The Redemption of Dwight Howard

[Jamaaliver]

This will, undoubtedly, be an ongoing story line this season.

Dwight Howard could finally find smooth sailing in his hometown

Dwight Howard was an insufferable clown for most of his career. With all the jokes, pouting and [forced] post-ups, Howard built a reputation as one of the least-liked players in the NBA.

Now back in his hometown of Atlanta, Howard is trying to resurrect his career with the Hawks. And you know what? I am completely here for it. With the Hawks, I think Howard has finally found the right situation for himself—a supersized role player on a contending team.

...the Hawks have a higher ceiling with Howard as opposed to Al Horford...a healthy Dwight—even at age 30—is a better defender and can absolutely wreck defenses in the pick-and-roll. And playing out of the spotlight should help Howard, who probably hasn't faced less pressure since his early days in Orlando.

If the sympathy angle does nothing for you, perhaps you’ll appreciate the Hawks as a sleeper team in the East. And if Howard really does raise Atlanta’s ceiling, is it totally inconceivable for the Hawks to channel some kind of 2009 Magic vibes to give us an entertaining playoff series against the Cavs?



Dwight may never win you over, but he deserves one last look as someone who can MAYBE help add some drama to the Eastern Conference.

Here

Can Howard Revive His Career With the Hawks?


In his first game with his hometown team, Howard became the player his in-hiding supporters hoped he'd become over the last half decade—the absolute king of anything or anyone who dares enter his paint, and someone who gets his offense in the flow of the game.

Howard's game is the virtual opposite of that of Al Horford, whom the Hawks lost to the Boston Celtics in free agency last season. But that's not necessarily a bad thing...

If Howard can remain content with being a third option on offense while focusing his energy on rebounding and protecting the paint, he can return to the elite center mantel, and the Hawks can be a force to be reckoned with come the playoffs.

Here



Thoughts?

Predictions?

[NBAMythbuster]

Yeh, I've had them pegged as a top 3 East team this year and I think it'll be an ongoing story through the season. The parallels between Shaq/Kobe in 2005 are very strong. After that season everyone's opinion was "wow, did we underrate Shaq, he's so lovable and Kobe is just an overrated, selfish hater".

[simon24]

This will, undoubtedly, be an ongoing story line this season.

Dwight Howard could finally find smooth sailing in his hometown

Dwight Howard was an insufferable clown for most of his career. With all the jokes, pouting and [forced] post-ups, Howard built a reputation as one of the least-liked players in the NBA.

Now back in his hometown of Atlanta, Howard is trying to resurrect his career with the Hawks. And you know what? I am completely here for it. With the Hawks, I think Howard has finally found the right situation for himself—a supersized role player on a contending team.

...the Hawks have a higher ceiling with Howard as opposed to Al Horford...a healthy Dwight—even at age 30—is a better defender and can absolutely wreck defenses in the pick-and-roll. And playing out of the spotlight should help Howard, who probably hasn't faced less pressure since his early days in Orlando.

If the sympathy angle does nothing for you, perhaps you’ll appreciate the Hawks as a sleeper team in the East. And if Howard really does raise Atlanta’s ceiling, is it totally inconceivable for the Hawks to channel some kind of 2009 Magic vibes to give us an entertaining playoff series against the Cavs?



Dwight may never win you over, but he deserves one last look as someone who can MAYBE help add some drama to the Eastern Conference.

Here

Can Howard Revive His Career With the Hawks?


In his first game with his hometown team, Howard became the player his in-hiding supporters hoped he'd become over the last half decade—the absolute king of anything or anyone who dares enter his paint, and someone who gets his offense in the flow of the game.

Howard's game is the virtual opposite of that of Al Horford, whom the Hawks lost to the Boston Celtics in free agency last season. But that's not necessarily a bad thing...

If Howard can remain content with being a third option on offense while focusing his energy on rebounding and protecting the paint, he can return to the elite center mantel, and the Hawks can be a force to be reckoned with come the playoffs.

Here



Thoughts?

Predictions?

I've been impressed so far from what I've seen of Dwight this season. He's been saying and doing the right things. Even when he had a bad game against Embiid, he continued to say and do the right things.

I expect Hawks to be on a win streak going into their matchup with Houston. I'm hoping media hypes it up. Get some eyes on the Hawks. I believe they got Cleveland after Houston, another must win.

I think he'll bounce back. Won't make the All-Star game unless there was an injury. I got James, George, Melo as starters. Horford, Butler, Millsap, Drummond as reserves.

I'm hoping regardless how this season ends, likely a series loss against CLE at some point, that Dwight and Millsap can be in NO during All-Star weekend trying to recruit All-Stars to come to join them next summer.

[Jamaaliver]

I've been impressed so far from what I've seen of Dwight this season. He's been saying and doing the right things. Even when he had a bad game against Embiid, he continued to say and do the right things.

