Houston Rockets: Dwight Howard Dominant Again?
When Dwight Howard joined the Houston Rockets a little over a year ago, he formed a great one-two punch with guard James Harden. Coming off a down season in 2012-13, Howard went on to average 18.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game in leading the Rockets to the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Now more than two years removed from back surgery, it’s fair to wonder if we will ever see the Dwight Howard we saw in Orlando; a guy that dominated on both ends of the court, leading his team to the NBA Finals. Dwight’s last healthy year in Orlando, during the 2010-11 season, he averaged 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game.
The question has become, will we ever again see the domination that Howard used to provide night in and night out?
The odds are not exactly in his favor, but that doesn’t mean Dwight won’t continue to put up solid numbers. An 18-point, 12-rebound, two-block stat-line is nothing to dismiss, and is still an elite-caliber line. The odds of Howard putting up such astronomical defensive numbers, specifically in such a fast-paced offensive attack, are not great.
His offensive numbers will be down a bit as well, considering he will be playing with James Harden for the foreseeable future, meaning less shots going up for the big guy.
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An encouraging sign though, is that Dwight Howard became that dominant every game force in the playoffs when he was needed the most. In the six-game series against the Portland Trail Blazers, Howard posted a stat-line similar to his dominant Orlando days; 26 points, 13.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 2.8 blocks per contest.
Of course, the Rockets would go on to lose that series, but nobody could place that blame on the broad shoulders of Houston’s franchise center.
Perhaps the most notable development in that playoff set was that Howard was decidedly more aggressive overall, averaging 17.7 attempts per game after only taking 11.3 per contest last regular season.
While this doesn’t explain the sudden, slight increase in rebounds and blocks, it could be that becoming more aggressive in his offensive approach, Howard was more engaged overall, thus increasing his production in other areas.
It’s also worth noting that this increased aggression in the offense did not come at the expense of James Harden; the shooting guard sent up 22.2 shots per contest, well above his season averages.
With the Houston Rockets noticeably thinner overall after some key offseason departures, it’s worth wondering if Dwight Howard will take on an increased offensive load during the regular season, keeping him more engaged in the game overall, and in turn raising his statistics to the dominant numbers we are used to seeing from the All-Star big man.
With Chandler Parsons being replaced by the more defensive-minded Trevor Ariza, and Patrick Beverley having a more defensive-laden game as well, the onus should fall on both James Harden and Dwight Howard to put up the dominant numbers to get this team into the Western Conference playoffs.
So, in short, Dwight Howard is not putting up the dominant numbers he did in Orlando. He is, however, certainly capable of doing so, and he might need to in order to get his club going on a deep playoff run.