2014 NBA Top 20: #11 Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard

Nobody is coming into the 2013-14 NBA season carrying a bigger baggage than Superman. Maybe the baggage isn’t quite like what LeBron carried in the year of “The decision”, but it is baggage big enough to bother the broad-shouldered enigmatic big-man from Atlanta. Now it is the real test of how much does he stand true to his self-ordained image.

His doubters couldn’t be any greater and the doubts couldn’t get any more harrowing. The ever-pleasing funny man in the NBA has maybe his last and best shot at proving to the fans and the basketball fraternity, that he truly has the attitude and the metal toughness to rise above such negative tirades, and prove himself to be much more than what the likes of Kareem and Shaq give him credit for.

Many have questioned his procrastinating attitude, and harped against his desire to change and shuffle almost every institution around him and shape franchises to suit his fads and fantasies. Dwightamare version 1.0 was a tiring and disdainful tirade to say the least and version 2.0 was thankfully far easier a transition.

However, to do it to Orlando is one thing and a whole different thing to do it to Los Angeles and the Lakers. Add to the mix the desperate D12 stay banners and the ostentatious cajoling acts; it sure did make a shamble of a Hollywood spectacle. So, considering all the efforts and the succeeding refusal by Howard, Superman may have just painted a huge target on his back.

Dwight Howard’s reasons do actually seem legitimate if one were to look at it from purely an objective standpoint. Houston armed with its young brigade of Harden, Lin, Parsens, Bleverley and Asik is one of the most exciting franchises in the game. Particularly James harden who seems destined to evolve into a top-10 player in the game. He needed a back-up and a sidekick and Howard sure seems to fit the bill. To his mind, he may still see himself as the alpha guy and may talk as a co-captain of the team, but to a pragmatic fan, Houston is surely and truly James Harden’s team and Howard is expected to be the missing piece that gets the franchise its defensive cover and intensity and some paparazzi attention to make noises in the basketball market.

With James Harden around, it gives Howard an ace who can take the clutch shots and close-out games with his ability and shot-creation. Howard will again be faced with a situation alike in Orlando, where he will be surrounded by shooters and will be expected to feed off possible pick-and-roll’s with Harden and Lin and earn vital second chance opportunities with his offensive rebounding skills. Houston was the second highest scoring team in the 2012-13 season, averaging close to 106 points per game, and that with Asik playing the Center. Howard gives them options inside, but the Rockets surely wouldn’t depend on him to be the fulcrum or the goto guy. They already have a run-and-gun roster that has three players who can score at will and create their own shots. So, despite popular belief that the inception of Hakeem Olajuwon in the Rockets coaching facility and under the tutelage of Kevin McHale, Dwight Howard can make the most of his athletic ability and turn into a quintessential dominant force inside, it would be foolish to expect the savvy McHale to re-design his plays and strategies to evolve around Howard.