He really has. And deserves credit for it. Even if he just impacts the floor as a defensive presence in the middle (something we've needed from a Center for a decade), he can still rebuild his reputation by buying in to what Coach Bud is telling him to do.



NOTE: I could see a token, sentimental All Star nod from the coaches if Atlanta is top 5 in the East and D12 is a top rebounder in the league.

[simon24]

I've been impressed so far from what I've seen of Dwight this season. He's been saying and doing the right things. Even when he had a bad game against Embiid, he continued to say and do the right things.

He really has. And deserves credit for it. Even if he just impacts the floor as a defensive presence in the middle (something we've needed from a Center for a decade), he can still rebuild his reputation by buying in to what Coach Bud is telling him to do.



NOTE: I could see a token, sentimental All Star nod from the coaches if Atlanta is top 5 in the East and D12 is a top rebounder in the league.

Sadly, I can see him being one of the victims of the new All-Star ballot now that the C position has been eliminated.

Last year's All Star reserves: Wall, Butler (before being replaced by Pau), Drummond, Millsap, Bosh (before being replaced by Horford), Thomas, DeRozan

I'm sure Horford replaces Bosh. Makes me wonder if Dwight would get the nod over Jonas.

[Jamaaliver]

Another national piece on the return to prominence of D12:

Dwight Howard Is Back — So Now It’s Time to Root Against Him

A dominant Dwight is a perfect basketball villain


Through this season’s first eight games, Dwight Howard has been very good and so have his Hawks. It makes me sad and frustrated but also happy and excited, which I know sounds at least a little bit weird, but it’s really not

...Here’s the thing: Dwight Howard is currently my third-favorite NBA player to root against. My first-place guy to root against is James Harden. Dwight, the big galoot, used to be higher up; in 2015, back when the Rockets were good and intimidating, he was probably first or second.

Now he’s back. He’s in Atlanta, his hometown, and it looks like — fingers crossed — he might be good again.

The Ringer

[Jamaaliver]

Dwight Howard’s Homecoming

The Atlanta Hawks are 7-2, and Dwight Howard is enjoying his best personal numbers since he left Orlando...few people expected a resurgent season from the Hawks. So what’s going on, and what did we all miss?

Right now, Dwight Howard’s BPM is higher than it’s ever been in his career, including the seasons where he was an MVP contender in Orlando. What’s most striking is that his offensive rebound rate has skyrocketed to nearly 20 percent, which is Dennis Rodman territory. But his steal, block, and efficiency numbers are up too while his turnover rate is at its lowest point in years. It’s a wholesale improvement, and for a center with a recent history of injuries in his early 30’s this is surprising for a reason.

Slicing Howard’s numbers into smaller pieces, Howard actually isn’t posting up less often, as the play type statistics on NBA.com have his post-up frequency increasing from 30.5% to 33.9%. Per 40 minutes, his post-up rate has gone up by nearly 1.5, although his efficiency hasn’t improved much. He has been, however, more active as a roll man — from 9.3% to 13.4%, respectively — and his points per possessions have gone from 1.1 to 1.28. Structurally, his game isn’t too different now, just more effective, and one could instead point to his recent positive comments about coach Budenholzer. His effect on the Hawks is quite apparent though because they’ve gone from one of the worst rebounding teams in the league to one of the best. This is actually something supported by advanced analysis: team rebounding follows a nonlinear path in such a way that weak rebounding teams are helped the most by high rebounders. In that way, Dwight was actually a great fit.

But there’s a winning bias in perception, and it’s tough to say if Howard’s positive relationship with the staff led to his improved play or if the improved play led to the positive relationship. Most people will assume what they want to assume without having been behind the coach lines, so I’ll just end the section with this: let’s see how Howard, and the Hawks, play the rest of the season before falling to hard conclusions, because it’s the entirety of the season that matters, not a few games.

Nylon Calculus

[Jamaaliver]

The early returns seems to be impressing the national media and re-writing his legacy after only a few weeks:

How Dwight Howard has made the Hawks better


If the resurrection of Dwight Howard had to begin somewhere, it’s fitting that it’s here, in Atlanta -- if the early returns foreshadow anything, it’s that the Hawks, may have been just what Howard needed.

When Hawks coach/president Mike Budenholzer dug into the idea of signing Howard, what Budenholzer saw was a player who could improve one of the NBA’s worst offensive rebounding teams and backstop an already stingy defense with a still elite rim protector.

And what do you know? An Atlanta team that ranked dead last in the NBA in offensive rebounding rate has vaulted into the top five. An active Howard has morphed a team that rarely won the battle for second-chance points into one that gobbles them up regularly. Howard, Budenholzer says, is not just pulling down his own offensive boards (4.6 per game) but is creating the space for Mike Muscala (1.7 per game), Paul Millsap (1.3) and others to contribute on the offensive glass.

