Dwight Howard is looking like a shell of his former self. |
Patrick Ewing, a former member of the Orlando coaching staff, once said of Dwight Howard, "He's only reached 30 percent of his potential." That was circa 2009, when Howard was fresh off his first NBA Finals appearance. Well now it's 2012, he's fresh off a debacle of a 2011-12 season, fresh off a career-turning trade to Los Angeles and a potentially career-altering major back surgery. Does he look anymore refined than that 30 percent potential Ewing talked about years ago?
It's understandable to see Howard struggle amidst his team's struggles to find an identity, to grasp D'Antoni's wide open system, to adjust to the converging egos and to adjust to the bright lights of Los Angeles. Stats would suggest D12 is just fine. He's averaging a little bit less than he usually does at a 18.7 point, 11.2 rebound, 2.6 block click, but you assume those numbers will increase once he finds his comfort zone. Yet, Howard's issues aren't on paper, not caught up in his putrid 46.5% free throw percentage (though it could be), not easily seen by the casual observer. Something is seriously wrong with Dwight Howard.
The 6'11" freak specimen is a shell of his former self. He is no longer the dominant big man he once was. The paint is no longer entirely his domain, and he doesn't make driving guards shutter in fear of their ball landing in the 300 section anymore. There's no jump in his step, zero explosion when he attacks the rim and in all honestly his lack of focus is apparent. Offensively, he has looked supremely awkward, and the few finishing abilities he had are fading fast. With D'Antoni's wide open system, Howard should be thriving but without Steve Nash he's just clogging the paint and ruining Pau Gasol's offensive rhythm. It's quite clear that his back is haunting his athleticism and denying him the ability to take over games the way did in 2009 when he led the Magic to the Finals. Could it be that Dwight's slowly becoming the next Amar'e Stoudemire?
STAT slowly slid down an injury-laden mountain starting with micro-fracture surgery at age 24. Look at him now, he's lost his pop, he doesn't dominant games anymore and he certainly isn't desired as a big man as he once was. Dwight is still a great player in the NBA, but he's lost that dominant trait and if this back issue doesn't heal to full strength we could be dealing with a half-stepping Howard. With less explosion, he'll have to adjust and create some kind of finesse game or he'll be left out to dry. The problem is, I don't see any finesse game out of him. He's too awkward with the ball and can't shoot a foul shot so I don't how he'll develop any type of jumper like Amar'e did. While these issues are all hypothetically related to Howard's back, they're real and dangerous if they come to fruition.
I could be over-exaggerating this whole situation. It's very possible Steve Nash returns and transforms Howard back into the monster he once was. Nash has the ability to unlock abilities players never knew they had. But it's also not a stretch to say Howard's game has taken a large step backward not only this season, but over the last few years. And let's not throw out the idea that maybe Howard's not built for championship basketball, that his mental fortitude could be lacking.
We're only 17 games through the 2012-13 season, but these lack-of-explosion constraints for the 26-year-old Howard are truly frightening.
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