Dwight said he'd focus on being that defensive anchor, but a ton of times, he lets a (small) player drive in and barely puts a hand up. He still gets the rep of being an elite defender, but I'm just not seeing it. This isn't just about today, I've noticed this earlier in the year, as well as last year.
Then you need to look harder. The difference between when Howard is on the court and when he is off the court is shocking.
He relies on his athleticism on defense. Not exactly a position guy. I am not seeing the explosiveness on the defensive end and his timing is off.
He's coming back from a long layoff playing limited minutes -- very good game today. I think he'll get more of his bounce back as we head towards the playoffs, but the days of Dwight jumping out of the gym and dunking are long gone.
He played outstanding defense today. If you're talking about those PnR defense on kanter, Smoove was playing too far on that pick. He got absolutely shredded near the end
Lol you didn't see how he defensed Westbrook Mutiple times at the rim? Mchale rationed Dwights minutes enough so he could play defense in winning time. With out him we lose that game.
Nothing to see here, good win tough opposition 20 more mins into our difference making big guy. See you for your next post win complaint next game
Dwight is clearly making progress. You can see he is moving better each game. It's also plain as day he isn't 100% yet. Give it time. This is why the Rockets need the Mavs in the 1st round. Hopefully by the 2nd round Dwight will be fully rounded into form.
All I know is that if Dwight plays like he did today the Rockets will be tough for anybody to beat. Pick and roll was on fire and even had some solid post moves.
Josh Smith was the only one playing some horrible defense, my Godness, he was guarding the PnR with Kanter/WB so bad.
Just no satisfying you guys... Complain when he's hurt... Complain when he plays.. Just complains (and we're winning)... T_Man
im with you on that, i mean the rebounding.. imagine getting dmo to put up just 10-12 high % hook shots... game changer
I think he is also working on not getting as many fouls as he used to. That was basically why he has been ineffective - when in foul trouble. He'll get his timing down by the playoffs. Plus, that's a basically a new guy on a team clicking on chemistry. Trust is an integral part of that and he has missed the development of that on the court.
What are you talking about? Today was just a blip (and only on some choice drives) I've noticed since he has come back opposing guards LITERALLY dribble away from the paint when he is in it. His impact in our paint defense cannot be replicated.