Scouts who have seen Howard 4.0 agree: This is the best he’s looked since Orlando. “He’s as active as I’ve seen him in years,” remarked one scout. “With him there, everyone is playing up and aggressive on the ball,” added another. Atlanta was the NBA’s second-stingiest defense last season, surrendering 101.4 points per 100 possessions. The Hawks’ brass has raved about the team’s improved physical nature and how it has been able to play tougher while averaging fewer fouls this season


“Since he came here he has been all about winning,” Budenholzer said. “He’s been great in the locker room, he’s been great alongside Paul. In every way he has been a positive addition to this team.”

Yahoo Sports

[Jamaaliver]

Seriously...a month into the season and these articles are everywhere:

Dwight Howard Has Transformed The Hawks


Under coach Budenholzer, the Hawks have prioritized moving the ball in an uptempo offense, fashioning every player into a jump-shooting threat. On defense, Atlanta thrived thanks to the unusual frontcourt mobility of Paul Millsap and Al Horford, using an array of hedges and switches to slow down pick-and-rolls and limit drives to the basket.

The Hawks, who for years lived on ball movement and swiftness, seem to be replacing those virtues with brute strength. The [Horford for Howard] swap has brought about some encouraging signs for the 8-2 Hawks, who probably needed a bit of a shake-up.

The clearest difference from last season is the team’s overnight transformation into an offensive-rebounding powerhouse.

Between those easy putbacks, and Howard’s pick-and-roll feeds from Schröder, Atlanta is shooting nearly 67 percent at the rim — up from just over 60 percent last year — second only to Golden State.

Aside from cleaning the glass for easy putbacks, Howard was jelling with Schröder in pick-and-roll scenarios, regularly catching lobs from his new point guard.

Even with all this in mind, and Howard playing well, the same question as before still faces this team: Does the team — however good it might be — realistically have enough scoring, or enough stoppers, to get the best of LeBron James and the Cavaliers?

Five Thirty Eight

[Jamaaliver]

The Sports Team over at The Post touting Dwight's resurgence. At this rate, I think Dwight definitely gets an All Star selection. All this positive PR certainly doesn't hurt his chances.

Howard’s homecoming has made him dominant once more

...the Hawks gave Atlanta native Dwight Howard a three-year, $70.5 million contract to replace longtime franchise centerpiece Al Horford. Howard has been excellent for Atlanta thus far. Despite averaging the fewest minutes per game (28.9) of his career, Howard is averaging 14.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game – and actually is averaging the most offensive rebounds per game (4.5) of his career. His current Player Efficiency Rating of 22.3 would also be his highest since the 2011-12 season – his final year in Orlando.

While the Hawks were a stout defensive team with Horford, they are the top-ranked defense in the league so far this season, allowing 97.5 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. But the big difference is how much better they are on the boards now that Howard is their starting center; that’s a big reason why Howard could very well make his ninth All-Star team in February.

Upon arriving with the Hawks, Budenholzer made it clear what he wanted from Howard during a team meeting before the season: play defense, rebound and control the paint at both ends. So far, Howard has done so, and is enjoying the opportunity to play in his hometown.

Washington Post

[jayu70]

The Washington Post Sports Team touts Dwight's resurgence. At this rate, I think Dwight definitely gets an All Star selection. All this positive PR certainly doesn't hurt his chances.

Howard’s homecoming has made him dominant once more

...the Hawks gave Atlanta native Dwight Howard a three-year, $70.5 million contract to replace longtime franchise centerpiece Al Horford. Howard has been excellent for Atlanta thus far. Despite averaging the fewest minutes per game (28.9) of his career, Howard is averaging 14.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game – and actually is averaging the most offensive rebounds per game (4.5) of his career. His current Player Efficiency Rating of 22.3 would also be his highest since the 2011-12 season – his final year in Orlando.

While the Hawks were a stout defensive team with Horford, they are the top-ranked defense in the league so far this season, allowing 97.5 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. But the big difference is how much better they are on the boards now that Howard is their starting center; that’s a big reason why Howard could very well make his ninth All-Star team in February.

Upon arriving with the Hawks, Budenholzer made it clear what he wanted from Howard during a team meeting before the season: play defense, rebound and control the paint at both ends. So far, Howard has done so, and is enjoying the opportunity to play in his hometown.

Here

We have to keep winning games.

[MaceCase]

It's the East, the Hawks can hover around .500 by February and be in contention for a top 4 seed. Dwight should be able to get tons of consideration based on name brand alone then production.

[Jamaaliver]

With the team's struggles of late...so have the accolades and articles singing D12's praises.

So here's a little holiday cheer from the big man in a PR move for the season:

Read on Twitter

[jayu70]

With the team's struggles of late...so have the accolades and articles singing D12's praises.

