What is D12 doing to improve his game this summer?

I don't buy that at all. Just re-read that. How ridiculous does that read?

Growing up, I heard people all over mystified at why they bombed a test. They "knew" the stuff. I will say something unpopular, but I don't buy that either. I experienced the same situation a few times myself. I thought I understood the material at one point and then did really bad on the test. When I looked back at it though, I really hadn't prepared enough. More times than not, you have to over-prepare to achieve success on stuff like challenging exams. Dwight needs to be practicing free throws so much, he is making 11 out of 10. He has to. If Dwight had any pride, he would be so embarrassed, he would go out of his way to prove he was working on his free throws that hard.

 

You do know Dwight hits like 80% of his free throws in practice right? And what proof do you have that Dwight isn't working on his game this summer? What proof do you have that Steph is? Lebron? Melo? Harden? CP3? That would be none, none proof. Not everyone takes pics of themselves at the gym, but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

And where did I talk about Coach K and him being a hater? I think Coach K and Team USA was massive for Harden and just about anyone that was on that team last summer. I very well know that Dwight has a major flaw in his game, I never said to ignore it. I said don't question his work ethic, because you really have no reason to do so. He's earned our trust, but we being disloyal fans won't give it to him. And btw, you need to not be so aggressive in responding to others, pretty annoying.

 

I tend to disagree. The main thing he can improve on is his position when he shoots his hook. With that being said he has to want to.

 

So you think you can be elite good at anything you set your mind to? That's great for you. I know I'm not good at certain things, regardless how much I practice, but I guess I don't have $20 million reasons to get better at them.

Regardless, do you have proof that Dwight doesn't practice his free throws as much as humanly possible and that my hypothesis, which is just that, is "ridiculous"?

 

How does shooting 80% in practice (which I totally do not believe anyway) help the Rockets? Maybe he could try to think a little harder about it? Invest in sports psychology. Recreate the game atmosphere or rougher when he practices free throws. He has basically unlimited resources at his disposal. I guarantee he could fix his free throw issue if he wanted it enough.

 

And another thing, you guys always badger Harden, Howard, Jones, DMo, TMac abouut not having the right work ethic. That's bull****. Do you know how hard you have to work to even get in the NBA? Much less become a star?

While you attack Howard for not "wanting a championship enough", I suggest you reflect on yourself. How many of you have the work ethic to own a Fortune 500 company? I mea, that's practically how hard it is to be an NBA champion, probably harder. You guys say it as if it's easy to push yourself THAT hard, when the large majority of you can't even be half as motivated as they are to succeed.

The fact that they're in the NBA and playing at All-star like levels, puts them in the top .05% of basketball players in the world, but you act as if they're just 2k players. JUST ADD TO THE FREE THROW ATTRIBUTE!!!

 

It is a freaking free throw. I will state for the record that 95% of the healthy population (probably more) could shoot free throws at an 80% clip given the resources available to Howard.

I do have proof. He shoots like 45-55% on free throws.

 

What is he supposed to think about? "Maybe if I bonce the ball once, then roll it around my body then shoot, I'll make it" Do you even listen to yourself? I agree that if he really wanted it he could do it, but I don't think you appreciate how hard he had to work to even get to a point where his main flaw is FTs. Self motivation, will power, all that is finite. Dwight has used a lot of it to be a top 3 Center in the NBA for as long as he has. I'd step back and appreciate that and then understand that he probably is working at it. That's really the annoying part. You guys assuming he isn't working at it. Ridiculous.

 

I agree about what you're saying about Harden & most of the others. They are skilled players. But what you're forgetting about is how small the pool of people who are 6'10 and above is. If you factor in mobility let alone athleticism, the pool gets even smaller. Where's the competition? You really think Kelvin Cato worked his a$$ off to get into the NBA? That's a flaw of basketball - the fact that it rewards height as such a virtue.

 

We don't know anything regarding this topic; it's all conjecture. Your "proof" is not empirical evidence of how much he practices his free throws, it's just straw-man logic. We all know the percentage he shoots in games, but that is not the argument.

Anyway, his free throw percentage is all the proof you need. I see that you view the world in black and white. I don't, so, moving on...

 

Dude stop talking. You think hitting 80% is so easy on a FT that anyone could do it given the resources? Howard doesn't just have to worry about FTs. He has to worry about his conditioning and his strenght, because at his age he has to worry about it. He has to worry about being a more dominant post player because he knows and understand that can allow him to play at a high level for a few more seasons. FTs are on the list, but they are not all he has to worry about.

