Stan Van Gundy does not use Dwight Howard correctly

[Leto]

I think he gets too many plays run for him. His strength is not offense and force feeding him plays into his biggest weakness. He needs Derrick Rose so he doesn't have to score and he can play to his strengths like defense, rebounding and running the floor.

he doesnt want to do that though. he wants to be the man and the focal point of the team.

Coaching isn't his strength, either

Its Van Gundy's job to minimize a players weaknesses and magnify their strengths. That's hard to do with the Magic because he doesn't have a real number one option.

Howard needs a guy like Rose who can carry the scoring burden.

[Last Guardian]

I'm a Magic fan and Dwight getting 25 shots is laughable. In fact he is simply a bad first option...we just don't have anyone better. His post game isn't that bad, but the way he plays he needs shaq like size to be a dominant offensive player. Dwight is a big guy but any decently strong player can play Dwight 1-on-1 easily. Perkins, Collins, Bynum, Pryzbilla, Haywood, etc..these guys all basically shut down Dwight most of the times he has played against them. He also isn't the passer you'd want from a #1 option post player.

lol, these guys do not shut Dwight down. you need to go back and look at those games. Perkins being called the "Dwight stopper" is just wrong. Collins is a player that has figured out how to give Dwight trouble, but Dwight still played very well against Atlanta last year. No one else did was the problem.

i do agree that he isnt a good passer and turns the ball over a lot. He has also improved his offensive game a lot, and his moves are becoming more fluid rather than the robotic style he had before, when you could tell he had to think about the move before doing it.

No I don't need to go back and look at those games. I remember them vividly. Dwight is severely limited by those players. And before he retired, Rasheed completely owned Dwight. Practically blocked all his shots. Dwight could also do nothing against Yao or an old Shaq. Dwight owns guys like Dalembert, McGee, Biedrins, Bosh, Chandler, Amare, Lopez, etc. Guys who simply don't have the size to guard him.

[JackFinn]

PPG: 11th in the NBA
TS%: 6th in the NBA

He's a great scorer and is being utilized correctly.

[WD]

The magic are my 2nd fav team but dwight has turned into the type of player that reads his stats.hype/endorsement deals - He will get better, but he's been praised so much until he hasn't expanded much of his game for a player with such hype.

[wowski]

I'm a Magic fan and Dwight getting 25 shots is laughable. In fact he is simply a bad first option...we just don't have anyone better. His post game isn't that bad, but the way he plays he needs shaq like size to be a dominant offensive player. Dwight is a big guy but any decently strong player can play Dwight 1-on-1 easily. Perkins, Collins, Bynum, Pryzbilla, Haywood, etc..these guys all basically shut down Dwight most of the times he has played against them. He also isn't the passer you'd want from a #1 option post player.

lol, these guys do not shut Dwight down. you need to go back and look at those games. Perkins being called the "Dwight stopper" is just wrong. Collins is a player that has figured out how to give Dwight trouble, but Dwight still played very well against Atlanta last year. No one else did was the problem.

i do agree that he isnt a good passer and turns the ball over a lot. He has also improved his offensive game a lot, and his moves are becoming more fluid rather than the robotic style he had before, when you could tell he had to think about the move before doing it.

No I don't need to go back and look at those games. I remember them vividly. Dwight is severely limited by those players. And before he retired, Rasheed completely owned Dwight. Practically blocked all his shots. Dwight could also do nothing against Yao or an old Shaq. Dwight owns guys like Dalembert, McGee, Biedrins, Bosh, Chandler, Amare, Lopez, etc. Guys who simply don't have the size to guard him.

lol you said you didnt have to go back but you went waaaaay back on your example. when was it, 3,4 years ago? fail man. fail.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Magic need to remake their roster. If Dwight got them into the mess they're in by trying to play GM, then he needs to stick with them through a rebuild.