So here's a little holiday cheer from the big man in a PR move for the season:

Read on Twitter

So are you saying because of the struggles of him and the team and lack of posiitive articles this is a PR stunt/move to generate positive press?

Why try corolating one with the other?
He did this in Houston last year as well when he teamed with Barbara Bush on a literacy program. The announcement fir this event occurred November 30th - these things require planning.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/atlanta-hawks-dwight-howard-announces-list-of-great-books-to-give-kids-for-the-holidays-431498.php

[jayu70]

With the team's struggles of late...so have the accolades and articles singing D12's praises.

So here's a little holiday cheer from the big man in a PR move for the season:

Read on Twitter

I guess Millsap felt like doing the same.

Read on Twitter

I think the schedule has a lot to do with it. 3 days off.

[Jamaaliver]

So are you saying because of the struggles of him and the team and lack of posiitive articles this is a PR stunt/move to generate positive press?

Why try corolating one with the other?

Ummm....

I think every well-to do individual owes a debt to give back the community. Particularly young men of color, because only recent generations have been granted full rights to live/work/thrive in this country without legal limitation.

Doing volunteer work is unquestionably a good thing.

Doing volunteer work in front of cameras and then posting the picks on a company website with the aid of the team PR department generally counts a savvy public relations move.

I included this pic here because it was related to the topic. Dwight Howard's continued image rehabilitation. He's redefined himself on the court with his play this year. And was recognized for it by national media. (I've listed a half dozen in this thread alone.)

Now he's continuing efforts which will help redefine himself OFF THE COURT.

This wasn't meant as an attack on Dwight Howard or the team. Just an observation that, in the absence of glowing coverage, the team (and his personal PR advisors) are now helping to shape the narrative to aid in 'The Redemption of Dwight Howard'.

So are you saying because of the struggles of him and the team and lack of posiitive articles this is a PR stunt/move to generate positive press?

Why try correlating one with the other?

I'm saying the national media has stopped writing complimentary articles about Dwight that I can post here...so I'll post a local story about Dwight provided through the Public Relations Department of the Atlanta Hawks.



NOTE: The #NBACares is a public relations program designed to bring attention to acts of charity that NBA players participate in. It also serves as a opportunity to connect younger NBA players with charities that can benefit from extra coverage in the local areas.

It is literally a movement, program, strategy dreamed up by Public Relations experts in the NBA corporate office. And that's okay. It's mutually beneficial. And a savvy business practice, as well.

[jayu70]

Read on Twitter

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

Exactly. And I'm sure they'll have media access granted at these events and pics will be distributed through the PR Dept at Corp HQ.

It's savvy marketing to show these guys participating in such events.

These are much better headlines than, say, Matt Barnes being accused of assault. Or Thabo suing a Police Dept. Or Dennis getting his restaurant shut down due to health code violations.

Regarding the subject of the thread...

Dwight's limited output during the longest team losing streak has somewhat dampened the excitement D12 came into the season with. Hopefully his improved play and continued accolades in the press will stem that tide. We need Dwight to help recruit next summer.


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[jayu70]

Read on Twitter

Exactly. And I'm sure they'll have media access granted at these events and pics will be distributed through the PR Dept at Corp HQ.

It's savvy marketing to show these guys participating in such events.

These are much better headlines than, say, Matt Barnes being accused of assault. Or Thabo suing a Police Dept. Or Dennis getting his restaurant shut down due to health code violations.

Regarding the subject of the thread...

Dwight's limited output during the longest team losing streak has somewhat dampened the excitement D12 came into the season with. Hopefully his improved play and continued accolades in the press will stem that tide. We need Dwight to help recruit next summer.


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If the other starters weren't also having limited outputs I would be concerned. The losing streak had most of the players struggling.

[Jamaaliver]

Dwight's limited output during the longest team losing streak has somewhat dampened the excitement D12 came into the season with. Hopefully his improved play and continued accolades in the press will stem that tide.

If the other starters weren't also having limited outputs I would be concerned. The losing streak had most of the players struggling.

WTF are you talking about?

The entire thread is dedicated to the good press Dwight was receiving at the start of the season from national media.

Those articles ceased during the team's losing streak. So I posted a positive LOCAL story about Dwight's charity work distributed by the Hawks PR Dept.

NO ONE here is criticizing Dwight or the team.

YOU DONT HAVE TO DEFEND HIM BECAUSE NO ONE IS ATTACKING HIM.

NO ONE IS CRITICIZING HIM.

THE ENTIRE THREAD IS DEDICATED TO POSITIVE STORIES ABOUT DWIGHT.

I POSTED ANOTHER POSITIVE STORY ABOUT DWIGHT.

NO ONE IS CRITICISING DWIGHT.

NO ONE IS CRITICIZING DWIGHT.

NO ONE IS CRITICIZING DWIGHT.

Good grief...


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