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Myth Buster: "Dwight Howard needs more FGA..."

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Rudy, Nov 10, 2013.

  1. Rudy

    Rudy Member

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    I'm a big proponent for working inside first then out, but with Dwight, it will never, I repeat NEVER happen.

    I agree that he should get touches, but touches doesn't always translate to FGA, especially for Dwight. But even so, sad to say but Dwight will never get the ball enough times in the offense even in the low post, simply because: he's just not a great offensive post player. Dwight thinks he is, just like he also thinks he's a great free throw shooter (...in practice), but 9 years in the league proves otherwise.

    The thing Dwight can do when he gets the ball is very limited even in the paint, so if he does get it, most of the time he passes it back out, rather than always go for the same handful of post up moves in his arsenal.

    There's a reason why Dwight's career high in FGA is just a measley 13.4 attempts per game.

    Compare that to other All-time great bigmen in the post like Dream (21.5 attempts), or even the guy he basically emulates - Shaquille O'Neal (21.1 attempts).

    In fact, Dwight's offensive stats is more comparable to (surprise - surprise) Alonzo Mourning (15.4 attempts), and most of his game as well.

    Dwight is a glorified 2nd option on offense.

    In fact, his high of 13.4 is actually during his Orlando days when they tried to make Dwight the #1 option.

    Hard enough that when the 2nd half comes, especially the 4th quarter, not only does Dwight not demand the ball, but he turns away from it to avoid being sent to the free throw line.

    All those "Dwight should get more shots" are being harped on for years by Magic fans, Lakers fans, and now Rockets fans. It's not going to change now.

    Unless we want Dwight as the #1 option here and his post-offense magically improves significantly here in Houston (even borderline Yao Ming - 17.1 attempts), Dwight is never going to average anywhere near the 15-20 attempts that some fans keep dreaming of. It's simply not realistic.

    Dwight should mentally just accept that, and he should be happy if he can even just average between 11-12 FGA per game here, no really.

    As soon as Dwight realizes that out team we'll be better off, and no more of this "Dwight looks unhappy out there" or any of this "feed the big dawg, or he won't guard the yard" quotes, because defending the yard has always been his bread & butter - that is what made him and his reputation in the first place, and that is what's going to keep feeding Dwight in his career.
     
  2. mr. 13 in 33

    mr. 13 in 33 Member

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    We don't give Howard the ball in the post most of time
     
  3. DangerMouse

    DangerMouse Member

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    Am I the only one that thinks we should feed Dwight in the post as little as possible?

    Show me some scoring and efficiency in the post first before I give any more feeds!

    Hell, show me you can make >50% FTs in the 4th before I bench ur azz.
     
  4. TJ VS TR

    TJ VS TR Member

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    The only option should be the one McHell is most afraid of: Dream's Deadly Combo.
     
  5. Kadoz

    Kadoz Member

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    It's not just about numbers. It's about getting the best out of the team. As Shaq said best -
    “When you feed the big dog, it does whatever you tell him to do.”

    Dwight ditched LA because he was sick of playing with a guard who took 20 shots a game and played 0 defense. You really think he's happy seeing the same thing here? Play team ball, get Dwight the ball, and you'll see the team improve.
     
  6. Play07

    Play07 Member

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    Mchale did what the organization wanted him to do and is now the person catching all the negative criticism. They wanted dream to help Howard with moves in the post so he could featured in the offense & Mchale as the coach to incorporate the offense that gets him the post touches. That's exactly what he did went away from run and gun to a opposite (half court offense). Mchale did his part.
     
  7. sun12

    sun12 Member

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    Everybody knows that Howard is not that great offensively, but Rox fans refuse to see it.

    Get over it, Howard can't carry a team offensively. In the last 5 minutes of the game, he is a liability.
     
  8. TJ VS TR

    TJ VS TR Member

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    So when Kobe asked Dwight to be his Tyson Chandler he wasn't far off but just too straight forward?
     
  9. mfastx

    mfastx Member
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    To the OP: if you'd rather we just chuck three pointers when our offense struggles, instead of getting higher percentage shots closer to the basket with Dwight, then that's fine.

    I agree with Shaq, Kenny, and Charles on the matter. They know a little more since they've actually played in the NBA.

    Dwight's gotta demand the ball and get more shots, especially when our offense is struggling.
     
  10. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Howard SUCKS as a post option he is good as a cleanup guy, defensive presence and someone to throw lobs too, his post game is non-existent.

