What is D12 doing to improve his game this summer?

No ****ing loyalty. Dwight has had two straight amazing postseasons. Last year and this year, yet there are still people who have to question him and demand from him like a machine. I hope he doesn't read clutchfans to be honest with you, because he'll leave the team after reading this kind of ****.

He needs to stick to the community service and putting in work on the court. The city of Houston loves Dwight for all that he does, and most people, nationwide, that aren't haters like Dwight too, because they understand what a kind-hearted guy he is. Him going to Charleston so soon after the tragic event took place is indicative of what kind of guy he is.
Besides, just because he doesn't take pictures of himself at the gym, doesn't mean he isn't there. If anything, I'd rather him go to the gym and focus on what he's doing rather than take pictures to appease you and your ungrateful self.

 

His lack of improvement shows that he is not improving, and by proxy is not working on the RIGHT things that would improve his ability.

Look - doesn't matter, I am comfortable with him being a big goofy sidekick player.

He is just not a superstar one....

Oh dear god, now it is about loyalty - lol, the guy is PAID to perform, this is his JOB.....ah screw it.....not worth my time.

DD

 

Exactly. Players have CEILINGS.

What do you want? A league full of Michael Jordan's in all colors, shapes and sizes?

 

I sure hope Dwight doesn't care what fans on the Internet have to say about him and his game.

I bet he cares what Hakeem and Murphy have to say about his game, and I'm sure if he went to them and asked them to be honest with him about what part of his game he needs to improve they would both say "your free throw shooting". Forty-one percent in the playoffs isn't going to cut it.

Harden had a conversation last yr with Coach K about his assessment of his game, and what he needed to do in order to step up his game. Coach K was honest with him, and told him he needed to work on his defense if he wanted to be a champion and considered an elite player. Harden put the work in, and there's no doubt he raised that part of his game. There's still more work to do, but the point is Harden realized he had weaknesses that needed to be addressed and he LISTENED to someone that would be honest with him and help him.

So with your logic I guess Coach K is a hater. Guess what you're also CLUELESS!!

Guys who want to be a champion do whatever they can to improve their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Until Dwight steps on to the court once the season starts, and shoots free throws with the right technique he's just going through the motions with whatever he's practicing this summer and basically he's just wasting his time.

 

Ok, Shaq and Dwight are similar in that they are both children in a giant's body, and everything has come easy to them, therefore ostensibly not necessitating them to work hard to get ahead in their life. Where they differ however, is in that Shaq was a monster offensive player with very nice footwork and soft hands. Dwight is more athletic in the "track and field" sense, which allows him to be more agile defensively and on the boards. Shaq's offensive dominance was way more dominant than Dwight's defense and rebounding, since O'neill wasn't a slouch in those areas.

In any case, and to be more on point, I hope Dwight spends every waking minute of his life working on free throws, as if he were to become somewhat competent in that single facet, he would become one of the all time greats. However, history indicates this won't happen, either because of his seemingly lackadaisical nature or because he doesn't have the natural skill to shoot a basketball.

 

Dwight played like a superstar in the playoffs.

Also, we heard guys like Doc Rivers say that he's back to DPOY caliber Dwight. That means he did improve back to his BEAST self after the injuries.

 

My argument is that HE DOES practice freethrows (this is well documented), and that he will likely not become any better at it as history tells us. History tells us, players with a decade of experience, are who they are at that point of their careers and that they no longer have time on their side to overcome what's been repetitive every day (shooting the ball). That's what I meant by years. It is easier to correct a shooting form early in a career, than 10 years later. In a perfect world, sure everyone is capable, but in the real world it doesn't really happen like that and you can handpick players all you want (J Kidd) but those are exceptions and they don't really bode well with big men unfortunately. My problem is people think because we see him taking pictures of him enjoying his vacation, (which probably is a tiny fraction of his day), that he doesn't work hard or doesn't want to improve his freethrow shooting when there have been articles about his putting the time in practice.

 

Can it just be possible that Dwight will never be able to shoot a decent percentage from the FT no matter how much he works on it?

I'm sure he has worked on his free throws more than we give him credit for but their are some things people just won't be good at and for Dwight its free throw shooting.

 

Needs to work on his forward head posture..that's the key, period.

 

And I think it is wrong to assume the former of your last sentence. It is very possible that he is doing everything he knows possible.

 

Yes, that is indeed YOUR problem.



DD

 

You are absolutely right, I totally did not write that as I intended.

My intention was to say "hopefully, unlike (ostensibly) in the past, Dwight spends every waking minute working on free throws and therefore becomes great at it. However, it seems like he puts in the time, but apparently lacks the skills, to be a competent shooter."

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

That is such bull sh#t. Man, dobro, I thought you were too smart to buy that propaganda. His form isn't even good enough to do that well in practice If it is true, why is he so d*mn mentally weak? We can blab about every little aspect about the Rockets all we want, but if that lazy b@stard makes 75% of his free throws in the game consistently, it's all moot - we win the championship easy.

TRUE STORY - I am not very athletic. I have never played organized basketball with a coach. I really suck at basketball. I hardly ever play basketball - I mean like once every couple of years. I take my nieces down to the local basketball court. I shoot 18 free throws - and guess what? I shoot a better % than Dwight Howard. WTF?!?!?!?! This guy has been around basketball practically his entire life! He can afford any g*d d*mn shooting coach he wants. This guy's free throw shooting is an embarrassment, and he should be shamed into fixing it.

To me, Dwight Howard is the hardest player I've ever had to root for on any professional team. I don't respect the guy. I don't respect the guy if he is too lazy to fix his free throws. I don't respect him if he is too mentally weak to translate his amazing free throw abilities to an actual freakin' game. THE GUY IS GETTING PAID $20+ MILLION A YEAR!!!!!!! Have some GD pride!!!!! Fix your stupid free throws!!!!!

 

We are lucky to have Dwight....in all areas he is better than DJ.

 

I wish Dwight would spend the off-season learning to shoot free throws granny-style.

 

I think the point many (including me) are trying to make is that maybe (just maybe), Dwight is not good at shooting free throws despite him trying his best to get better at it. It's analogous to a dyslexic person trying to get better at reading. Maybe Dwight is just basketball dyslexic...

 

Dwight was very good in the playoffs - esp. defensively. Leaving the free throw craziness aside, it does bother me that Golden State can go small & Dwight can do nothing on offense to make them pay for it. He can't post up that undersized power forward Draymond Green. Yes, Green is a great defensive player - he's making $17M a year. STILL - you are DWIGHT FREAKING HOWARD. You are paid $20+M a year. Our beloved Hakeem called you an MVP candidate b/c of your "improved" post moves. Score when you have a 6'7 punk on you. Just do it. Earn your money!!!!

 

Regarding free throws, the Rockets situation was magnified with also having Dorsey and Smith with terrible free throw %. So it was near impossible to have DH, Dorsey and Smith all off the court at crunch times.
Now with Smith and Dorsey gone, it's less of a problem.
Virtually every player has a weakness and yeah sure I'd like Howard to improve his FT%, I'd rather take the strengths he brings to the team over FT%.

 

See this is total BS, just because he doesn't post flashy workout videos doesn't mean he isn't committed. He is the fittest looking guy in the league and he always talks about how much he wants it.