Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley, who shared time in the backcourt rotation with Harden and Jeremy Lin last season, already envisions Howard's immediate impact. "Everybody knows he's the premier big man in the league," Beverley said. "I'm glad [his decision] wasn't prolonged. The inside-out [dynamic] with him and James, I think, is going to be perfect. It's going to be fun. If you add Dwight, it's going to be a big boost. But no one has a crystal ball. Everything takes preparation and hard work and dedication, and that's what we're going to have to do." "I had a pretty good feeling on it," McHale said. "But you never really know until everything is done. We had a great meeting July 1. I really thought positively. We could help each other. He's just got to get out there and play." While Jackson would later say publically that he has no intention of coaching again, he would've coached the Lakers this season had it come to pass. But his hesitation at accepting (between a Saturday afternoon and Monday morning) caused Kupchak, Jim Buss and Jerry Buss to believe he wasn't gung ho about the job. In fact, Jackson mostly just needed to think about whether he was ready to come out of retirement for the coaching life again, and to ask his doctors if he could postpone a couple medical procedures. Whatever the case or cause of all the confusion, the situation became a divisive issue for Howard, who felt like his "voice wasn't being heard" or "respected," according to a source close to him. McHale and the Rockets had explained how they'd tailor their offense to highlight Howard, and D'Antoni was trying to convince him he hadn't given this other way a real chance. He hadn't, of course. The Lakers had studied his production in pick-and-roll sets in Orlando carefully -- before hiring D'Antoni -- and concluded that he had been an excellent player out of those sets with the Magic. But almost from the start, he seemed uninterested in and uninspired by the offense. It was a constant source of tension within the team during the season. His Lakers teammates complained both publicly and privately, frustrated to no end. Eventually after the All-Star break, Howard made a better effort to get on board, but he never truly embraced it. ESPN.com
All this talk about Howard playing "uninspired" ball... How about the fact he returned early from back surgery and spent much of the season in pain? Last year, when Howard asked folks to consider that he too was frustrated with his play, but it was gonna take time to recover from surgery, he was ripped for not being tough enough. Didn't Kobe even make public comments to that effect?
I think the Lakers could still be in Win now mode if they had Asik. Kobe's health would be the big road block there, not the absence of Dwight. Not that I think Omer is a good Dwight Howard replacement, but I think he's a better fit with Kobe, Pau, & Nash. He's not going to be demanding the ball, but he'll be a welcome clean up man.
I sorta agree. An Asik/Gasol front court would be nice. And with a few tweaks to the roster, they could be a team nobody wants to face in the first round, although still not contenders. Well, they have 3 days to decide if they want to do a sign/trade with Morey.
Ah, yet another (in a continuing series) of excuses for Howard although I happen to agree that he rushed back far too quickly and it showed especially in the first part of the season. At the same time, I cannot forget his quitting on the Lakers during the playoffs when the going got tough once Kobe went down. I am just not sold on Howard as the type of competitor you can depend on when everything is on the line. And make no mistake: The Rockets are not getting someone with the competitive desire and fortitude of a Shaq, or a Hakeem, or a Duncan or a Kobe or a LeBron. No, they are getting a guy who pays lip service to the concept of winning championships while his actions and demeanor say otherwise. It remains to be seen whether he can bring Houston that third NBA title. One thing is certain: Howard has made his choice. Now he has to show he was worth all the fuss. Should be a most interesting 2013-14 NBA season indeed.
No excuse offering. Just not cherry picking the facts to fit an agenda. Howard was THE corner stone in Orlando for many seasons and led the team to the finals. He did mishandle his impending departure from the team with immaturity and poor media savvy. He did come back too soon from back surgery. He did play through pain. He did not trust the coach or the Lakers front office. He did not know how to stand up to the asinine, antisocial Kobe Bryant and he did quit on the Lakers in the playoffs. The truth isn't either/or. All these things are true. And the Rockets are betting that the Howard that led Orlando to the finals is the one they will get in this particular team environment. We won't really know until the team faces adversity, though.
