But can they play alongside each other effectively? Dwight is gonna give you minimum 35 minutes a night(his career average is 36.1), but as much as 40 in a lot of games. There's no way the Rockets will keep Asik(nor will he be willing to stick around) to play 8-13 minutes as Dwight's backup. If we're not getting at least 20-25 minutes from Omer on most nights, then he needs to be moved for a more traditional PF who can knock down the open 18-footer.
One can only hope that is truly the case here. I have concerns about his level of commitment. If, after nine years in the league, questions still exist about a player's level of commitment to winning, that's a red flag in my opinion. One thing is for certain: in Houston, Howard will have access to two guys (McHale & Hakeem) who can give him the tools to be the type of franchise center he is being paid to be. JVG on ESPN yesterday summed it up when he talked about this very fact: It's not so much about coaches and systems but rather a player taking the time to put in the work in the gym. Up until now, that hasn't been Howard. Well, he now has the opportunity to elevate his level of play IF he's willing to listen and commit himself to putting in the work. That is what I am waiting to see from him. Tweeting is easy, he now has to back up those words with actions.
That is my other concern. That plus the Zone appear to have greatly diminished the role of the big man in the post. The last three NBA titles were won by a team without an elite post player. In the series that just ended, I watched Miami pack themselves into a 2-3 zone and clog up the paint against the Spurs. Whenever Duncan had Bosh one-on-one, he'd win that battle but it was the Spurs inability to get consistent three-point shooting from Ginnobli & Green that ultimately did them in as it allowed the Heat to dictate the flow of the game. With Howard, the Rockets want to dictate the flow of the game in much the same way. Howard shouldn't face that problem in Houston given its arsenal of three point shooters so it remains to be seen just how much of the offense McHale plans to run through him and how well he'll adjust to Harden's need to have the ball in his hands at crunch time. This should be fun to watch as it develops.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MI83UXuBa5s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Is this you, Jim? :grin:
Looks like MC from 790 got a pic outside Breakfast Klub. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Rockets&src=hash">#Rockets</a> RT <a href="https://twitter.com/MC790">@MC790</a>: Dwight taking some pics with fans. <a href="http://t.co/vc75nkjzVC">pic.twitter.com/vc75nkjzVC</a></p>— Mike K (@Zepp1978) <a href="https://twitter.com/Zepp1978/statuses/354640135297564672">July 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So when/where is his official welcome? Toyota center? How many Clutchfans are going? I for one would love to see Dream, Yao, and Howard
Dwight’s game is fine, it just looks terrible I thought this article was interesting read. http://hoopspeak.com/2012/07/dwights-game-is-fine-it-just-looks-terrible/
Duncan at his old age dominated the Heat at times and I believe that Howard would do even better. There will be a ton of pick and rolls this year used primarily to get Dwight deep position. If we surround him with the proper guys, he will have a career year this year. James Harden will take a ton of pressure off of him. I love watching post play. My favorite player in the league "Al Jefferson" is the only guy in the league with plus footwork. If he didn't tear up his knee, he would no doubt in my mind, be the best center in the league by miles.
Has Dwight been cleared to lift yet? He lost a lot of muscle weight with the Lakers because of the surgery and torn labrum. I want him back to Orlando Dwight!
I do want to see Lebron fronting Dwight in the post and Harden using Dwight as a pick and driving it right down Lebron's throat.
Fair point, but I'd remind you that the Spurs were an inexplicable meltdown (Ginobili or Leonard making one more FT, or Duncan being left in the game to grab an easy rebound) from winning that series 4-2. It's not as if the Heat routinely dictated those games. I know your point is broader than that, but worth a reminder.
An actually objective article from an LA-based ESPN guy, Israel Gutierrez: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9461992/dwight-howard-image-problems-reminiscent-lebron-james Nothing new really, but good to see one of the talking heads not be an irrational Laker apologist.
So is Dwight definitely signing the contract tomorrow, or is he going to wait and do it at the press conference on Saturday?
contributed a couple of weeks back. Thanks for your reply. During the season I enjoy making rockets videos and sumbiting them on the sight, hate to make a new thread when I could just repost in my thread dedicated to just my videos.
