Why don't everyone read the 2nd post game again. Post game =/= post move. Howard have very limited post move, but his pretty effective in the post due to his size and strength.
Whats funny about this argument is because howard doesn't score with fades and reverse pivots, he doesn't have a post game. The bottomline is he scores in the paint and get guys in foul trouble. Whats even funnier about those arguing is durvasa always bring the heat in terms of stats. I remember when it was yao v amare and everyone said wait till he gets older and has an injury. Well, he's had microfracture and has been in the league for a few years and it looks like he's gotten better. Howard will never be a great post player, but he doesn't have to be a great post player to be effective. Sure his athleticism will decrease some, but what if he goes from super athletic to just a great athlete? If thats the case, where does that put him as a player? Bottomline is he's been the best center in the league for about the last 2 or 3 years and he's 24. They can add or subtract pieces around him because he does what traditional centers always used to do and that rebound,block shots, and defend the paint.
Just like everyone who's talking about how worthless Howard is against Perkins is ignoring his game 2, where he had 30 points (on 9-13 shooting) and 8 rebounds. Nice one.
Also, I didn't realize that a 19 point game in which Yao shoots 35% from the field with four turnovers was average for him. He is a career 52% shooter after all.
This argument is going in circles, and depends on everyone's definition of post game. The way I see it is: if post game is how efficient a player is in the post or how much he can score, then post moves could only improve Dwight Howard's post game. I think we can agree that Dwight Howard: -has a limited repertoire of post moves. -is learning to use his strength more effectively to score in the post. -can be usually stopped if his is opponent's strength negates his strength. -needs a more diverse repertoire of post moves to take it to the next level. Not every team can stop Howard, but the good teams seem to figure this out.
Durvasa is of course right that Howard can score effectively, but not at an elite level, in the post. I think the issue is that Durvasa is treating the 0.91 PPS as a positive, while most people have higher expectations. I think there's a resentment on our big-man-savvy BBS that Howard is even mentioned in the same breath as players like Duncan or Dream, when intuition and Durvasa's stats show Howard is not in their offensive class. Anyway, I think the pragmatic question is whether one can build a championship-caliber offense around a player like Dwight Howard. His non-elite skills suggest it's easier to game plan around him. I would think the most relevant stat would be his post efficiency in the playoffs, when teams take more effort to use player-specific defensive strategies.
I already said he was either .94 ppp or 1.0 ppp (if you count the alley-oop) in the block in game 2. That is good. For game 1, I didn't log it because he was obviously terrible.
Howard has absolutely improved his post scoring year by year. I don't think that's really the issue. While I agree that effective scoring in the post is more important than "pretty post moves." I think a lot of people argue that his effective scoring comes from his size and athleticism. And while the numbers indicate high efficiency, I think the main concern is something the statistic doesn't measure: sustainability. Obviously nobody knows the true impact of how Dwight's loss of athleticism will impact his production. But the general consensus believes that without "pretty post moves" (the result of solid post fundamentals), the impact on production would be greater.
I think "everyone," including durvasa, ignored it because "everyone" knew it was a fluke of a game as proven by the best center in the league's 7 point(3/10 shooting), 7 rebound performance in Game 3. -29 +/-, by the way, the worst on Jameer Nelson's team.
Its really sad for me as a basketball fan and A Dwight Howard fan to see such a talent of power .. Speed and athletism not used effeceintly ..
Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? DH hasn't even reached 26 yet and you're talking about how broken down he is when he's old already. Post moves don't guarantee a long career. Look at Elton Brand. He has really good post-moves but that didn't guarantee his success.
DH doesn't have to have an elite post game. He's primarily a defensive/rebounding center. What he needs is a real PF beside him who can score in the post and free him up inside.
The most deficient "best center in the NBA" that I've recalled. If I were the Magic I'd make a run for Scola if they have the cap room.
These are the same people who are already arguing that Lebron is going to be worthless in a couple years because he'll lose all of his athleticism. I think they're mostly just a bunch of Kobe-lovers that can't stand any other player in the league getting attention.
Prime Ben Wallace with an average post game, who is forced to try and dominate the low post game. Good thing this ain't the 80's, where he doesn't have to face many good centers. If KP can hold him to 7 pts, imagine what Dream would have done.........
Dwight Howard's post moves are predictable. All I've seen is a running hook and a dunk. If you can find somebody strong enough so that he can't just run through them (Perkins, healthy Bynum, healthy Yao), he is not nearly as effective offensively because he doesn't have a polished post game. I may get flamed for this... but players like Scola and Landry have better post moves, against equal size or bigger opponents, than Dwight does.
Nobody is going to flame you for that. That's a reasonable statement. Actually, I wouldn't put Landry in the same league as Scola. Landry has the face up J, reverse pivot drive, jump hook...it's all nice, but Scola is more fluid, has more moves, and gets blocked less with less athleticism. Landry still needs power and ups and if that is missing, his game is truly lacking. Scola has very little ups and most of his success comes straight from post moves, footwork, fakes, weird shots, and veteran savvy.
Hands down Scola has the best post moves of any big man in the game right now...even better than duncan :x....if scola played in the 80s he would be another kevin mchale.
