Agree with Convicted, marginalized implies playing less than capability. Dwight just isn't a post up threat and plays as if he believes he is. Taking a lesser role than what he's traditionally done isn't marginalizing, it's staying within him capabilities. Now it probably feels like marginalizing to him if he indeed he believes he's a postup threat, but I'm concerned less and less about his wants and feelings the longer his poor postup play goes on and the window he has with us closes.
JSizzle, just saw your reply to Convicted....I agree if you're just talking about eliminating postups and keeping his offensive involvement to pnr and cleanup duties then I think that's fully within his capabilities and therefore taking him out of that portion of the offense would marginalize him. My assumption has been he demands postup plays but I hope the FO and coaches are willing to set some hard boundaries with him soon and start taking him out of the post. D12 if he is declining physically is just going to have to learn to deal with his changing reality.
THIS JUST MADE MY DAY! DWIGHT WANTS TO WIN! I don't think Dwight is as Shallow as people make him out to be. I think whats most important to him is WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP, and he realizes this is probably his LAST OPPORTUNITY to do so.
How quickly tall forget about the Portland series last year where he dominated. He was our best player by a long shot.
While I guess it wasn't completely clear, Cyber also said they would put him in an Asik type role. Asik ran the PnR a ton the year he started for us. So if that is Dwight's role, then that is great. DMo is also a great passer out of the post. If he gets it and he is able to lob it up for dwight, you best believe it will happen. I actually think this is a better solution for Dwight long term money wise. Deandre Jordan and Tyson Chandler are still getting paid tons of money being elite defensive specialists and just providing what is in their grasp on the offensive end. Dwight can do this role much longer than he can as opposed to being featured in the offense and taking a beating down low night in and night out.
Him dominating on offense may not be a good thing for this team. We have a uptempo personnel. When dwight is scoring his 25 points in the post. Harden and brewer are standing there just watching. And so are their defenders!
It's a good thing. WHEN he gets it going he draws attn and he is also drawing fouls. Gets us in the bonus faster. There just has to be a good balance between him, Harden, and the rest of the guys shooting 3s. When it all works it is tough to beat. That is what Morey was thinking when putting the team together. Now just have to get Ariza, Bev, Prigioni, and Terry shooting at a decent rate to make it all work smoothly. Any shooting we get from J Smith and Brewer is a bonus.
I have no idea about Dwight Howard's knee, its progress, and its outlook. BUT I want to remind you just how well Howard played in last year's playoffs. Some of you seem to forget really fast... Regular Season 2013/14 71 games, 18.3 PPG, 12.2 RPG, .591 FG%, .547 FT% Playoffs 2014 6 games, 26.0 PPG, 13.7 RPG, .547 FG%, .625 FT% ...granted, it's just 6 games but the guy was really bringing it last postseason. I know his post game is terrible and I have no idea if he's physically the same as last year. But Howard has shown that he can really step it up in the playoffs. So there is at least some hope he can reproduce last season's "success" (if I may say that).
If I may quote "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka": Kalinga: Thank you, Je-sus. Ofay Wench: Power to the people!
I'm getting so tired of hearing this. He dominated robin lopez. Robin freaking lopez. He's suppose to. Portland hardly sent any double teams. Put dwert against any other west playoff team's big and he struggles mightily. He is not a focal point on offense nor should he be or should he think he should be.
I'm all for him coming back as 2014 playoffs Dwight. I'm rooting for it. But at the same time, while James Harden was a star last year, he's an MVP this year. And by the time Dwight gets reevaluated, he will have been out for half of our games. So, its a good thing if his role is clearly defined, so his transition onto the team is seamless. And in the worse case scenario, if he comes back and continues to play how he has his 32 games this year, clearly defining his role will help him be productive for the team as we make a run.
why would you be sick of it if its true. playoffs are a completely different game and you're not going anywhere if dwight doesn't play at that level again
uptempo personnel quickly changes in the playoffs when the offense slows down, where you absolutely need post threats
If the Rockets didn't make big win-now moves and are talking about making Dwight into more of a role player, then they seem to be semi-punting this season. Kind of make sense because every other team (Rondo, Green, Aflalo, Kanter, etc.) is loading up for this year at the expense of the future. I personally don't like it. It feels like wasting a season of Harden's prime. But if this means the Rockets make a splash in the offseason, I can begrudgingly accept it. But as it stands now, I think we have no chance to contend. At best, I'm hoping for winning one series and gain some momentum for the offseason.
