i knew this would be a bad contract from the get go, because every player who depends too much on his athleticism to perform declines relatively faster than other more skillful players. remember Hakeem peaked in his early 30s? Nash and Karl Malone winning MVPs well into their mid-30s? Dwight is still too young to lose his mojo to this degree, but that's what usually happens to overly-athletic, yet unskillful players. Steve Francis' game also waned significantly in his late 20s. For a guy who put up 23-14 in his prime, Dwight should still be recording at least 18-12 at this stage of his career. but it seems like he's another case of premature decliner. Morey should've known better.
