somehow i've missed this thread. you've made some of the same observations i have so props to you. even though we have won like four straight (albeit against lower level competition), there's been no sign of improvement from Dwight, which tells me that perhaps this is who he is from now on. physically, he's on a decline, and not giving much effort on the court. mentally, he's never had that killer instinct, but instead continues to act like a clown. it's becoming rather difficult to root for our $20 million man right now.
I definitely think Dwight is coasting because it seems at times that he starts out slow but sometimes during the games it likes he flips a switch and is his old self for a short time like that one game where he had a bad 1st quarter and then dominated the 2nd quarter he had like 16 points or something like that.
I'm not sure he's 100% or even close. It is hard to keep up conditioning with a hurt knee. He probably can go near full tilt for short stints, but he doesn't seem able to do it for 30+min. Whatever it is, something is not right with Dwight right now whether it be coasting or injury recovery.
The one myth i keep hearing is: Dwight should run more Pick and Roll. He sets a TON of picks. Every 3rd one is crap because he is careful about offensive fouls, but i've seen more Harden Howard PnR this year than i did all of last year. Watch the games. Howard sets the pick, Harden goes around and begins to penetrate. Harden has his man beside him and a little behind. Harden has Howard's man looming in front. Howard is trailing. Harden goes in for the layup/foul. Not complaining. Just pointing out they run that play plenty and Howard rarely gets the pass/lob. i think it's a knee thing.
Don't know if anyone read or see. This but after his little tussle with KG the Nets ask Dwight about it Howard responded "I don't know" twice during a 10-question session with reporters that lasted less than two minutes when asked his feelings on the fight. "Doesn't matter. We won the game. That's what matters," Howard said. "We've got 82 games and the playoffs. I'll do my damage when it's time." Here's the link http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=12157155
I think Dwight is not 100%. You don't average 11+ rebounds and 1.5+ blocks (in fewer !minutes) by coasting.
^^^^ THIS. Guy plays hurt, still produces, and the hate just comes flooding out. The expectations (or the hate) is just ridiculous. Instead of wishing for Howard to be a different person, accept his strengths for what they are. He provides championship pivot presence on D and on the boards. Badmouthing one of our own, especially because he is coming off injury, is classless and nonsensical. Talk of trading Dwight is insane if downright counterproductive to those who really want this because it drives down his trade value. A little patience, the season is young. Give the guy a little time to heal and allow the knee-jerking to subside.
"We've got 82 games and the playoffs. I'll do my damage when it's time." -Dwight Howard Is this a winning mindset you want from your superstar center? Watch the rest of your teammates give out their all in the regular season while you coast and won't be bother until playoffs arrives? How many rings has Dwight earned from this wonderful philosophy during his NBA career? 0.
Dwight can coast all he wants during the regular season.... when the playoffs come around he will be the dominant player he always is... this guy gets killed by the media because he smiles and laughs too much? meanwhile chris paul and blake griffin make their stupid state farm and kia commercials and no one in the media talks about how they haven't won anything... its just sad and pathetic
Even with Dwight "coasting" and putting out little effort this is his season average this year: 16.8 pts, 11 rebs, 1.6 blocks on 58% TS. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/howardw01.html Why don't all the posters here get their facts straight first before they complain? Also Dwight has been going full steam the past couple of years in the regular season, that's why his body is breaking down the last couple of years even though he is only 29. Rather than giving his all on a regular season game which doesn't mean anything, he is saving up for the playoffs and he has only been doing it this year so why are you blaming the 0 rings on this strategy? In contrast to your "winning mentality" BS the Spurs have 5 rings the last 9 years, and you know how much they give a **** about the regular season? Yeah they don't even give a rat's ass about it
lol His career is: 18.2 12.8 2.1 59% These numbers are close to what he is doing this year. So not seeing what the problem is myself. He is coming off an injury and also the team is absorbing new players and gelling. The better way to see if he is coasting IMHO is at the end of the season but that is me.
The Spurs rest their players by giving them nights off. Pop don't sent them out to half-assed it when it's their night to play. If Dwight wants to coast then don't do it at the price of an offensive possession by demanding the ball from the post. To me, that statement about doing damage when it's time is a cop-out. He knows he struggling because other bigs aren't backing down to his post moves and his weakness is being exploited.
you can go in circles and talk about howard all day. but it is obvious he is hurt and i hope he gets better as the season moves on.
Is his injuries that obvious to everyone here? Is he walking about differently? Is he grimacing in pain after a play? He seems to be about right when he goes for rebounds, blocks, goaltending, miss FTs, charges, baseline out of bounds... looks like same old Dwight for the past 4, 5 years.
Awww man no he doesn't. If you are watching the games you see it ain't the same Dwight. Why would this thread exists if that's the case? Starting to wonder if you are a Rocket fan. You sound like one of those butt-hurt Laker trolls.
I've noticed this as well. He just doesn't seem to be giving as much effort. I can think of 3 reasons this might be occurring: 1) his knee 2) sort of related to 1, he's saving his body for the playoffs 3) he's slacking because he's not getting the touches on the offensive end that he is accustomed to Also, contributing to the perception that he's not giving as much effort may be the fact that he's no longer the sole focal point of our offensive presence inside the paint. And nor should he be. DMo is a much, much better iso-post player than Dwight. Offensively, Dwight is good for pnr and cleaning up on the glass. Against the bigger centers that Dwight can't bully around, such as Gasol, he's honestly pretty mediocre on the post. He's turnover prone and doesn't have the best footwork. It would honestly be best for the team if we gave DMo every one of Dwight's touches in the paint, but that will never happen.