[Ballah]

Dwight Howard isn't shaq or olajuwon. What makes him a superstar is that he turns a bad to mediocre group of defenders into a great defensive team. Orlando has been near the top in the defense category for years entirely on the defensive skill of Howard, so bad defensive players like Turkoglu or Nelson don't hurt you as much. He's been in the league seven or eight years, he's not going to get the moves of Olajuwon or the mid range shooting touch of Ewing or grow into the physical presence of Shaq, he is a decent offensive player but shouldn't really be playing the main scoring option.

[Ito]

huh, doesnt use him correctly? What are ya talking about Howard cant do anything offensively. This guy is not Shaq, i feel like people just dont understand the game of basketball sometimes.. Howard can't lead a team no where only reason orlando was successful was because of their shooters surrounding Howard.. if they aren't making shots, Howard's 20 rebounds wont win you the game.

[aurareturn1]

huh, doesnt use him correctly? What are ya talking about Howard cant do anything offensively. This guy is not Shaq, i feel like people just dont understand the game of basketball sometimes.. Howard can't lead a team no where only reason orlando was successful was because of their shooters surrounding Howard.. if they aren't making shots, Howard's 20 rebounds wont win you the game.

I agree with this.

Howard is given every opportunity to get his numbers. Everyone he plays with is a shooter so he has optimal space to dominate the paint. He also never plays with another dominant rebounder so he can grab all the rebounds he want.

I think Stan is doing the best he could with what he has.

[D12VCMagic]

The whole Magic organization has not used Dwight correctly ever since he's been in the league. Why don't they realize they made the finals when Alston was their PG, i.e. someone who actually passed the ball, and that they suck whenever Nelson is PG? What Dwight needs at PG is somebody to throw him ally-oops all day a la CP3 to Tyson Chandler, not some mediocre chucker who is not better than Beno Udrih. I'd be asking for a trade to get paired up with D-Will if I was him too.

This is just complete BS and I'm tired of hearing stuff like this. Rafer Alston was not the reason why we made a run to the Finals, his career assist numbers are practically on par with what Jameer puts up. Alston will make flashier passes here and there, but he is no better at setting people up than Nelson is. They both are pretty much a little above average at it.

The real reason the Magic went to the Finals in 2009, other than KG being injured, was the play of the two forwards. During that entire playoff run, Rashard Lewis averaged 19/6 on 45% from the field and 39% from three. Those are All Star numbers, not to mention all those huge clutch shots he made, especially in the Cleveland series. Plus, you had Hedo playing like on a high level from Game 7 against Boston on. The Magic pretty much had three players playing on an All Star level at that time. Alston was pretty much just a role player. Hell, we won a playoff game with him suspended because he is an idiot and slapped Eddie House.

[Typhoon20]

Dwight is a talented player but lacks BB IQ.
People wanted to see him develop some post moves...I wanted him to become a smarter BB player.
He relies too much on his physical power and less on playing smarter. Defensively god knows how many goaltending he gets for trying to block everything, even shots that normally wouldn't go in he tries to block and gets a goaltending...he's so many years in this league and still makes the same mistakes. Offensively he thinks he's Olajuwon asking for the ball constantly but when he gets it it's a 1on1 situation where he clogs their O and most of the time the opponent just fouls him knowing he won't even make half of his FT's. He doesn't have a jumper, never will. Has limited post moves. He's dangerous when he's very close to the basket other than that he lacks a lot of things.

As much as I dislike Stan for his system, I don't think it's his fault for not being able to Dwight correctly. Maybe he is slightly to blame for the signings and how it's clogged the Magic in acquiring talent but the Magic have so many players who lack BB IQ the only thing they know is jacking up shots, going 1 on 1. Turk is probably the only player who is able to feed Dwight and use him well with the P&R and dish, letting him set up and what not...they were H2H in the Miami game yesterday and once he got injured and had to leave the game it went brutal...offensively. He's their only player that has some BB IQ, who is able to create.

[I Rasharted]

I think Stan is doing the best he could with what he has.

This.

Dwight would be at his best as a rich man's Ben Wallace: an elite defender and rebounder and a 3rd option on offense. He'd win championships that way.

