Houston Rockets: Is Dwight Howard Still Elite?

Ever since his arrival via the 2004 draft, Georgia-native Dwight Howard has been praised as the most dominant physical presence in the NBA since former Superman Shaquille O’Neal. He even adopted Shaq’s old “Superman” monicker as an homage to his predecessor.

Eleven years into his NBA career, the eight-time All-Star and once Eastern Conference champion, was not selected to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2006, and is out for at least a month with his second knee-injury of the season.

Offense

Dwight Howard is shooting a pretty solid 57.5 percent from the field and is the second-highest scorer for the Houston Rockets trailing only the NBA’s scoring-leader James Harden. Nevertheless, even with high percentage, Howard is only scoring 16.3 points per game.

Dwight Howard’s point per game average, even though he’s the second leading scorer of his team, is the third-lowest of his 11-year career as a pro.

For perspective’s sake, here’s a look at Howard’s offensive numbers on a year-by-year basis:

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Also, throughout this season Dwight Howard is having the worst offensive rating of his career, 104.

Defense

Dwight Howard’s offense is not the only thing that has taken a hit lately. His defensive numbers are — and have been — falling for a while.

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His rebounds per game, as you can see, have been steadily declining ever since 2011-12. Such a decline hints us that his numbers may not get better again, thus leaving Howard’s once-dominant physical presence on the floor, past its peak.

Also, I’ve talked about this before but it seems to be a recurring theme when you talk about Howard. The scoring efficiency of opponents below the rim. How is it possible for teams to score at such a high rate when “the most physically gifted athlete” in the NBA.

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Longevity

Up until this season, Dwight Howard one of the most reliable and healthy superstars in the league by missing only 32 games in his career. Nevertheless, in the ongoing season only, Howard has already missed 18 games. And even if he plays every single game left when he comes back from his latest knee injury, he would log a career-low 53 games for a season.

Which is, to say the least, not optimal at all when the defense is what’s keeping your team afloat.

The Houston Rockets are doing a great job without Dwight Howard. They have some solid wins against solid teams across the league, and more importantly, possible playoff contenders in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, if they want to continue with their Title Pursuit and cap an already unbelievable season with a deep run come playoff time, Dwight Howard needs to be healthy.

And even though the Houston Rockets are 12-5 without Howard, it is impossible for them to match up against the West’s top teams with the inconsistency that Dwight Howard’s injuries bring to this team.

A steady decline in Howard’s overall numbers doesn’t exactly mean he’s done, however, maybe it is time for all of us to start thinking about the once-almighty Dwight Howard as a declining superstar.

Next: Should The Rockets Trade Howard?

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