Asik > Howard. Starting C is not a position of need. Hack-a-Ho would've worked tonight, and our season would be over.
I'm still lukewarm on Howard coming over here. I still think Howard can rebound from the hit his image has taken like Lebron did. His health concerns me more than his character does. 9 years of being mugged in the paint adds up. While I do I love Asik's brand of defense, there's no question that Dwight is the more dominant player when healthy. A couple more rebounds, a couple more blocks, and more reliable hands catching the ball can go a long way each game. I think he's capable of getting back to those 20/14/3 ways here. It's obviously a gamble, but short of bringing in Chris Paul or a discounted Josh Smith(Enough discount to extend Parsons in the future), it's the best chance of contending with a healthy Westbrook OKC.
Or Houston would have still won because Dwight Howard would have alley ooped all of those passes Asik failed to catch.
With DWH, we don't need to deal wit hack-a-dwh, because we would be blowing OKC out with WB sidelined. Not wanting him with poorer free throw shooting is like you don't want to earn a million dollars to avoid high taxes.
I have been going over the Asik vs Howard. Asik & Howard both good rebounders Asik & Howard both good defenders Howard is a true shotblocker Asik a slightly better FT shooter Howard goes to the line more often which means teams will be in the penalty eariler which benfits whole team. Howard plays above the rim - allies Howard hands are better Asik has no history of injury trouble Both run well but Howard is faster Asilk is a better team mate Asik is much cheaper A healthy motivated Howard gets this team to at least Western Conference Finals Asik ceiling is Howards Floor.
Ding ding ding...winner. Go youth, especially in the middle. Productive, healthy centers entering their second decade in the NBA are a rare beast.
I have a feeling asik will develop a solid mid range jumper next season... if that happens we dont need howard
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The assertion that "Dwight Howard should choose Houston" should be followed by the question "Should Houston choose Dwight Howard?" Howard, in the same circumstance as Asik in the May 1 Oklahoma game, would never have made 9 of 14 foul shots. Howard is vastly more expensive than Asik. Asik is younger, taller, a better shot blocker and still improving without Howard's injury history. I'm sure Morey will get antsy for a summer trade to keep his name in the spotlight, but trading Asik after acquiring Howard would IMO be a huge mistake. Using Robinson to acquire a mid-first rounder (I'd love to get Steve Adams to back up Asik) would be, again IMO, a more strategic move and would keep Morey crowing. I really like our youthful core. I wish Morey would have the good sense to let them grow together like Oklahoma did with their kiddie korps.
How do you know the exact same situation would have played out if we had Dwight instead of Omer? With Dwight, there's a better chance we blow them out in game 5, and hack-a-whoever isn't even an option. Asik is <s>a whole 1 year</s> less than 7 months younger than Dwight, Omer is NOT a better shot blocker (lol), and injury history? Yes, Dwight had back surgery, but Omer has had multiple leg injuries, including knee ligament damage and a fractured fibula.
Howard is about 6 months older than Asik, about an inch shorter and is actually the better shot blocker. He's also significantly more effective at scoring the basketball, though you are right that his free throw shooting is abysmal. It's also true that Asik is improving, but he is not some 22 year old stud that has a long future ahead of him compared to the 33 year old Howard. Both men are about the same age and Asik will never be the athletic player that Howard is. Asik also has an injury history.
Howard would have gave us such a cushion that it wouldn't be close enough to hack a Dwight. Plus if that happens, just plug in Asik and we are good to go.
This would be dream come true. We don't need to trade out anything and get a superstar! Many thanks to ORL for tanking so many years and picking/developing DWH. Thanks LAL for sending out Bynum and providing a recovery period for DWH. We will take the developed, prime and healthy version of DWH for nothing gladly!