And btw, only 2 centers in the NBA shot above 80% from the line last season. Brook Lopez and Roy Hibbert. I'd personally rather have Dwight. So you think its so easy for everyone, but apparently even the best basketball players in the world cannot do what you claim "a healthy population" could do.

 

You are saying that is physically impossible for Dwight Howard to shoot free throws at a respectable clip? I rest my case.

 

My friend has Myles Turner on his snapchat. I don't know Myles apart from seeing at the gym a couple of times and saying Hi. He's a nice guy. After the season at UT was over, he basically withdrew from the university to focus on working out for the draft. Every day on his story, he was working out for multiple hours. Getting workouts with teams and doing a hella lot to up his draft stock. Then I have to listen to your baseless accusation that people above 6'10" don't have to work for it? You're clearly deluded.

And for the record, there are a lot of people above 6''10" that play basketball. And still just a small number make it to the NBA.

 

Lol you prove his point that you see everything in black and white. Where did he once say that or imply that?

 

The only time Dwight has to shoot the ball is at the free throw line...rarely does he look for a perimeter shot. Want Dwight to improve shooting...make him shoot from all over the court in practice, and make him confident in his jumper. Once a player believes in his jumpshot, the FT improves a lot. He has zero confidence in wanting to shoot.

Blake Griffin became a better FT shooter once he expanded his range as a jump shooter.

Karl Malone became a better Ft shooter once he expanded his range as a jump shooter.

The only way to fix the FT shot, make him shoot the ball from everywhere...doesnt matter if he misses a ton, just keep working on a jumpshot form. Eventually it translates into better mechanics at the line.

 

I'm not saying that is necessarily the case Oakdogg, or that I even believe that. All I'm saying is that it's a possibility. I mean, you can tell Dwight works on his body, so he spends some time on his craft. At least verbally he talks about being elite, and during his younger days, he seemed to be better at it, when his body was not breaking down as much as now. There are other tall and athletic men who never get to the level Dwight has gotten to. You can make the case that it's all natural talents, or that he has worked harder than other men with similar body type.

So perhaps, just perhaps, it's not that he is a lazy goofball that spends all his time banging chicks and reading comic books. Perhaps he is just not good at it, he wasn't born to shoot a basketball, and as his physical attributes begin to deteriorate, the worse it gets.

 

Dwight has a completely stiff jumpshot form that can only be addressed by totally reconstructing it. It's really difficult for someone who is already past 30 to try to relearn his release instincts, heck it's even hard for someone like MKG to relearn his form in his mid-20's.

Dwight's main problem with his shot is that he uses way too much wrist to flick the ball at the basket. A shooting motion should go upward and use the legs arm and elbow more, but Dwight basically flicks the ball forward with his wrist. Anytime you shoot like that, you will be better at practice than in game, because there is a tiny margin for error and you will be able to get a rhythm and hit it in practice when you are fully rested.

This might give Dwight a false sense of confidence in his form if he does truly hit "80%" in practice, because its based on constantly shooting free throws consecutively, which does not mirror in game conditions.

To really have a good free throw shot, he should go through a rigorous practice and intersperse 2 free throw shots at random intervals. That is his true percentage, which based on his form I would imagine is not all that great.

Anyways, this issue is really the least of our worries overall, and as long as playoff Dwight keeps showing up, we should be fine in the long run.

 

We won't lose a title because Dwight can't hit his free throws. But I agree with that. He doesn't move his lower body at all during a free thrown. His elbows are like 90 degree angles and it's all in the "flicka da wrist". Harden should help him out haha.

 

Pride

It takes great courage to set a trend. Not long ago, over the ear headphones and large facial beards were out of style. But now, there in.

If Dwight was serious, he could start a whole new trend of big men who can make free throws in the clutch. It's a learned skill.

My hats off to Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku, who earlier this summer made the clutch shots for Team USA under 19 when it counted, and he calmly did it underhanded.

A career 46% shooter at the line making shots.

If I had one video to show Dwight that I could hope would set a trend it's this one:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...s-inner-rick-barry-with-underhand-free-throws

 

Lol... he was not even close to Hakeem when he was in Orlando averaging 23 and 16 boards