Scientists today are working on solving one of the great Toyota Center mysteries of our day: The case of the disappearing Dwight. Witnesses report that in the first half of games, the Houston Rockets Center (and occasional power forward, but that's a science paper for another day) was seen dominating the boards and scoring buckets. The evidence shows that Dwight was receiving passes off of pick and roll plays, getting fed in the post and passed to by other members of the Rockets roster as they drove to the lane. In a recurring theme, a mystery unfolds during halftime. When Dwight Howard and his teammates return to the court in the second half, the 6'11 (with shoes) center seemingly disappears from the court. On pick and roll plays with Houston star guard James Harden, the ball seems to stick in Harden's hand when Howard rolls toward the basket. When the ball is being passed around the perimeter there is seemingly no one interested in putting the ball in the hands of the big man. This strange phenomenon is exasperated by the Rockets fear of taking the shot themselves in these moments. As these plays breakdown, the ball suddenly finds itself being dribbled until the clock is about to expire and then whip passed to someone who is unprepared. A bad shot is taken or a turnover occurs. After witnessing this phenomenon again last night in the game between the Rockets of Houston and the Raptors of Toronto, a team of scientists has been dispatched to solve this great NBA mystery. Some working theories right now include: The return of the Monstars: while this theory seems implausible, video evidence suggests that the alien race known as the Nerdlucks (or Monstars) actually do possess the ability to steal a player's ability. Perhaps they are stealing Dwight's ability at half time? This seems unlikely. Sticky Ball Syndrome: Scientists are trying to discover whether the basketballs used in the NBA are predisposed to develop a sticky residue in the second half of the game that makes it more difficult to pass to the big man as the game unfolds. Egomania runnin wild brotha!: Former wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan has been asked to consult on whether this is a case of egomania running wild. When reached for comment, Hogan was swinging on a wrecking ball in a thong and said "Dwight, whatcha gonna do when the ball don't get passed to you!" These early theories may or may not hold up under further scientific scrutiny. The folks at HoustonRockets#1ScienceLaboratory will keep you posted with any discoveries as they are made. Thank you for attention and have a wonderful day.
Actually, social scientists already confirmed that this phenomenon is the result of the national policy called "No Throws is left FREE!" established by the previous government.
perfect example of dwight's flaws in the raptors game. 1st half - 17pts 2nd half and 2 OT - 1 point plz figure it out dwight. thank god its the start of the season. dwert pls
The only time he "shoots" the ball is at the free throw line - the rest of his offense is within 5 feet of the basket. whatever he & Hakeem worked on in the offseason isn't translating onto the court yet. How can you play basketball for ~20 years and not develop a jump shot from at least 10 feet.
Good thread. Zone defense or not, we definitely need to learn how to feed the big man and design some plays to get him the ball.
When Dwight goes off in the 1st half, teams make the adjustments and also pack the paint. As soon as he touches the ball three or four players swarm in on him and usually foul him...and with his low FT% that's not exactly something we can afford especially in tight games. If he wants more touches, he's gonna have to improve his FT% or that's just the type of season it's gonna have to be for him.
LOL...nice post, justtxyank! Reading this reminds me of.... Spoiler Dwight?...Dwight?...Dwight?... ....... ....... .......
Nice read ! Gotta believe that this is by design by coaching staff and that Dwight is probably on board with it. Don't think that the organization wants to alienate Dwight's needs and piss him off. I think they are still in experimentation mode, looking long term, knowing that they won't compete for the cup this year.
Also, do remember the team's 3 point shooting has been woeful these past few games. Opponents are capitalising on it by packing the paint and daring the team to shoot the 3. Dwight is basically neutralised if opponents are sagging off our spot up shooters and the spot up shooters aren't making the opportunities that have been given to them. Once the 3 point shooting goes back up, then Dwight will get more touches. He needs to sort out his free throw shooting however. Its abysmal to be honest
There were a few plays second half off pick n rolls where Dwight got the mismatch and was able to pin his man deep but our guards didnt even look to pass him the ball.
So the thread was obviously posted from a humorous/failed attempt at humor (depending on your perspective) point of view, but this is what I really wanted to get to. Yes the Raptors ran some zone and our shooters being terrible right now makes that very effective. However, there were multiple times where Dwight was coming off a pick and roll where a pass to him would have been money and the guard just don't even think about it. Other times you see the guards look at him and hesitate too long, giving Dwight's man the ability to underhook his arm or something to negate a play. I'm not suggesting that Dwight should be fed the ball on every play like a prime Shaq, but at one point in 4th quarter Dwight went to the free throw line and the stat was put up on CSNH that he only had 1 FGA in the second half. That is pathetic. I know people think his offense is ugly, but it's not ineffective. He is very efficient when the right type of offense runs through him.
When there are 5 guys in the paint, you got to hit shots to make the defense come out of a zone, and stop clogging the paint. Good news is, the Rockets have 2 great perimeter scorers that can still beat this defense even without 3 point shooting. If the Rockets are able to start shooting the three better, Dwight will then look like Dwight late in games. Still, Dwight was very much involved in last nights game on the defensive end, and on the glass. He was very, very good last night despite the lack of offense in the 2nd half, and the free throw situation.
nobody stopped feeding the beast. it's just that the beast regurgitated his meal when he was fouled. 4/12 from the line. Just with 2 more made he ends up with 20 points.
Completely disagree with this. Yes, he shot poorly from the foul line, but the team basically stopped giving him the ball in the second half. This isn't the first game this has happened.
there were like six possessions from the fourth quarter on, that ended up in an offensive foul for howard, a blocked shot or missing 4/6 free throws. those are his shots. 6 fts is like 3fgs. Asik always gets rewarded by lin for setting a screening. Howard should open up to the idea that pNrs aren't evil. so a little is on howard.
