There are a few topics of discussion that may have a material impact on the success of this team. How to integrate Asik and find him minutes? Harden's improved defense? Will Lin become a more effective player in a new role? But by FAR, and I mean by orders of magnitude, the biggest development that will determine how far this team goes is which Dwight Howard are we getting? The general consensus has been, we may never see the Orlando Howard again, but even a 'Lesser Howard' is still the best center in basketball and well worth it. That is perfectly fine, but what if the premise was wrong to begin with? What if the Orlando Howard isn't lost forever? What if we even get a 90% version of that? That is a possibility or even reality that is not getting nearly enough attention. Judging from some of the comments I have read here, regarding Howard's post game and just his overall game in general, it is clear that many of you have only seen him play a few times, or mostly against the Rockets(where he looked bad against Yao). And do not fully realize what Dwight Howard playing at close to his peak truly portends. To put it simply: The Dwight Howard that we thought/think we got is arguably as good or better than James Harden. The fully healthy Dwight Howard of Orlando is as good or better than LEBRON JAMES. In the last couple of preseason games we saw him rounding into shape. In his first game as a Rocket I saw him healthier and move better than all of last year. Which one he eventually ends up closer to this season will literally determine everything for this team. That is the most important question for this season, and for the future of the franchise.
That's where you lost me, I'm not saying he's bad or anything, he's not in Lebron's league. Dwight would first need to take his offense to another level to be compared to Lebron. Lebron can beat you on both sides of the court and when he's feeling his Jumper the Heat are going to win that game. I honestly think when he's making his jump shot they can't lose that current game, game 7 last year was an example, game 6 against the celtics in 2012 where he had 40 in the playoffs is another. Until Dwight consistently can change the game on both sides of the court, he's not on Lebron's level, I don't care how many rebounds the man grabs.
As far as the center position goes, I believe a HEALTHY Dwight is at that LeBron-esque level defensively. He affects the game in so many ways defensively that it just elevates the whole team defensively. Offensively he's no slouch either. Of course he isn't the power house LeBron is but that's why we have Harden so he can carry much of the offensive load and let Dwight focus on rebounding, blocking and setting the tone defensively. He will get his points regardless. People seem to easily forget just how good he was in 2009.
I don't know if he can be called as good as Lebron James, but he can have just as big an impact based solely on the position he plays. If he gets all the way healthy and just a bit better on offense, he is in the conversation with Lebron as to who's impact is bigger.
I am not saying he is better, but he has had seasons where it's been arguable. Point is, a healthy Dwight is in that stratosphere: Lebron, Durant, Paul, and then there is everyone else. I find that defense is not only hard to quantify by the stat guys, it is hard to visualize by the eyeball guys too. It is easy to see how Lebron is impacting the game when he makes a shot, or creates an open layup for his teammate. It is much harder to visualize the impact of Dwight when he steps on to the court, and opponents simply refuse to venture into the paint anymore. You can't visualize that because it hasn't even happened yet. Dwight changes the future when he is in the game.
Yeah, a healthy and motivated Dwight is the second best player in the world. But if I'm building a team I'm taking Lebron 10 times out of 10. BUT we have to wait and see if offensive coaching by Olajuwon and McHale translates into real games. We'll talk if he starts averaging 25+ PPG.
If he just adds a 12 footer bank shot and a stronger post game, Dwight can be the best player in the game. Defensively he's without a doubt the best in the NBA but his offense is still very raw for a guy that played so long in the league.
I may be misunderstanding what you're saying, but Lebron is nowhere near as impactful on defense as Dwight. I do agree that I wouldn't put a 100% healthy Dwight at or above Lebron, but to OP's point, a couple years ago it was very close.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bchoxvG-Ong just 2 years removed from this performance. That baby hook from the left block is unstoppable. I hope he goes to it more. CXBBY is right, Dwight is pretty much the Lebron of the post... think abt it, they r the same size, both are 6'9 give or take a fraction of an inch.
He made that move to good effect a couple of times last night. That should be his go to move. For that to happen we need less Harden ISO and get the ball to Dwight early in the shot clock before the double team arrives because once the double team arrives, he seems lost and it results in a TO
Even if he is perfectly healthy, I really don't expect we will have Dwight of Orlando, at least not this year. 1. It takes time to develop on-court chemistry with his new teammates on defensive rotations. 2. Different defensive systems. 3. Different coaching staffs. The difference between Magic Dwight and Lakers Dwight is about 6 games for 30 min/game based on 82 games. Somewhere in between is what we should expect. Another expectation is Harden will have lower impact this season. 1. Rockets' set offense is predicated on penetrations. It becomes easier for opposition to defend without Lin on the court. This will nullify any projected improvement for Harden. 2. Without Lin, lower pace = Less fastbreaks = less easy points. 3. With two centers whose range is within a few feet of the rim, defense can focus on Harden more. Regarding to #2, we saw this first hand yesterday where Cats had more fastbreak points than us. Bobcats gave up offensive rebounds to stop us from fastbeaks. This could easily become the official scouting report on the Rockets.
I was at the game yesterday, and for the most part it was sloppy. Too many turnovers, bad/stagnant offense. But what was obvious was how much of an impact Dwight had on the floor. Don't get me wrong, I love Asik and I think that he is a great (maybe even elite) defender and rebounder. But he does not have the same sort of impact on opposing players or the opposing offense as Dwight did. His offensive game still looked a little bit clumsy at times. If he wasn't getting a dunk, then he would usually try a spin move or a baby hook, neither of which looked very natural. He stepped out of bounds twice. Is he as good as Lebron James? No...but when healthy and when motivated I think it could be possible to make an argument for him compared to Lebron. Even with his flaws.
The only thing that might get him close to LeBrons level is his opposition. The overall quality of centers in this league is pretty poor in this day and age. Asik is perhaps 1 top 5 center in the league, yet he has basically no offensive game and would`ve gotten killed in this league 20 years ago. The next best centers are Gasol and Hibbert and both aren`t really star level players. So Dwight can be in a league of his own and dominate both sides of the floor. But he still is no where near as special as LeBron is. Still, he could be a top3 player in the league - so could Harden. It´s a good time to be a Rockets fan.
I am currently in a debate on another thread about this. But Chris Paul is no where near the same league as the aforementioned. Dwight says he is an 8 out of 10 right now. The Rockets are a championship squad. I have seen enough this preseason/first game to say nobody in the West is beating the Rockets in 7. Stats are one thing, but Dwight opens up the court so much when he is posting up. Once chemistry is obtained etc, this team will start destroying teams on a nightly basis.
I wouldn't say he is as good as LeBron James. However, he is arguably the only other player in the league that can come close to his two-way impact. I remember when LeBron and Howard met in the 09 ECF's. Howard was just as impactful as LeBron.
Dwight doesn't seem to have the hops he had in Orlando. He still jumps very high, but not as high as he used to. Wasn't there a mention that his legs lost like 30% of explosiveness or something during a preseason game? And how the trainers are working on getting it back? And Dwight is looking very good. He needs to pass out more when he's getting doubled though
true...but... he did TIE his career high for rebounds in his first game with the rockets with 26. In the FIRST GAME of the year. That IS something to get excited about--he's already 'matched' his Orlando days career high. Now lets see if can do that on a consistent basis (geez, I'll take just 20 a game :grin: ) and I think we have the makings (Return to ) of a legit top 5 player and Orlando Dwight in houston!
