Reverse Tim Duncan - The Dwight Howard Thread

316Hornets · Post #301 » by **316Hornets** » Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:18 pm

I see Dwight as an immature Shaq. I think there's probably a lot of voices of all the haters in his head right now and that's understandable. The only way to show them up is to bring it on the court. These immature comebacks are not something you'd expect from a guy with his fame and money.

Yet, I still view Dwight as someone that is able to contribute to this team. He fits a specific hole that the Hornets had and will be able to mesh nicely with Cody's skillset. Unlike Atlanta, we won't be asking Dwight to go against mobile bigs like Gortat for long periods of time.

Having Dwight and Cody is similar to having dual running back threat in the NFL. We will be able to exploit the other team's weaknesses. This of course comes down to Cliff being able to recognize this.

jayu70 · Post #302 » by **jayu70** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:30 am

Hawks fan here:
Dwight will give you rebounds and block shots, that's it.
He's an awful PnR defender, and on offense he sets some of the weakest screens ever, won't roll to the basket on the PnR. He will call for the ball in the post - he was never a great post player to begin with but what made him effective back then was his explosiveness and power to outjump, out quick and over power guys. He's lost a step, he's lost his lift since the back surgery - so he can't do those things anymore, get's his shot blocked quite a bit now. He still has bad hands so very turnover prone.
I was never a fan but when he joined the Hawks I gave him a clea slate - it ended in disappointment. Hope you have better luck.

Vanderbilt_Grad · Post #303 » by **Vanderbilt_Grad** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:19 am

jayu70 wrote:Hawks fan here:
Dwight will give you rebounds and block shots, that's it.
He's an awful PnR defender, and on offense he sets some of the weakest screens ever, won't roll to the basket on the PnR. He will call for the ball in the post - he was never a great post player to begin with but what made him effective back then was his explosiveness and power to outjump, out quick and over power guys. He's lost a step, he's lost his lift since the back surgery - so he can't do those things anymore, get's his shot blocked quite a bit now. He still has bad hands so very turnover prone.
I was never a fan but when he joined the Hawks I gave him a clea slate - it ended in disappointment. Hope you have better luck.

Thank you.

Personally I view Howard as a high risk/reward player much like Lance was. The comment above highlights some of the risks very well. The mitigating factors here are Cliff's prior relationship with Dwight & that Cody is still on the team.

MPM · Post #304 » by **MPM** » Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:11 pm

Read on Twitter

Snidely FC · Post #305 » by **Snidely FC** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 1:51 pm

lol guess who's this summer's ESPN Worst Newcomer . . .

Summer Forecast: 2017-18 Worst Newcomer

8:37 AM ET
ESPN.com

We've covered the leading candidates for rookie of the year and most valuable player, as well as predictions for first-time All-Star selections. Now our panel is projecting which additions will prove to be the best and worst this season.

We asked the ESPN Forecast panel of 44 experts to rank its top three choices for the 2017-18 season's worst newcomer, with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one.

Here are the results:

Forecast: Worst newcomer of 2017-18

1. Dwight Howard
Charlotte Hornets | C
First-place votes: 10
Total points: 62

Comments: In terms of gap between perception and production, there might not be a more polarizing player than Howard. He's certainly no longer the game-changing defensive presence that made him a three-time defensive player of the year, and his offensive game is not ideally suited for the pace-and-space era.

However, Howard is still one of the league's best rebounders, as he quietly set a career high in rebound percentage last season while ranking 14th among 62 centers in Defensive Real Plus-Minus. If you made a list of coaches most likely to get the most out of Howard, it would include the Hornets' Steve Clifford, who was a Magic assistant during Howard's best seasons in Orlando. -- Micah Adams, ESPN Stats & Info

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20295589/2017-summer-forecast-worst-newcomer

316Hornets · Post #306 » by **316Hornets** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 3:09 pm

Snidely FC wrote:lol guess who's this summer's ESPN Worst Newcomer . . .
Summer Forecast: 2017-18 Worst Newcomer

This is just shameless media grab by ESPN. It's pretty telling when Miles Plumlee isn't even on the list. They use Dwight to get ratings because they know he has a lot of fans that either love him or hate him.

SeanBobcats · Post #307 » by **SeanBobcats** » Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:49 pm

This is just silly lol. No one is expecting Howard to be an all star again, and we essentially gave up bad contracts to get another one that can actually have some good production for us. Plus Charlotte with the players and Clifford is probably one of the best fits for Howard if not the best. People just love to hate on Howard

Post #308 » by **fatlever** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:41 pm

woj wrote a Dwight story

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20340912/nba-charlotte-hornets-give-dwight-howard-best-last-chance

Post #309 » by **yosemiteben** » Sat Sep 9, 2017 8:36 pm

Read on Twitter

0.0

LamarMatic7 · Post #310 » by **LamarMatic7** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:40 pm

What Happened to Superman? How Dwight Howard Lost His Way and Is Trying to Get It Back:
https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-hornets-magic-lakers-james-harden-kobe-bryant

Lee Jenkins piece.

