It frustrates me that Dwight is trying to be something that he's not. He is not an elite post up player and probably never will be. Why doesn't he get it through his thick head PnR PnR PnR PnR! All day with Harden, it's unstoppable
You would think seeing how Dmo plays in the post would humble him to go to what he is good at but I dunno man. Maybe they're saving PnR for the playoffs as their secret weapon
If the head coach did his job properly, it wouldn't be up to Dwight to decide what his role should be on the team. I agree we should do more PnR, but that's all on the coach to emphasize that starting with practice. But as it's already been well documented, we don't run plays. With this coach, I honestly don't know if we will ever get out of the first round.
I'm not ready to blame that on McHale. I think you'd have to be crazy to think Morey didn't sit in that recruitment meeting and sell Dwight on the fact that they'd get Dream to work with him and develop him as a post player. Again, McHale is one of the best low post players to ever lace 'em up -- there's no way in hell he doesn't realize it isn't Dwight's strength. I'd bet my savings that being featured in the post is something Morey promised Dwight to lure him here, the same way he may have promised Smoove the starting job before he earned it. That said, I think I might need to take a step back where Dwight is concerned. I'm really starting not to like him all of a sudden, to be completely honest.
With the way Howard is playing he might the be the most overpaid player in the league. Very dissapointing.
I get the feeling he's coasting, but i also get the feeling he's a little butthurt over Harden being the player talked about in the MVP conversation and not himself. Dwight likes to think he's being cryptic in interviews, but saying things like 'we don't need to worry about who takes the shots in game' is BS - he says that because he wants those shots.
He's supposed to be a one of our go-to scorers, but i dont see him getting fed the ball like he is supposed to be. He gets his blocks, rebounds, and points he gets from gimme-distances. But i want to see a more concerted effort to feed him in the post. Get the inside outside game going. We barely treat him as a 2nd option, seems like Harden is the only scoring option. Part of me feels like that is why he has that coasting, non-chalant demeanor right now. Another part thinks that he KNOWS nobody can get him the ball in the post at the perfect time for him to do his thing. That i understand, he works so hard to pin a guy at the rim and he gets fed the ball 4 seconds later when he has to step out.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Pau Gasol says Dwight's not as aggressive this season, not getting as many touches<a href="http://t.co/UMVe8cQsnd" title="http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24939717/pau-gasol-says-dwight-howards-not-as-aggressive-this-season">cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas…</a> Deep-dive on the situation.</p>— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNBA/status/552623718799659010" data-datetime="2015-01-07T00:32:16+00:00">January 7, 2015</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I totally agree with you. Dude is already the best defender in the post in the league and the numbers support that. Don't get close to Dwight or you are gonna get stuffed. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12129786&categoryid=2378529 We need to use our work horse more often so the game opens up more for the rest of the team.
28.1 shooting percentage when Dwight in within 2 feet. Dwight for Defensive player of the year. The complainers need to think about that when claiming he isn't valuable on the team.
Thanks for the vid Man! People focus way too much on the things Dwight doesn't do well...And forget about the many things does do well...Dwight is our defensive anchor and if he can get healthy and return to the force he was at the beginning of the season our team will be near impossible to score on...28.1 percent is ridiculous
He's just not playing hard out there, it's so mystifying. He's not dominating, and it's killing the team.
I agree. For some reason he starts to annoy me. If he can just accept his strengths and play the ultimate garbage man role with some pick and roles. We would be great. Smith is also a player who just cannot accept his role. I am afraid that there will be some problems in the coming months between Howard and Smith and some other rockets.
Wow. That's literally one of the dumbest statements I have ever seen. I gotta stop reading posts here - every day someone tops someone from the day before with stupidity. Let me do you a favor - first educate yourself and research what you are saying before you open your mouth. Here is a good place to start. Hint - there are a bunch of bad players making MORE than Dwight and of Centers making less than Dwight - watch them and see if it's worth saving 5 million to replace Dwight with let's say Brook Lopez or Roy Hibbert: http://espn.go.com/nba/salaries Dwight may be frustrating offensively but he has at least some things offensively he excels at and he is still an elite if not the very best defensive player in the league.
Technically, he was typing, not speaking. But hey.... Most posters here don't question Dwight's talent. Sure, we may harp on his faults (free throws; can't shoot past seven feet), but his talent is not in question (he's no Olajuwon, but he's very good), especially on the defensive end. It's his attitude. Is he coasting? Is he mailing it in a little, and if so, why? Is he disengaged because Harden is offensive weapon 1, 2, and 3 and DMo is next (from Morey's own mouth)? Is his knee bothering him and he's heroically, stoically dealing with it, even while people criticize him? In a way I understand if he's frustrated from lack of touches because if he can give us that first half of that playoff game (a loss) against Portland when he just tore it up (but his teammates just stood around watching, then he hit a wall)..... If Dwight would go out there and give it all, and if he would concentrate on what he does well, hell, we probably wouldn't need him more than 27 minutes a game anyway.
I agree with all those points but even "coasting" Dwight is better than guys like Hibbert & Lopez who are also max guys. The biggest problem with the ball going into the post with Dwight is the offense immediately stagnates. Everyone freezes up, there is no movement and the defense easily keys in on Dwight. Ball stays on the perimeter and there is a better chance at a drive, a pass to an open shooter, or the Rockets getting an offensive rebound with all the movement. Dwight's not quite good enough against good post defenders to draw a double and our offensive set around him in the post is very stagnant and predictable - in other words - easily defend-able. I don't think that's necessarily Dwight's fault though - that has to be addressed in coaching because Dwight isn't as quick in the post as Orlando Dwight anymore. ...by the way, I personally think Dwight has some lingering injury issues that he isn't being vocal about.
Fact is that momentum in games is a real thing, while not tangible itself, you can tangibly see the effect it has when teams are on runs and how it can dramatically effect the outcome of games when you can't generate any momentum or when you kill the momentum you generated.
I like Dwight as a person(one of my favorites) and not wishing for injury to him but it would be more efficient if he got injured again and returned couple of games before playoffs in PO form. We were totaly fine and more than OK in that huge stretch of games without Dwight...