    DD
     
  11. quatin

    quatin Member

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    This is about appeasing Howard and believe it or not, a happy Howard is critical in getting good performance out of him. Look at what happened with the Lakers and Orlando when Howard isn't happy. Howards' ego is one of the biggest down side of him as a player. He doesn't just want to win a ring, he wants to win a ring and a MvP. While in Orlando, he could contend for the MvP, but not a ring. While at the Lakers, he could contend for a ring, but not a MvP behind Kobe.

    His first option was to play with Chris Paul. Pauls lobs + Dwights height would've accounted for some career record points. On top of that, any team that has Paul + Howard would be instant title contenders. However, failing that, he came to Houston since it's a very young team that's just developing an identity. He was hoping he would become the focal point of Houston's strategy. His idea was to work with McHale and Olajuwon and be a post threat. Houston would play inside out with him being the first option. The result was, Howard became a 3rd option behind Parsons and Harden. Even Beverly is approaching his usage rate.

    This may work for the short term, but sooner or later Howard is going to go bonkers again. If our future plans don't involve Howard as the 1st or 2nd option, then let's trade him right now before he becomes a locker room cancer.
     
  12. RockingRox

    RockingRox Member

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    He’ll get more touches if he reduces TO in the post and improve his in-game free throws
     
  13. Nubmonger

    Nubmonger Member

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    The thing is, Dwight doesn't need a post game. People say he needs one because that's what they associate with top-scoring big men, but it's the cognitive equivalent to saying that you need to wear a helmet in order to win F1 because no one has one F1 without a helmet. You're missing the point entirely.

    Dwight would easily average 20 PPG if all he did was play schoolyard PNR with Harden and Lin. This would serve to make an already incredibly-efficient offense even more efficient, and give them more threats to work with than the simple drive-and-dish game they played last season. No post game is necessary to add to an already-potent lineup.

    The real issue here is that if the team wants to develop an even larger skill set - particularly half-court ball - then they will need to have some set plays where Howard is given the ball and the defense is tasked with either double-teaming him or letting him take a high-percentage shot in the paint. That kind of offense takes a lot of time and a lot of practice to execute properly. This team has clearly not worked on any of it.

    I would argue that they have more pressing concerns than developing a slow-tempo half-court game, but whatever. The coaching staff seems to have a square-peg round-hole mentality when it comes to all of the team's problems, so I don't see this as any different.
     
  14. RiceDaddy7

    RiceDaddy7 Member

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    Man, I made a post about this yesterday and people flamed me like I was crazy. The admins also changed my title to say the exact opposite.

    DWIGHT HOWARD HAS NO OFFENSIVE MOVES. Do not give them the ball unless he's wide open for a dunk or it's part of a pick and roll. Don't let him play one on one.
     
  15. awc713

    awc713 Member

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    wah wah wah his moves arent equivalent to hakeem's, and he's not as overpowering as shaq so he must be like alonzo mourning.

    cmon. dwight is 27. do people forget that? his post moves aren't awful. no, they're not amazing, but thats not what we need him to be.

    he's showed that he can keep teams honest with his post moves. that's what we need him to do. so, no, i dont mind throwing the ball to him 4 or so times a quarter and letting him go to work. chances have showed that, right now, he'll make half of those attempts.
     
  16. Dave_78

    Dave_78 Member

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    OP,

    Did you ever watch Mourning? The guy had a jump shot and a post game. The comparison to Howard is r****ded. Might as well compare D12 to Brad Daugherty.
     
  17. dharocks

    dharocks Contributing Member

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    I don't think he needs to be getting more than 10-13 FGA/G, but there are literally times when our wings basically treat him like he's a glorified version of Asik out there. With the attention he draws, he needs to be at least involved in every half court set we run, even if he doesn't end up touching the ball. Fact of the matter is, you don't average 23ppg with nothing but lobs, put-backs, and dump-offs. If that were true, Tyson Chandler would be a perennial all-star. Dwight has the ability to be an effective offensive player when he has time and space (which he doesn't get when he's sharing the floor with Omer).

    It'll take time, but we'll get there.
     
  18. cebunit

    cebunit Member

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    Dwight should have just been plugged into last years system. Run and gun and grab more rebounds and hold down the paint. I dont know if thats a good idea, but feeding him over and over in the paint is not. You can see it in this team because they look lost as ****.
     
  19. mfastx

    mfastx Member
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    The only time we have "fed him over and over in the paint" was the Trialblazer game.

    Our only blowout of the year.
     
  20. Hmm

    Hmm Member

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    Don't leave out the first half of the recent Clippers game, where we were up by 13 points at one point.
     

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