James Gatz · Post #311 » by **James Gatz** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:20 am

LamarMatic7 wrote:What Happened to Superman? How Dwight Howard Lost His Way and Is Trying to Get It Back:
https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-hornets-magic-lakers-james-harden-kobe-bryant

Lee Jenkins piece.

His inability to accept blame for previous problems and comparing this team to his old Magic roster really scares me. It's almost as if expects to be the "guy" once again with everyone serving as role players. It's Kemba's team, but not clear that Dwight sees it that way.

I think many of us will be calling for Zeller to start by December.

Post #312 » by **fatlever** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:52 pm

Doesn't help matters that Clifford seems to be enabling Dwight's delusions. I wish coach would have laid down the law from day 1.

LamarMatic7 · Post #313 » by **LamarMatic7** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:44 pm

I wonder what Lee Jenkins would say about that piece off the record. By that I don't mean anything bad. He's one of the best writers out there. Yet I get a hint of Dwight forcing his own narrative on that article. At a certain point, man, everything isn't about you, just like you probably had something to do with the shortcomings in your basketball career.

Mystical Apples · Post #314 » by **Mystical Apples** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 1:32 am

I'd pay good money to watch the presumptive 2nd unit - anchored by Kemba - face the starting group during camp. And if splitting Batum and MKG too? Yikes. Not sure if I could stomach, however, the additional redemption stories Dwight's fragileness would certainly require.

Bassman · Post #315 » by **Bassman** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:28 am

LamarMatic7 wrote:What Happened to Superman? How Dwight Howard Lost His Way and Is Trying to Get It Back:
https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-hornets-magic-lakers-james-harden-kobe-bryant

Lee Jenkins piece.

Fascinating read and a good glimpse into the past/present for Dwight. Between Cliff and Jordan, they have the best chance to help resurrect his talent. DH was a prodigy man child who remains precocious and self-focused. Most of these athletes are some variable of the same formula. I like the counseling he has received, as it hints of more mature choices being made now.

Ultimately Howard has to prove he can impact the game in the "new" NBA. Hopefully he recognizes what that translates into on offense and is willing to do it. Defensively he could still be a force. I hope he is our #2 star next to Kemba, with a shockingly good Monk surprising as a rising star with them. it would make it a fun year for all of us!

Glass half full for me.

Post #316 » by **yosemiteben** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:02 pm

Yeah, I actually came away from that article feeling better about the situation.

HoopsMalone · Post #317 » by **HoopsMalone** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:04 pm

A lot of these are fluff pieces. Confidence doesn't explain his decline in my opinion. Its not like suddenly he's struggling to hit shots. Its almost solely due to his degenerative back condition. He's gone from elite athleticism to good athleticism. And he's never had the skill set to dominate as just a "good athlete".

Imagine if LeBron or Westbrook's athleticism declined 30% this off-season. And instead of transcendent athletes they are more on the athletic level of guys a tier or two below. They'd still be good players able to contribute for a winning team but they would no longer be one man wrecking balls able to carry you to the finals. A less athletic lebron/Westbrook aren't even in the conversation with durant/kawhi at wing or Chris Paul/Steph curry at point guard.

All that said Howard is not getting his due. I think we have the guys around him to generate enough offense and space the floor to be alright on offense. And he makes our defense and center rotation drastically better.

Our backup PG/C rotation was leaking so much oil last season that it took a Herculean effort every game by our starters to overcome the point differential. It was sorta the equivalent of building an offensive line of Pro Bowlers and then throwing a Division II college player in at left tackle.

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

Post #318 » by **Diop** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:11 pm

My favourite comments about howard were from Zeller who talked about how he hated playing against him and how good he was defensively/physically.

SWedd523 · Post #319 » by **SWedd523** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:03 pm

I'll file that under the same heading as "MKG looking as good as ever with his jumper" and "Lamb focused and ready to contribute" and all the other sunshine pieces.

Same ****, different day.

jayu70 · Post #320 » by **jayu70** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 2:50 am

James Gatz wrote:
LamarMatic7 wrote:What Happened to Superman? How Dwight Howard Lost His Way and Is Trying to Get It Back:
https://www.si.com/nba/2017/09/19/dwight-howard-hornets-magic-lakers-james-harden-kobe-bryant

Lee Jenkins piece.

His inability to accept blame for previous problems and comparing this team to his old Magic roster really scares me. It's almost as if expects to be the "guy" once again with everyone serving as role players. It's Kemba's team, but not clear that Dwight sees it that way.

I think many of us will be calling for Zeller to start by December.

Your season of Dwight will be filled with fluff pieces. The Hawks board had their own thread dedicated to such.....
The Redemption of Dwight Howard - RealGM
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1486996.

Followed of course by the Dwightmare thread that we know would come at some point....The Dwightmare has begun in Atlanta - RealGM
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1554541.

Dwight is not a useless player but part of him still thinks he's Orlando Dwight and he worries about his offensive touches. When he doesn't get them the rest of his game suffers and it'll rub his teammates the wrong way.