Dwight Howard

[goldseraph]

I know this is a Suns board, but I've lived in Orlando for 15 years and the Magic are my 2nd favorite team. I was extremely impressed by Dwight Howard this year and I'm curious where you see him in 5 years - what kind of player?

He has great physical attributes - 6'11" and possibly growing, long ripped arms, super broad shoulders, and he's got a quick jump for dunking and blocking shots. He also is from a very strong, religious family and I can't see him getting into any sort of trouble or being a problem child. Aside from Amare, I'd take him over any young big in the league.

Stats for 04-05 rookie year -

33 mpg, 12.0 ppg , 52% FG, 10.0 rpg, 1.7 blocks

You must be registered for see images

 

[scotsman13]

i think that howard will end up being a larry nance type player. 20, 10 and 2. the problem and limiting factor isnt that he will get in trouble it is that he will be a little to nice of a guy. the differance between him and amare heck between amare and almost everyone else out there is amares drive and willingness to make contact will anyone on the floor.

 

[playstation]

i don't know man, dwight, despite his youth, already is a way better rebounder than amare. rebounding requires some pretty solid contact. i don't think dwight will be quite the scoring machine as amare, but in all other facets he may end up better.

of course, that's like saying 'except for the average engine, this car is pretty much a ferrari'

 

[Chaz]

I am really impressed with Howard so far.

I think it is a mistake to compare him to Amare. Amare's improvement has been nothing short of remarkable. His offensive development is very unusual.


Howard will develop but probably on a little slower curve than Amare.

 

[Joe Mama]

Before the 2004 draft I said I would take Okafor #1. Of course acknowledged that was based on one high school game against Randolph Morris that I saw. I would change that now. I would definitely take Howard #1. I think it's entirely possible that he ends up being the Tim Duncan to Amare Stoudemire's Shaquille O'Neal.

Joe Mama

 

[goldseraph]

i don't know man, dwight, despite his youth, already is a way better rebounder than amare. rebounding requires some pretty solid contact. i don't think dwight will be quite the scoring machine as amare, but in all other facets he may end up better.

of course, that's like saying 'except for the average engine, this car is pretty much a ferrari'

I agree - I think Amare will be more dominant offensively, Howard will be more dominant on the boards and defense. He had five 20 rebound games in his rookie season - not too bad for an 18 year old.

 

[Biclops]

Dwight Howard is really a nice talent that was worthy of being a number one pick last year

Except for his foul (5.8) he is also having a nice summer league averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds shooting 63.8%

I think Dwight Howard has all the potential in the world to become an All-NBA player but like scotsman said i think he needs to have a little bit of a mean streak where he believes he can dominate a game (but considering he was still a rookie and still young) I give him a benefit of a doubt

Plus I really really think he would blossom if he had a point guard a.l.a. Steve Nash who creates him easy opportunities and gives him the ball where he is comfortable on the floor. I remember reading some kind of article that said Dwight Howard rarely had the opportunity to touch the ball because Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley took most of the shots away from him

If the Magic really build the team around him. He is going to be a good player

 

[Chaz]

I remember reading some kind of article that said Dwight Howard rarely had the opportunity to touch the ball because Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley took most of the shots away from him

But on the plus side he had SO many more opportunities for offensive rebounds.

 

[Biclops]

But on the plus side he had SO many more opportunities for offensive rebounds.

If thats the case... he severely underachieved on the rebounding aspect

From all the misses, he should have averaged something like 20 rebounds per game

 

[SirStefan32]

I think he will be a great player. He can flat out play, and he is so young. My bet is that in 3 or 4 years, he will be an all star.

 

[tobiazz]

He could easily be the next Tim Duncan. He will be better than Nene, Chandler, Dalembert, and all the other young Centers, if he isn't already (I am not counting Amare as a Center for this comparison).

He could be better than Amare, especially defensively, but you never know. Two years ago, I thought Zach Randolph could easily be better than Amare and that did not happen.

 

[JCSunsfan]

His rookie year was very similar to Amare's. He's about the same age. I would be very excited about having him if I was an Orlando fan.

 

[Amaretotheline_]

I really wish the Suns had won the 2004 lottery. If they had taken Howard we wouldn't have to worry about anything for the next 15 years. It would be like having Duncan and Robinson in their primes together.

 

[George O'Brien]

There was a lot of debate on this board prior to the draft between Okafor and Howard. The consensus actually proved to be true - Okafor had a stronger rookie season and won ROY; but Howard had the most upside and would be a solid contributor early on. Howard did a little better than expected, but not a lot considering the glowing writeups he received.

BTW, it is easy to miss just how big an impact Amare had his rookie season. Inspite of an sore anke, Amare drew double teams from about January of his rookie season and helped get the team into the playoffs.

 

[SunsTzu]

I really wish the Suns had won the 2004 lottery. If they had taken Howard we wouldn't have to worry about anything for the next 15 years. It would be like having Duncan and Robinson in their primes together.

Pretty sure I recall BC saying the did have Howard #1 on there board.

 

[Joe Mama]

Pretty sure I recall BC saying the did have Howard #1 on there board.

On one of the Phoenix Suns pregame shows they did a piece about that draft. There were a couple times in that piece where you could see the "official list" of players for the team. Dwight Howard was at the top of that list. Josh Smith was not even on the list.

Joe Mama

 

[PhxGametime]

I thought Dwight Howard had more potential but when I heard Joe Mama's thoughts after game I sent - I did kind of saw what Joe Mama was saying and I didn't know what to believe - I had wanted to say that maybe he didn't play the defense because of foul trouble in H.S is a little different than a College/NBA game but I really thought Okafor would start of his career better as well...


I didn't think he could average 10 REB Rookie year, that's pretty impressive (regardless of how bad their Guards were) but he did show a lot of athleticism and decent size for a H.S kid... I'm not sure how his shooting turned out, same with Andray Blatche (2 big man that could shoot in H.S) but the NBA game is completely different.


Blatche would've been perfect for the Suns, that's too bad the team didn't Trade up to get him. