With Howard - Winning 105-97 Without Howard - Losing 135-148 Rocket River The lack of respect for defensive players is unreal
i think a better question is, if Howard is wearing down much like Tmac, would you trade him now or ride it out and hope for the best? If he's healthy, then keeping him is an easy choice. If he's not though, then it gets tricky.
That's part of what most who say consider trading him are factoring in. He's seen his best days athletically but if he buys into selling out on rebounding, defense & PnR with less touches in the post then he's still worth keeping. Problem is we're dealing with declining athleticism + lack of acceptance of his optimal role. I don't think you should trade him mid season right now but the only untouchable on this team past 2016 is Harden.
How was our defense when he was out? The improvement of the defense has to do with a team as a whole and a new startegy not just Howard. He was here last year, the defense sucked. Again, I'm not for trading howard at all it would make morey look even more shrewd then some people think he is now. But stop acting like Howard playing good defense or having an incredible series against Portland means he can't be criticized. He's a MAX player who we can't rely on as our 2nd best scorer. That's NOT a good thing.
You're talking about just getting older. I'm referring to wearing down due to abnormal wear and tear, like McGrady. In other words, being out of games, and not just playing at a lower level. That being said, it does seem like a lot of these high school guys start to decline at 28-29. KG was the exception, at 31-32.
Anybody ever think that Dwight might be trying to play to his optimal role but teams are denying as much of it as possible? There are reasons why these players are professionals. P&R works best with a mid range game too. When players are way out on the perimeter there is much more time for the defense to react
Kobe? Granted Dwight is no guard, but centers have traditionally held up well over the long haul relative to the smaller guys who rely more on speed.
JO, Amar'e, Rashard, Tmac. Bynum, even earlier than them. I think Jefferson was headed in that direction too. He started correcting his issues though. Kobe would be an exception.