[Prolific Scorer]

I'm a Magic fan and Dwight getting 25 shots is laughable. In fact he is simply a bad first option...we just don't have anyone better. His post game isn't that bad, but the way he plays he needs shaq like size to be a dominant offensive player. Dwight is a big guy but any decently strong player can play Dwight 1-on-1 easily. Perkins, Collins, Bynum, Pryzbilla, Haywood, etc..these guys all basically shut down Dwight most of the times he has played against them. He also isn't the passer you'd want from a #1 option post player.

cool story

[WillyJakkz]

It's oh so obvious most of you callin' out Dwight Howard have only seen him play here and there.

The guy works his ass off in the post, seals his man practically all the way under the rim and calls for it (like any real big is taught) only to have the PG, SG, or SF look at him, fake it, but not pass him the ball, so as the ball gets swung around the PERIMETER, he goes to the other block, does the same exact thing only for the SAME EXACT THING TO HAPPEN.

Finally after they have trouble creating their OWN offense they'll pass him the ball as the defense ensues to foul the crap outta of him.

Once in a while they'll get him the ball (away from the block mind you) where he then tries his best to work his way back into the paint/ block where he was open and calling for the ball in the 1st freakin' place as he tries to make something happen offensively.

Kinda hard to be offensively proficient when this is how you get the ball when really we should be running the offense THROUGH HIM (as I've said for years).

[KV20]

Howard's overrated.

This!
His offensive game is overrated. He is the reason why they lost in the first round. He slows down the game when he keeps the ball in his hand and makes a lot of turnovers. The hawks were happy to see him getting 25+ shots per game.

BTW Stan Van Gundy doesn't use anyone correctly. Arenas, Vince Carter, JJ Redick, coaching fail!

[WillyJakkz]

Howard's overrated.

This!
His offensive game is overrated. He is the reason why they lost in the first round. He slows down the game when he keeps the ball in his hand and makes a lot of turnovers. The hawks were happy to see him getting 25+ shots per game.

Funny, Dwight is overrated but your Lakers sure do want him.

[kodo]

I think one reason a coach wouldn’t want to give Dwight that many possessions is that he can be a black hole.

Dwight has a tendency to put his head down as soon as he gets the ball and slam into his defender. For a guy who gets the ball as much as he does and gets double/triple teamed as much as he does, 1.5 assists per game is remarkably low.

In contrast Shaq, Olajuwon, and Tim Duncan all averaged between 3 to 4 assists per game in their prime with good passing. Great passers out of the post like KG or Webber got 5-6 apg.

Dwight is a superstar & MVP candidate, but I’m not sure if you can run an offense through him like previous HOF post players.

[Last Guardian]

I'm a Magic fan and Dwight getting 25 shots is laughable. In fact he is simply a bad first option...we just don't have anyone better. His post game isn't that bad, but the way he plays he needs shaq like size to be a dominant offensive player. Dwight is a big guy but any decently strong player can play Dwight 1-on-1 easily. Perkins, Collins, Bynum, Pryzbilla, Haywood, etc..these guys all basically shut down Dwight most of the times he has played against them. He also isn't the passer you'd want from a #1 option post player.

cool story

Yea because Dwight drops 30 on them with ease. Oh, and he has the most fluid and amazing post offense ever. Open your eyes.

[Last Guardian]

lol you said you didnt have to go back but you went waaaaay back on your example. when was it, 3,4 years ago? fail man. fail.

lol. I didn't need to go back and watch it, not go back in history. where in the hell did you learn reading comprehension? what a (Please Use More Appropriate Word) post.

[wowski]

lol you said you didnt have to go back but you went waaaaay back on your example. when was it, 3,4 years ago? fail man. fail.

lol. I didn't need to go back and watch it, not go back in history. where in the hell did you learn reading comprehension? what a (Please Use More Appropriate Word) post.

Lol perhaps it s you who fails at articulation and comprehension. Wait, sorry, not perhaps. You do fail at both.