Honestly he looks a lot like last year's Dwight on offense, but it's still early and we're still figuring out how best to use him. His rebounding and defensive intensity has picked up. Except for checking out briefly last night, which I blame more on the back-to-back in high-altitude Utah than I do on any chemistry problem.
I find it funny that we are 3 games in and people are acting like the sky is falling because we ALMOST lost to the JAZZ on a back to back and Howard does not look exactly like 2009 Howard in 3 games on a new team after a year of injury. We won all three games btw. And before you throw out disclaimers like "the teams are soft" ask the Clippers who lost to the Lakers and the Heat who lost to the Sixers about how easy it is to lose to "soft" teams. We are learning on the fly here and we are winning while doing it, that is the best case scenario for any team. To simplify it even more we have RICH MANS PROBLEMS and I will take those anyday of the week. It is rare for a player in the NBA to start stronger than they finish in a single season, unless they get injured. That being said if this is what we look like at our weakest, with the projection that we will get much better as the season progresses I am a happy man. Thanks for coming to Houston Dwight!! Keep smiling big fella!
that is exactly the reason why I would advocate for a PF that is helping him in production..... a 13-14 points and 6-7 rebound guy with 2 blocks Because it is unlikely he is averaging 23 points and 17 rebounds
Just imagine if we had Kevin Love instead of Asik in the lineup...... Harden Love Dwight Lin Casspi (assuming Parsons would be traded with Asik for Love) I would would be Harden for ages if we had that line up. My goodness we would be THE best team. Hands down or up, 5 thumbs, 4 thumbs, 2 thumbs up, whatever you want to call it. We'd be damn good with some Love.
This post could have been from 2003 I certainly think we can incorporate him better too but Howard does have his limitations offensively.
Beating Utah at Utah (on a back-to-back too!) is always very, very tough. I like the way we did it too. By fighting through the refs, fatigue, etc. - and whooping their asses in the second half.
Khan would probably made the trade if he saw little hope in Love leading the Wolves to the playoffs. Adelman helped building an adequate team around him.
Dwight So 3 games in and I am encouraged. I have been a Rockets fan since Hakeem's rookie year. That means I have been up at the start of many seasons only to come crashing down to reality as the season progresses. I USED to know a lot more basketball and all of the dynamics that went in to a good team, but life happened over these past ten years and I just don't get to follow my rockets as much as I would like. My only concern at this point is will D12 REMAIN happy. There will be games where he just does not get the touches he may think he needs. He will be looked at as the garbage man. Clean up so boards, hit the offensive glass and contribute in that fashion. While D12 is not Scotty Pippen. I remember thinking Pippen would never work here since he would be quite a ways down the food chain and it didn't work. I defer to folks on here that know much more about Dwight and his head. Will his head accept that he may not always be a go to guy here? If he can stay happy and healthy (along with the rest of the team) I think we are in for a solid and exciting season.
Sounds like the regular season in the NBA. There isn't a team in the league I couldn't say the exact same thing about.
Every team has its flaws, and will very rarely have perfect games. They might not have felt like a sure thing to you but the W's feels so damn good to me. hahahaha 3-0 is all that matter. I believe they will stay humble and hungry. These boys are on a mission, a Championship mission at that napalm_black.
Well, so far so good... Relax a bit, everybody. This is Clutchfans, I know.... ...we got an image and an internet rep to maintain, but still... The Rockets look pretty good, all told. ...well, as good as a team CAN look three games into an 82-game grind... Rough spots, et al, I get the feeling that Dwight Howard has found more of a home here than even we all thought he would. Howard looks like the player he was as late as 2009, particularly when you consider the effort he plays with. It ebbs, flows and wanes ( I attribute a lot of that to unfamiliarity with his new teammates, particularly offensively), but it's there again. At the end, it seems that Howard recognizes how important he is to the Rockets, and he's embracing that wholly. I hope he doesn't go into the frame of mind he had in his last years in Orlando...where he wanted to be featured offensively to help him garner MVP votes... ...but I think that the team will understand when and where to get Howard the basketball the more they play together, and the more dependable Howard becomes. What I'm most impressed with is how well (so far) starting Howard and Asik has worked for the team. I'm the first to admit that it seems to be counter-intuitive (neither Howard or Asik are especially consistent post-up players)... ..but Howard's athleticism and range (defensively) gives the offensive and added dimension. And the defensive gains go without saying... Looks like a fun ride this season. BTW...I don't mind "feeding the dog"...as long as he remembers who's yard it is he's guarding