Next season will tell a lot about Dwight's. WCF or championship or not, how he improves his game and becomes a more dominant player that he has ever been will demonstrate his desire to truly win a championship. The hate thrown at him next year will be astronomical. The only way he can respond is by dominating and winning games. If next year isn't his best season of his career, I don't think Rocket fans can truly trust him going forward as a franchise player.
This is the classic "Be very careful what you ask for" scenario as far as the Rockets are concerned. I just don't see much that has changed in the way of maturity, desire and drive in Howard since the Orlando debacle. Here's very good article on how the pressure is now on Howard to produce what he says he wants: a championship: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20130706/dwight-howard-rockets-championship-pressure/ With move to Houston, all pressure squarely on Dwight Howard Dwight Howard finally got what he wanted, though he may wake up tomorrow morning and wonder what it is. Then he'll do something goofy and probably tweet about it. It's all in good fun. Just about everything Howard does seems to be in good fun. But from here on, Howard has to be heavy on the good and light on the fun. Howard is out of excuses. More importantly, he is out of leverage. The Rockets don't have to kiss up to him the way Orlando did for a while. They also won't tiptoe around his immaturity, like the Lakers did for one awkward season. The Rockets need him, but they don't need to please him. For the first time since Howard became a superstar, his employer holds the hammer. Howard chose his team. Now he has to show he was worth the fuss. The next time his camp leaks a story about Howard being unhappy with his coach, we'll all point at Howard and laugh. He knew Kevin McHale was the Rockets coach when he agreed to this deal. (At least, I think he did.) If Houston loses, it won't be the coach's fault, the offense's fault, or even James Harden's fault. It will be Howard's fault. You can be sure Rockets fans will turn on Howard before they turn on Harden or general manager Daryl Morey. Howard is about to discover what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and many others have learned painfully: Free agency seems like the end of a process, but it isn't. Howard can't ride off into the sunset. He has to produce. His choice was wise. Of all the teams wooing him, the Rockets are the most likely to build a champion around him. The Lakers were selling the past and future, but not the present. The Mavericks and Hawks were promising they would make more promises. This was a sensible decision by a man who hasn't made many of those in the last two years. Howard has always been part superstar and part cartoon, even before he wore a cape in the NBA slam-dunk contest. He is easy to mock but hard to truly dislike. He is like the Tom Hanks character in "Big" -- giddy that he is larger than he ever imagined, but not quite prepared to act like an adult. In an era when players try to force trades and act like free agents long before they actually are free agents, Howard seems like the worst of the breed. But he is actually a breed of his own. Other players are too calculating. Howard isn't calculating enough. He could have saved us all a lot of annoying headlines if he had a goal in mind all this time. Instead, he has spent two years on a career hamster wheel. In 2011-12, while the Magic were paying him an eight-figure salary to play basketball, he demanded a trade. Then he changed his mind and opted into his contract, saying, "I'm very loyal and I've always put loyalty above anything." Then he demanded a trade again. He ended up in Los Angeles. He was extremely happy there until practice started. Then, not so much. In Orlando, he wanted Stan Van Gundy fired but denied it. In Los Angeles, his people leaked stories about unhappiness with coach Mike D'Antoni. A player can only sound that bell so many times before fans get a headache. Howard has to get along with McHale. He has no choice. He also has to show he is a true superstar. I think he is, but there are legitimate questions. Howard's ability slipped last season. He used to be the most dominant defensive force in the league, and a man you could build an offense around -- even though his offensive game is unpolished, he was so strong and athletic he forced defenses to adjust to him, creating space for shooters. Last year, he was not the same force. He was 36th in the league in player efficiency rating -- just behind J.J. Hickson, Marc Gasol and Greg Monroe, and barely ahead of Serge Ibaka, Kevin Garnett and David Lee. Those are not max-contract players. (Garnett was, of course, but no longer is.) There were two good reason for the decline: Howard was recovering from a back injury and playing for a new team, with an offense and teammates that did not seem to suit him. He is only 27, and can be a dominant player for several more years. But he has to want to dominate. That means changing his diet so he can stay healthy. It means acting like a champion instead of a clown. And it means refining his offensive game, so he doesn't rely so much on athleticism, which will inevitably fade as he ages. It also means finally growing up. Some players want to carry a team to a championship. Kobe Bryant is like that. Kevin Durant, too. LeBron James took a while to get there, but he got there. Other players want to be carried to a championship. They have the mental makeup and personality to help others. They believe in the mission, but they don't want to lead it. Howard thinks he is the kind who wants to carry a team, but he really wants to be carried. This has been problematic for the two teams that have employed him. The Magic treated him like a cornerstone, but Howard didn't act like one. The Lakers thought they landed a superstar to go with Kobe Bryant, but this particular superstar didn't seem to want to go with Kobe Bryant. The second half of Dwight Howard's career starts now. The comedy should be over. It's time for a thriller.
