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"Howard Sucks"

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by SupermanSK, Feb 20, 2014.

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  1. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    What a team full of goofballs.

    Now that they can blowout a crappy team when it's personal, they can use that experience consistently
     
  2. Zergling

    Zergling Member

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    He's living up to the joke today. HOWARD SUCKS!
     
  3. clutz

    clutz Member

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    Yeah, he let it go to his head.
     
  4. Nanisteru

    Nanisteru Rookie

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    Yup. He definitely sucked tonight. Asik was doing better than him.
     
  5. PeterKingX

    PeterKingX Member

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    Howard really sulks tonight。。。。no kidding.
     
  6. Snow Villiers

    Snow Villiers Member

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    He sure does.
     
  7. Captain Hook

    Captain Hook Member

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    When Zaza Pachilia blew past him for a layup, I was done with him. He can't run, has no lift, doesn't get back on defense. He is a shell of himself. I hope he doesn't come back.
     
  8. Snow Villiers

    Snow Villiers Member

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    Yep. Teletovic also took to him last night also.
     
  9. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Much better chemistry on that team.

    DD
     
  10. rocketsballin

    rocketsballin Member

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    i highly doubt he is this bad. its a combo of him not giving a **** and the team doing him dirty. its a guarantee w/e team he's on next, assuming he does give a ****, dwight is gonna beast. same numbers as his first year in houston. maybe better, depending on how many scorers his new team has. i believe he has another two-three years in him of being a 2nd option. it all comes down to if he wants to be that guy again.
     
  11. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    WAY better chemistry on that team. Agree completely.
     
  12. Rx1991

    Rx1991 Member

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    honestly the problem isnt howard , its harden. Howard just doesnt care anymore and ready to leave and i dont blame him. he was the reason we made far into the playoffs last year. Harden disappears in the playoffs
     
  13. SF3isBack!!

    SF3isBack!! Member

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    He's been this bad all season. He had good games here and there overall though he's been pretty bad defensively and offensively.
     
  14. SF3isBack!!

    SF3isBack!! Member

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    This is a clear troll.
     
  15. HillBoy

    HillBoy Contributing Member

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    SB Nation article on Howard: http://nr.news-republic.com/Web/ArticleWeb.aspx?regionid=1&articleid=61867925

    Dwight Howard must realize that his days as a top offensive player are long gone

    SB NATION
    FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2016 6:29 PM GMT

    Many of Dwight Howard's offensive skills never developed. Now that his physical tools are not enough, he's struggling to make an impact on that end.

    The Rockets are in the middle of a three-team race for the last two playoff spots in the West, so they couldn't afford to lose against the lowly Suns on Thursday if they wanted to keep pace with the Mavericks and Jazz. They started off well, dropping 39 points in the first quarter, but were outscored in the remaining three periods, including a 35-25 drubbing in the final frame that cost them the game.

    Houston simply couldn't keep up on offense with Phoenix, despite 30 points and seven assists from James Harden. The biggest reason why is because their second star, Dwight Howard, only contributed 10 points in 30 minutes on the court and only pitched in one bucket in the crucial fourth quarter.

    That type of performance is no longer surprising. Howard simply isn't a dominant offensive player anymore.

    Howard's days as a featured post option are over

    Howard is averaging his fewest points and field goal attempts per minute since his rookie year, and his free throw attempts are the least since his sophomore season. The percentage of unassisted buckets he's scored this season is even lower than it was with Mike D'Antoni's Lakers. Howard is having one of his most efficient shooting seasons in that reduced role and still defends at a high level, but the Rockets thought they were getting a superstar when they signed him, not a role player.

    What happened to the bully who controlled the paint on both ends? He's lost some of his power and athleticism and can't adjust.

    Despite the popular narrative that suggests otherwise, Dwight still gets his touches on the block -- the most in the NBA, in fact, according to SportVU tracking stats. However, he's not efficient in such situations anymore because he turns the ball over at an obscene rate and can't hit free throws when fouled. Of the 40 players who averaged more than four post touches a game, Howard ranks 18th in points per touch. That's decent, but hardly elite. Too many of his post possessions don't end in points.

    There are a lot of good defensive centers who can score as pick and roll dive men or after offensive rebounds, and Dwight is one of them. What made him a potent and unique offensive player, though, was that he could also score with his back to the basket, even if his move weren't pretty. He's still average in that setting and a decent finisher in general, but he's no longer good enough offensively for a team to build its attack around him.

    The skills he never developed are finally coming back to haunt him

    Many of the big men who excel on offense nowadays have a jump shot. Howard was never going to develop one and that was fine. He was so powerful inside that he simply never needed that weapon to dominate. There were other skills, however, that he could have improved on to remain relevant after some of his strength and athleticism waned.

    His free-throw shooting is what first come to mind, and for good reason. Howard is actually having the worst year of his career from the free throw line. No one expected him to become a 70-percent shooter, but 49 percent is just unacceptable. That number has been trending down in his time in Houston, and if it continues to go in that trajectory, it could make him unplayable unless the league changes the rules regarding intentional fouling.

    Yet his struggles from the line are not the only area in which Howard's growth stagnated. His passing is a huge problem that he never addressed. Howard never averaged three assists per 100 possessions -- this season alone, 19 big men have done that, six of which have used a lower percentage of possessions that he does.

    When he can't score, Howard doesn't make much of an impact on offense. That's a problem now that his post game is not as deadly and his free-throw stroke has deteriorated. As the league moves into a direction in which every player has to be able to do a little bit of everything, Dwight seems stuck in the past.

    Howard needs to find the right place -- and the right mindset -- to bounce back

    It seems likely that Howard will leave Houston in free agency this summer. He was almost traded before the deadline, and the rumors about his rift with James Harden are not going away. The Rockets have disappointed, so it makes sense for him to find a new team if the idea is to contend for a title. Luckily for him, he will become a free agent during a summer in which many franchises will have cap space to sign him.

    But Howard must decide what kind of role he needs to play to succeed as he continues to age. He can embrace a reduced role and take less than maximum money to join a stacked team looking for a defensive anchor. If that happens, he could be a huge asset for a winner.

    The other option is trying to recapture the old magic by finding a coach that still considers him a franchise player and is willing to accommodate the entire offense to suit his strengths, as Stan Van Gundy did in Orlando. He may find that more tempting, but if this season is any indication, the Dwight Howard that could dominate on both ends is gone and probably won't ever return.

    The sooner Howard accepts that, the easier the transition to the new stage of his career will be.
     
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  16. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Contributing Member
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    as opposed to unclear trolls whose writing is difficult to understand. ;)
     
  17. ROXTXIA

    ROXTXIA Contributing Member

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    I think you must have started watching the Rockets' 2015 playoff run at about Game 5 against Golden State.
     
  18. SF3isBack!!

    SF3isBack!! Member

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    Some people are really good at disguising their trollship, lol. Sometimes you're not sure if trolling, joking, or just really stupid. That guy is clearly either 1 or 3. haha
     
  19. SF3isBack!!

    SF3isBack!! Member

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    This article deserves its own thread.
     
  20. TheRealist137

    TheRealist137 Member

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    What a difference 24 months makes. We were all laughing at LA Lakers fans when they were chanting that before, now we are chanting it ourselves.
     

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