Dwight Howard Not Happy With The Effort in Houston [NBA.COM]

I'm worried about how much ESPN is going to over dramatize this.

However, it's abundantly clear that he's talking about Harden here:

“We got to learn when we’re down. We got to learn how to play when we got big leads. It’s something that we got to learn how to do. We got to get a good shot every time. Coming down and shooting quick shots is not always good, especially when you’re down. That gives a team like Phoenix an opportunity to run. That’s what they want to do. We played right into their hands tonight.”

 

Won't happen. I'm glad he is speaking out but Dwight is not a good leader.

 

Lebron went through the same thing almost as far as criticism can't worry about it though Dwight just has to play his game and we need to get back to our winning ways

 

this. I NEVER regret wasting time watching games even if we lose so long we go all out. But the past 2 games have just been pathetic

 

I don't know. I get what you're saying. I mean, I LOVE players who give it their all EVERY night. I loved having Landry, Hayes, and guys like Beverley on our team. But, the fact that he has great games and is young is all I need at this stage.

It doesn't really matter what I think obviously; but, I want to see that Harden can play at an elite level. He needs to keep showing signs. Pretty soon the excuse of he is only 24 will get old and he will need to perform on a nightly basis.

The reason I say this, is with young players you are going to get up and down nights. You have a lot of inconsistency I believe. I like to look at a guy like PPatt. You knew exactly what you were going to get from him pretty much EVERY night. But, there is a big time limit as to how high he will perform. He will never be elite.

With Harden, you have that hope for ELITE. You do not get many guys in the league who are elite (what, maybe 10 at a time?). I think Harden cares a lot of about winning. His expressions might not show it. But, I think he wants to bring a championship to Houston. He also tries way too hard to be conservative so he can go the whole game. I do not know exactly why he plays so lazy on D, because the dude can play D. I do not know what his plan is, but I hope that he is able to realize his true potential by maybe playing less, sacrificing shots, or doing whatever it is that he needs to do to be our elite player that he can be.

 

You know what would be more mature Dwight? If instead of talking to media, how about directly telling it to Hardens' face. Maybe he already knows, but he needs someone to tell him, cuz certainly McHale hasn't.

 

Do you know if he has or hasn't?

 

It's funny, here we agree with Howard. In the nba comments section they disagree with him, well actually just butt hurt laker fans.

 

The fact McHale played him 40+ minutes yesterday tells me all I need to know.

 

What does McHale playing Harden 40 + minutes have to do with Dwight telling Harden to man up and show some effort on D?

 

If Harden changes his priorities to the NBA and his career instead of "rockin da club all day erday drank drank " we will be good to go.

 

Like I said earlier in this thread, the best leaders lead by example. Dwight hasn't lived up to the hype yet. He had a good game last night with 15-18 but like I said in other thread he still couldn't be counted on and he shot a poor percentage himself down low (4-11). He and Harden need to take some long looks in the mirror because both of their efforts have been questionable in stretches this year, more than anyone else on the team. I'd rather Howard and Harden just go out on the court and show people better then they can tell people. Stop talking about what they need to do and just do it. The fact that Lin and Parsons are looking like the saviors and MVPs on this team currently with our two max players still in the lineup doesn't say much about either one of them right now.

 

While what Howard is saying is right...

He needs to lead by example. He's easily in the top 2 or 3 of players on our team that I notice puts in the least amount of effort.

 

lol so true. he gets depressed when he does not get the ball you can see it in his expression and body language. however if he beasted and demanded the ball and was 'into' the game i think players would respect him more. dh is not a very vocal guy and he tends to 'complain' instead to coach or media.

real leaders teach and inspire on the court.

 

and off the court too not to mention - but in the lockerroom we can't really see that part, only the on court.

 

What happened last night was just terrible in game coaching... in the 4th when mchale had brooks, bev, casspi, garcia, and t jones at the 5. we stormed back to make it 75-74... then mchale stuck back harden in when he was already having a terrible game and the suns then went on a 16-0 run to close the game out... with the way mchale coaches im surprised he didnt stick with those 5 guys that brought them all the way back... also, when dwight is being guarded by MILES PLUMLEE AND CHANNING ****ING FRYE... you get him the ball down low.... he can't be guarded by them one-on-one.... that way when they come to double, he kicks it out for an open 3... thats how the offense should run

 

Dwight needs to demand the ball more. He should be embarrassed that Suns had someone like Channing Frye guard him. Has Dwight fallen that far? Rather have Dwight post up against Frye and Plumboy than Haren brick another 3

 

Have you ever had a post where you did not mention Melo?

 

"Simplistic offense"? R&R offense is one of the most sophisticated basic offenses in the game today. Harden makes it simplistic by "making the ball sticky" and disregarding the offense for his ISOs. While I agree we need more effective set plays to go to when we absolutely need buckets, Harden needs to learn how to better play within the flow of the offense. He's by far the most talented offensive player on our team, but he also takes the other players out of their rhythms when he dribbles 10+ seconds off the clock before making a move.

Effort also works both ways. He may have put some effort into offense, but how much effort did he put on D?

 

Harden's minutes tell you Dwight hasn't addressed him directly?