Houston Rockets: Why Not Dwight Howard?
LeBron James‘ homecoming, Derrick Rose‘s third return, the Los Angeles Lakers‘ fall from grace, Anthony Davis‘ MVP-season–those have been the headlines coming into the juvenile 2014-15 NBA season.
Somehow, no one’s making the case for Dwight Howard turning into Superman again.
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Straight out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy as the first overall pick in the 2004 draft, with through-the-roof expectations, which Dwight has somewhat lived up to, he still is, by far, the most underrated superstar in the league.
Sorry, Melo. As the Houston Rockets‘ co-leader — along James Harden — Howard seems to lack the attention he deserves not only inside the confines of the Southwest Division but all over the NBA.
Yes, he is one of the worst leaders in the league,
and a coach killer.
However, Dwight Howard has been, for 10 straight seasons, inside the league’s top 10 in rebounds and field-goal percentage.
As a 240-pound, 6’11” power forward/center, Dwight Howard’s presence on both ends of the floor is second-to-none. His defensive presence is what ultimately keeps the Rockets’ high-octane offense afloat.
Throughout the 2013-14 season, Howard led the Rockets in defensive rating, 102.2. He also was third in points per game within the Rockets, (27). With James Harden’s disconnected controller defense, Howard, although not exactly the offensive supernova Harden is, was accountable for 25 percent of all the Rockets’ 107.7 points per game.
Here’s a list of how many points per game, and the percentage inside their respective team’s averages they represent, from some other notable big-men around the Southwest Division:
- Tim Duncan: 15.1; 14 percent of the San Antonio Spurs‘ points per game.
- Dirk Nowitzki: 21.7; 20 percent of the Dallas Mavericks‘ points per game.
- Marc Gasol: 14.6; 15 percent of the Memphis Grizzlies‘ points per game.
- Anthony Davis: 20.8; 20 percent of the New Orleans Pelicans‘ points per game.
This in no way proves nor means that Howard is better than the aforementioned players, however, this just means that Howard, due to lack of depth inside his team, is way more valuable to the Rockets’ offense than any of the previous players to their respective ones.
The previous is, by no means, the case inside the Rockets.
Anyway, with the NBA eyes all over the aforementioned story-lines, Dwight Howard is, for the first time in the past three seasons, starting a season without the spotlight/target on his back.
Although forgotten, Dwight Howard is arguably the Rockets’ most important player on both ends of the floor. His defensive presence is what ultimately keeps the Rockets’ high-octane offense afloat, and his offensive accolades inside the Rockets are not to be undermined.
Nonetheless, it is only after he leads the Rockets past the playoffs first round that he’ll redeem himself and become, finally, the MVP candidate he was born to be.
With everyone around the NBA hoping on a breakout season out of Anthony Davis, it is Dwight Howard, returning from lower-back and shoulder injuries, who’s bound to have a comeback season.
* The 2013-14 Spurs are one of the deepest, if not the deepest, team in NBA History: (1) During the regular season, no player in the Spurs’ organization averaged more than 29.4 minutes per game. (2) Twelve out of 18 players on their roster played through at least 70 percent of the regular season.