Call it what u want but if he is not putting it all out on the line every game - well that IS quitting.
This isn't so much about how Howard is or isn't a leader but more of an interesting observation. I got to sit pretty close to the court for the Wizards game. Early on in the game the Rockets had a sequence of terrible possessions and the fans were getting uneasy and began to implore the players to play better, pretty standard stuff. All of the Rockets ignored this like professionals should, except Howard. After a traveling violation I believe the Rockets were getting back into their defensive positions before some people started yelling about how the team needed to pick it up. Howard immediately looked into the stands and yelled at the group of people who were the most vocal and said something to the effect of " if its so easy why don't you come down here and do it." before staring at them for around 5 seconds. Now these fans weren't saying anything vulgar or anything directed at Howard, but he felt the need to respond to this while in the middle of a defensive possession whereas the other 4 rockets on the court didn't. Dwight is obviously a great player, but I don't think he deals well with criticism or anything pertaining to his ego, which I don't necessarily think are traits of great leaders.
GreatOne1978 may be a Kobe/Lakers fan but nailed it. Howard is a pansy. Overrated, overpaid. Terrible offensive player "Offense runs through me! Come on! You don't involve me, I'm not gonna play hard on the other end!" Terrible post game but again, don't let that stop him from thinking it's better than what it really is. Spend all the time in the world you want with Hakeem, NOT.GONNA.HAPPEN. Waste of time. You are who you are. Terrible FT shooter Why doesn't he just run the PnR!? [Asking the same thing in his one year there,] Lakers fans are laughing at you. No surprise other NBA stars/players hate him and/or think lowly of him. BTW, remember when everyone said Houston will get the ring chasers since they had Dwight & James? Ha ha, what happened? :grin: Hasn't really happened yet. Anyhow, back to Dwight, everyone knew what they were getting with Dwight when he signed. Don't act all shocked and surprised now. You wanted him, you got him. Enjoy it!
Dwight has never been a leader on this team. he never will be. hes one of our stars yes, but he doesn't have the ability to lead like he did back in his orlando days. Harden is clearly the leader. I'd trust Beverly more than dwight to lead.
The problem is that if 20 Million dollars of your salary cap is apathetic, not vocal and honestly just isn't playing at a star level than you are screwed. Teams pay max salaries to have leaders. The degree to which each player can lead varies (IE Parsons) but Dwight talks such a big game and backs up 0.
I am more worry about Dwight's knees than his "leadership." Whatever flaws Dwight has, he is legitimately super talented and effective. But he hasn't looked like the guy we are used to seeing ever since coming back from the somewhat mysterious knee issues.
Originally Posted by cyberx: Love doesn't think Harden is a winner. He thinks he isn't the greatest of competitors. Hates his defense and effort. Same with Dwight. LoL come on now. Who the **** is Love to think this of anyone else?
You can observe how the team reacts to them on the floor and on the bench and figure it out from that. At least a lot of folks can... DD
Body language during games.... How they respond in interviews..... What other people that have played with and coached them say.... Just because we can't see behind doors doesn't mean we can't see.
that's just rubbish, a player could be a great leader on a losing team. great leaders are not only on winning teams
great leaders are not always really vocal either but they can lead with a few simple words or in how they carry them self in training and functions etc
Well I guess to hearken back to Tim Howard. There is a great leader on a losing team. Dwight should have sounded something like this last night after the game.... "We played like piss and it starts with me. I'm the star... I'm the max contract. Leading by example is something I should do consistently. My body language was poor also. Just having a sore knee shouldn't cause that. I have to be more resilient. Maybe we need to look at what we can do offensively. Maybe I am posting up too much? Not moving around enough? Anyway, we have a really young team and I have to be the veteran. That would have been way more fitting that just mentioning guys finger pointing. That is in effect finger pointing.
