[SI] With move to Houston, all pressure squarely on Dwight Howard

Dwight has pressure to show that he can LEAD and PRODUCE without ANY DRAMA. These are his prime years...no more playing around with Hedo and Rashard shooting threes without thinking about it, or Dwight being more concerned with a dunk than the outcome of a game. I think he knows it's time for him to finally show that he is in the same breath as the greats.

Equally ( and THANKFULLY) Mchale will have a target on him. If he cannot adjust his limited offensive and defensive schemes to accommodate a powerful center, he's got to go. Anything less than the second round for this team (if healthy) is inexcusable. This season, I hope he actually employs and enforces an offense that isn't limited to one pick and roll or leaving James Harden to dribble out the shot-clock, "Moochie Norris style." I don't blame James for it either; Mchale didn't know what else to do other than stand up, C-walk to the scorers table, and raise his hands without purpose.

***I truly think McHale helped to get Dwight here, but I do not think he will be the Rockets coach when they win a championship. He simply doesn't have the experience or playbook to make it all happen in the 4 years that we have Dwight and James together. I think he has this year to show he's more than just a "positive" voice in the lockerroom. Sampson, Bickerstaff, Finch, etc are going to be working a whole hell of a lot harder this season to make McHale seem efficient and potentially game-changing, much like Rick Adelman could do with a simple substitution or a set play. Man, that RA offense was nice...

I expect Dwight to deliver. No more excuses. No more "Dwightmares." It's his time to shut Kobe, Shaq, Phil, LA and all the naysayers up.

 

Fresh start! Let's give him a break and chalk it up as last season having no Harden for training camp so they had to improvise. This season we'd better see more organized offense.

 

Pressure? In Houston? Naaaawww...Hakeem broke the drought in 1994 and for an encore did it again in 1995. That is pressure.

Dwight, just follow the Dream's blueprint and she'll be right.

 

To me, this is where your team steps in. This game isn't won or lost by one individual. If I was chandler or harden, or any rocket for that matter, all this negativity, all the cheap shots, all the articles would motivate me even more. As TO would say , (good Lord I'm quoting TO) that's your teammate.

Take up for him, and show on the court that this only made the team stronger. Every shot at Dwight should be felt by every Rocket player, and hopefully that shows during the season.

 

This wouldn't surprise me.

The off season before the '95-'96 season, we could have signed Barkley out-right, but David Stern called foul for "tampering" citing that the Rockets and Barkley had to have contact before the free-agent deadline expired. The EXACT same off-season, Shaq was filmed and photographed having lunch with them Laker GM Jerry West. The league said nothing and allowed the Lakers to sign Shaq.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that LA is too much a money maker for the league for there not to be some sort of "tampering" or back office deals to get them back into contention with a couple of years.

That being said, I think that everyone one has skin in the game and know it's put up or shut time. Now it's time to work hard and play ball. I believe they all know the expectations and the potential, now it's time to show what they can do.