Actually, I agree with you to an extent. What we've got is someone who things came to easily. He's a talented sumbich & hasn't had to "work" to get what he wanted. I think he still believes he doesn't need to "work" to win a championship, that he can win, just being him. Kinda like LeBron. Anyone who doesn't think LeBron is a better player now than when he first arrived in Miami is fooling themselves. Hopefully we don't waste a Finals appearance for Dwight to learn that.
60% is good enough. The way the Rockets are going to use Dwight is going to be extremely different than how he was used in LA. You have to commit to him for him to be a difference-maker offensively. You have to go to him early and often and run your O through him when he is in there. We will do that. When we do that consistently Dwight will either have 20 by the end of the 3rd quarter or he'll have about 15 with the opponent in deep foul trouble on their front line. If a team is going to hack-a-Dwight the whole game, him hitting 60% combined with all the fouls against and us being in the penalty with other good FT shooters...will be more than enough. We will win. The problem with hack-a-Dwight is when you don't go to Dwight the whole game, you just use him as a picker and screener and garbage man and then you get to the stretch and his defenders are not in foul trouble. The stupidness of MDA in this area and the stubbornness of Kobe was simply amazing. If that's the way you're gonna play him, might as well keep Asik and trade Dwight somewhere else. He's a horse. I fully expect Dwight, with the pressure off on where he's going to play and with the pressure off on having to do things all by himself like he had to do in Orlando, and knowing he's here for the next 3 seasons at least (and most likely for the next 5-10 seasons) to push his FT shooting up to close to 70% this coming season. No more head games, relaxed, just go up there and knock 'em down. He'll push his FT shooting above 65% close to 70%, pretty sure of it.
I hope Dwight is mature enough to know this isn't true. It's not all on him. The Rockets will win or lose as a team. But when the mediots ask him the question, he's got to take the blame. He's got to trust the Rockets to do the same, from Alexander to Patrick Beverly, they'll all take the blame and talk about moving forward, the next game, the big picture.
Surprise, surprise, a negative post from Hillboy regarding the Rockets. Make sure to bash Alexander while you're at it. Here was your post from the other day: "Why should he do that when he can sit back and have all these franchises line up to kiss his ring and stroke his ego? No, this "charade" (an excellent choice of words) will be with us for some time." Why don't you just f**king stop following the Rockets if you're going to hate on the team's best (or 2nd best) player? I seriously have no frigging idea how some people can be so stupid and waste time bashing someone on a team they supposedly support- before the person has even played one game with the team. Truly mind-boggling- actually, it's not- the web has become a wasteland of negativity and smarminess. Actually completed to be expected.
I never really wanted Dwight to begin with, but got pulled in with all the recent euphoria. I don't like the Drama he brings and his immaturity (he still is). I'm quite content with Asik tbh. However I trust Mauri and if McAwesome can turn it around for Dwight, then I would gladly admit I was wrong. I just don't want to part with Asik, just in case Dwight doesn't quite pan out.
Anyone who would rather have Asik over Dwight needs to take a long hard look at themselves when it comes to analyzing basketball players.
I hear ya, but it's all or nothing now. If McHale can't put together a twin tower offense with those two, we're better off exchanging Asik for a true stretch 4.
We all have to brace for every media outlet gunning for us to fail. That's the sad truth of it all. They will look at every loss as a failure of Dwight Howard to make a story out of it and get ratings.
his post moves remind me of kevin willis' post moves. but with dream and Mcreporterharasser teaching working with him day in and day out in the off season, howard could have an arsenal of moves by age 29. one can dream right?
