Fronting Dwight Howard...

[ChuckTaylors310]

has any team ever tried it? i dont think i've seen a team attempt it. you guys think maybe if we front dwight howard like we did yao ming that would kind of kill two birds with one stone by not having dwight dominate inside while keeping their 3pt shooters in check?

[El Hardee]

IMHO we let Dwight do his thing, we all know he is going to throw Bynum/Gasol around and post up about 10 inches from the hoop, but we got really make him work on defense, and get in foul trouble, I also see Mbenga being a key contributor in this series. 6 fouls on a Shaqidocious free throw shooter like Howard is what we need. I am more concerned about their 3 point shooting.

[ChuckTaylors310]

yea i agree... if it came down to it just let howard go to work and keep his shooters from getting open... but im asking does fronting howard work? does it have the same affect like when we fronted yao.

[Warhammer3025]

Fronting DHo is suicide. Unlike Yao who just doesnt have the athleticism to go after lobs, DHo will jump for them with ease and just dunk all day. Plus the only way for fronting to really work is to have the back defensive man shade the guy getting fronted so that he can help contest, tip, or steal the lob attempt. Since the Magic have so many shooters we do that we'll be leaving them open all day long from passes around the horn.

We could give it a shot if they dont have Rashard in there and are playing 2 bigs (IE DHo and Gortat/Battie), but otherwise no go.

[gofret]

Fronting DHo is suicide. Unlike Yao who just doesnt have the athleticism to go after lobs, DHo will jump for them with ease and just dunk all day. Plus the only way for fronting to really work is to have the back defensive man shade the guy getting fronted so that he can help contest, tip, or steal the lob attempt. Since the Magic have so many shooters we do that we'll be leaving them open all day long from passes around the horn.

We could give it a shot if they dont have Rashard in there and are playing 2 bigs (IE DHo and Gortat/Battie), but otherwise no go.

Word. Howard is way too athletic to front.

[KObe Bryant]

You just gotta make him work offensively and defensively. Bynum needs to adjust and I see him getting so much minutes.

[Dr Aki]

front = suicide

hasnt anyone seen dwight spin baseline for the alley-oop jam?? or orlando swing it around to the weakside and howard manages to seal his man and get the easy hoop?

[Speedlot]

He would seal the living @#$% out of anyone that fronts him.

[lakersfanatic]

kinda dangerous IMO. He's just too athletic. I expect him to do couple of alley oop dunks on us. It comes natural for him.
Believe it or not, they can use the triangle offense like we do since they have a dominant middle. Get dwight into foul trouble by constantly attacking the basket and take him out of the game... that way we can focus on the 3pt shooters.

[supaflash]

Dumb to front, his post game is not that defined. Watch how Detroit played Orlando, they man up on him and the shooters and make Howard beat you. We have plenty of fouls and big bodies to use on him. Push him away from the rim as much as possible and make him make good moves and free throws.

He'll brick plenty of crappy hook shots and free throws and thats much better then giving up 3s.

Honestly I'm worried that Phil won't adjust properly though, we should not be doubling and scrambling all over vs this team or they will go on huge runs. If we play steady man D they don't have that great of creators and we can slow them down much better that way. Make them make plays to beat you, not scramble around for traps and give them easy 3s or Dwight dunks.

[LAKESHOW]

no. unlike yao, just throw the ball up anywhere close and he will jam it.

[tranjSAIC]

Please front Dwight he would eat you guys alive then, some other poster was right about defending him the Detroit way. Just make him score all the points and check our shooters.

[Joe Kleazy]

As others have said this is a NO-NO. Play him straight up and even if he scores its only two points per bucket. Trying any fancy type schemes will only result in playing from behind because I dont think we can match them 3 for 3 while we can 2 for 2 and I feel pretty confident in our 3ball shooters. Dwight is limited in his post game and while he will be successful, his end result will depend on how much pressure we put on him while he is on defense. There is no excuse for us not having him in foul trouble in every game in the final.

[hermes]

it probably hasn't been tried because it's a bad idea

[LA Warrior]

as prevoiusly stated... it would be a lob/dunkfest.

I think playing him straight up would be the best way. Gasol is not strong but knows how to position himself well and take charges. Bynum is a BIG ?, He might play him well he might get completely destroyed. But i think our 2 bigs defense combined with Kobe attacking the rim (hopefully). will get him in foul trouble. He'll have problems just staying on the court.

[Desiderium]

bynum will get in foul trouble 3 mins into the game. count on it. then we got gasol guarding him and hes gonna get man handled.

[NetsForce]

Gasol actually did a fairly good job of fronting Dwight at times yesterday...