Okay this I understand and not only is it a perfectly valid way to say it.....I'm in agreement with you. That's just my perspective and one I share with you. The way you went off earlier i couldn't understand or respect any of that nearly as well. Thanks for restating it more clearly.....
Sorry man, it was funny/sarcasm to me but I can understand how it came off as me being angry. It's just so weird to be mad at someone for smiling, lol.
No not really. Think about it, if you are mad at someone for smiling during a loss or while losing. What makes you mad about it? Is it that you think they don't care? You think they are not taking things seriously? Were they smiling the whole time? Do you even know what they were smiling about? What's on their mind. I learned a long time ago that I played my best ball when I was smiling otherwise I would over think things. Sometimes it's like I'ma smile no matter how many bad calls a get or how much a get beat up, you are not going to defeat me. I just think that people who aren't athletes do always understand how mental it is and how you sometimes have to do certain things that fit your personality in order to get through.
Hmm, that's an interesting take on it, and you make a good point... but I'm not sure I agree with it in Howard's case. Here's why: for example, when he commits totally inexcusable offensive fouls and goal tending violations... they are very serious offenses because they hurt the team far beyond his own personal interpretation of them. Those are basically costly turnovers and free points to the other team. And even worse, the silly fouls end up putting him on the bench where he is of no help to the team, and it actually hurts their overall chances of winning games even more. When he smiles and laughs those things off (which he does all the time, and he's been doing that almost his whole career ) it's as though he doesn't even fathom the consequences of those actions, and regards them as inconsequential. And that makes people feel like he doesn't take the game seriously. And by him doing those things and seeming to care so little about it... I feel like he's disrespecting the coaches, his teammates, the fans, and the game. Whether it's intentional on his part or not, that's the result. Maybe that's a bit harsh, but it's how I honestly feel. And we're not the only ones who feel like that... many other ex-NBA players are constantly criticizing Howard for the exact same reasons. And if anyone should know best, it's his peers. Anyhow, he's being paid $80-$90 million dollars... I think it's only fair to expect him to care more... or at least give that impression. And that's certainly not the impression he gives when he's smiling during those questionable moments.
The problem here is that you are assuming because he is smiling that he isn't taking it seriously. Dwight does get bad calls and sometimes he's laughs off the refs because they will call things uneven. He gets beat the hell up no call. If he touches someone they get a call. Yet the whole league seems to somehow believe that a man who led the league in rebounds the same year he was injured, lead his team to the finals without any other All-stars on his team, who won defensive player of the year and shows up to camp every year in the perfect shape, a virtual physical specimen is somehow soft or isn't taking things seriously because he laughs when something bad happens. When you laugh when something bad happens sometimes your saying, "OK I got you next time". "I'll be back." You can also laugh when you are thinking "**** this ref" and you laugh while saying it so you don get a tech. People also talk **** to Dwight which he also laughs off. Dwight laughs when he makes a mistake also saying to himself "God, I'm so stupid" "How did I do that" "My bad". If he reacts in anger at any of those things instead of keeping it together and laughing he would lead the league in techs. See Demarcus Cousins. Being a big man in this league is not easy, you get beat up by these wimps compared to you and if you react YOU get in trouble.
It's called a snapshot. People see a moment frozen in time and think they can apply any meaning that suits how they're feeling at the moment. But, in reality, there are many more moments missed that really paint the truth. I think Howard cares about what's happening but he's not going to mope about it. Maybe he knew something we didn't - the Rockets were going to come out on top in this game, and for that I would be smiling too.
Conversely, just as you say we are assuming that Howard isn't taking the game seriously when he's smiling or laughing off those mistakes of his... your theory could just as well be wrong, in relation to him. I mean, it could be either way, but your theory sure does give him a LOT of leeway. It implies that he's been making these same "crucial" mistakes over and over again, and laughing and saying to himself, "God, I'm so stupid" (to use your words), for 10+ years, playing 82 games per year, including all of the playoff games... and that he hasn't really changed or learned anything at all. Let's just use the goal tending violations as the prime example, since they are totally controlled by Howard alone. He regularly commits atrocious goal tending violations (sometimes 3-4 per game), where he isn't even remotely close to making a clean block. And he's been doing this for many, many years. And there's only 2 ways to interpret that: 1) he's got severely poor anticipation, poor coordination, and bad timing or 2) he's either being silly, lackadaisical, unfocused, or just showing off and using poor judgement And I have a hard time believing it could be option #1, because he's been defensive player of the year 3 times, and he's shown that he has adequate quickness and coordination. Take Olajuwan, Mourning, Robinson, Shaq, Ewing, Mutombo, or almost any other good shot blocker for example. Whenever they committed a goal tending violation, and they knew they gave the opposing team valuable points... did they ever react to it the way Howard does? Total opposite, they almost always were upset with themselves and/or upset with the call. And I can't remember any of them ever reacting the way Howard does. More importantly, all of those shot blockers seemed to learn from their mistakes, and they committed fewer goal tending violations, and their violations were much closer to being clean blocks. Anyhow, I'm not saying all this just to argue or debate. Like I said, I think you made a good, valid point about how different people can have different ways of dealing with things. I just don't see that applying to Howard in this particular case.
The smiling part after those silly goaltends is one thing, but if one of the coaches or his teammates say something about it, he always waves it off or acts like it's not a big deal. How do I know? Body language, his gestures and what he does not do which would be something along the lines of saying my bad, pounding his chest or whatever.
I'm glad you said that it proves my point. You see I don't praise Howard for smiling, I simply don't react to it because I do know why. In this situation you have to CHOOSE to have a negative reaction. I don't know, neither do you but the difference is you punish him for it and I don't. So you are basically attacking a guy when you have no idea why he's smiling.
As Long as Playoffs Dwight shows up when its time, Really doesnt bother me, as thats all he will be judged on at this point in his career. The only that will change people percerption about him is winning playoff games.
I would chalk up Howard's smiling up to a learned behavior which has become almost like a facial tick. Howard does not seem to control it, and it probably has no relationship to his emotions at the moment.
You're missing my meaning bro, I'm not attacking or punishing him for smiling... I'm questioning his judgement, his intentions, and his justifications for his numerous and frequent basketball mistakes... based on his reactions to them... which happen to be "laughing and smiling" about them most of the time. One of the most important forms of communication is body language. And Howard's actions and body language are what cause people to form the perceptions that we have of him.
For what it's worth, it pissed me off to see Dwight smiling when we had blown that lead. I asked an athlete friend of min about his opinion, and he said it was no big deal. To me, it's a sign of lack of competitiveness. Competiveness can separate the winners from losers in sports and in business. If I was the coach, I would've b****ed his ass out!!
You may be questioning but most people are attacking. Dwight has said time and time again that he wants to win and he is taking it seriously smiling is a part of his personality. At this point you either believe him or you think he is lying. It seems like semantics and a bit of arguing for arguing sake. His production this year is MVP level and if he didn't miss a couple of games we would likely be 12 - 1, he can smile all he wants.
The man loves his job. That enough is reason for him to smile every second of the day. He's being paid millions to do a job he loves. It's good to have high morale in a work environment. If anything I feel his personailty keeps players cool and collected instead of a frantic nervous breakdown when things are crumbling. His smiling is not the reason why we started to lose our lead. As long as he is focused on rehabilitating his leg and coming back 100% that is all that matters. It is obvious that we really need him to play well and come back soon.p
