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Houston Rockets: Will We Ever See 2008-09 Dwight Howard Again?

By Mauricio Putz

May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 104-90 to advance to the NBA Finals. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Rockets 104-90 to advance to the NBA Finals. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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As of right now, the Houston Rockets have arguably the deepest roster in the Western Conference. And that’s a great thing when you realize that it was their lack of depth what made them start sort of washed up Jason Terry at point-guard once Patrick Beverley went down with a wrist injury.

Nonetheless, when it’s all said and done, it won’t be depth what will make or break their title chances. No, it’ll be James Harden‘s performance and, specially, Dwight Howard‘s resilience — or total lack thereof — what will.

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After coming to the Rockets back in 2012, Harden has proven to be one of the most un-guardable players in the league after turning his sixth-man worthy offense into one of the most dangerous offensive games around. So naturally, it’s not his performance or ceiling what we’re worried about.

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It’s Howard’s.

Dwight Howard came into the league as a high-schooler and quickly took Shaquille O’Neal‘s “Superman” moniker as he set himself in a hopeful collision course versus Shaq’s massive shadow. And up to 2009, Howard was on track to maybe come close, even if slightly.

After a couple of misses during his first five seasons, it was during the 2008-09 season in which Dwight Howard finally put himself on the map as one of the most dominant physical forces around the league.

During a season in which the league was set to witness an epic NBA Finals battle between LeBron James‘ Cleveland Cavaliers and Kobe Bryant‘s Los Angeles Lakers, it was Dwight Howard’s on-court dominance which eventually trashed the NBA’s — and Nike’s for that matter — dream Finals after upsetting the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Throughout the series, Howard’s size and power proved to be too much to handle for the aging Cavs’ big man, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. After allowing opponents to score an unprecedented 91.4 points per game during the regular season, the Cavaliers’ defense allowed 12.3 points per game more during the series against the Magic. 

By playing a pristine “drive and kick” game, the Orlando Magic surrounded the biggest man on the court with what was left of once-prolific shooters like Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus, and became too fast, and too assertive, for the Cavaliers unproven roster.

You could actually argue that it was Howard’s 2008-09 performance, not the 2007 San Antonio Spurs, who handed LeBron James’ career with its first significant blow — later on, the Boston Celtics, and the old as dirt San Antonio Spurs would join the list.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, Dwight Howard is entering his twelfth season in the NBA and his numbers have seen somewhat of a decline ever since that magical 2008-09 season. For instance, during the 2008-09 season, Howard had 63 games in which he played for at least 30 minutes, whereas he only had 20 of such games during the 2014-15 season.

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    • Also, back in 2008-09 he had 42 games of 20-plus points, and 63 games with at least 10 rebounds. In 2014-15 those numbers came down to 12 and 25, respectively.

    Also, after missing only 36 games throughout his first ten seasons, Howard just missed forty-one games, or half the season, last year, due to back and shoulder injuries — not the best of news for a big-man in the increasingly fast NBA.

    Although it is rather unlikely that we’ll ever see 2008-09 Howard again, it is not impossible for him to step up when the Houston Rockets need it the most — most recently during the 2013-14 playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers, and the 2014-15 series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

    So saving him for the postseason by managing his minutes throughout the regular season is key with the 29-year-old Howard.

    And with Daryl Morey and Kevin McHale — an old-school big-man with a ton of experience — at the helm, that’s not something Rockets’ fans should be worried about. 

    Next: Are The Rockets Better Than The Pellies?

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