Houston Rockets: Will Dwight Howard Be Superman Again?

After a couple of practices last week, the blithe Dwight Howard expressed optimism toward Houston’s upcoming season. According to the the big man, the Rockets are more concerned about the minutia of the game that the team didn’t focus enough on last season.

"“I think a lot of things were probably swept under the rug because we won a lot of games,” Howard said. ‘I think some of that stuff was exposed during the playoffs. So now everybody is really focused on the details and doing all those little things that are going to make us better.”"

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Those “details” may entail large enhancements of the team’s weakest points last year: holding each other accountable and getting back on defense — even Harden

vowed

to improve defensively. Dwight Howard is naturally an athletic phenomenon in terms of size, strength, and speed — once empowered, the 6-foot-10 center establishes himself as the league’s most formidable rim protector; however, his rapid rehabilitation from back surgery helped attenuate his dominant force.

Although Howard had a forgettable season in Los Angeles in 2013, the big man’s defense worsened during his first year in Houston statistically. His 4.1 Defensive Win Share statistic was the lowest it had been since his rookie season, and he put up his worst Defensive Rating of 101 since his sophomore year. Despite experiencing back to back season disappointments with Los Angeles and Houston, Howard reportedly expounded on how those difficult seasons have made him a better player.

"“The good thing about it, I didn’t develop any other major injuries,” Howard told Yahoo Sports, “The torn labrum eventually healed itself. But coming back early from the back, I believed it helped me out in the long run. It made me really develop a thicker skin, going through all the things that I went through because of the injury.”"

As he is now two years removed from the back surgery he underwent in 2012, Howard endeavors to revert back to the physical dominance he once displayed as an NBA All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP Candidate: passing on USA basketball for rigorous training sessions in the gym this past summer. Howard has (finally) learned that it is impossible to please everybody and that there is only one aspect that will silence his critics: utter basketball dominance. Thus, the big man is aiming toward a year of redemption in 2014-15.

"“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about all summer: Playing at that level every single night,” Howard told Yahoo Sports. “Not just waiting for the playoffs. This is my 11th year. There’s a thought, ‘The regular season is great, but when it’s time for playoffs, this is when it gets real serious.’ I want it to be where it’s serious from Game 1 to end of season, and then take it to another level in the playoffs. That’s something that me and Hakeem have talked about.I have to do it for 82 games, and physically, I’m in a better place to do it. There were spurts last season, spurts in Los Angeles, where I felt like I was doing a lot. The back injury took a lot out of me, but I’m in a better place now mentally and physically to carry a team.”"

With an inexperienced an unproven bench unit and the exits of premium rim protector, Omer Asik, and the offensively versatile Chandler Parsons, Houston will need the Dwight Howard of old to optimize his game and flourish on both ends of the court in order for the Rockets to truly contend in the Western Conference; Trevor Ariza — a former teammate of Howard in Orlando — recently stated that Howard looks even more spry than he did in his days with the Magic.

"“To be honest, he looks more athletic to me now,” Ariza told Yahoo Sports. “He’s always been big and strong, but he seems stronger to me, looks like he’s jumping higher than he did.”"

A video that surfaced last week of Dwight Howard slamming down an off-the-wall windmill dunk certainly validated Ariza’s words. This clip is certainly reminiscent of the Super Man who won the Dunk Contest in 2008. Albeit a small sample size, Howard has also shown glimpses of the authoritativeness he possessed in Orlando during his spectacular performance versus the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the postseason last May.

The 2011 playoffs featured Dwight Howard when he was at his very best — before the back surgery — and the numbers he garnered that year are eerily similar to the ones he accumulated during last season’s playoffs. This freakishly athletic center is eager to show the NBA world that Superman is back.

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Houston Rockets: Can Dwight Howard Return To The Superman He Once Was?

By jasaad | Oct 5, 2014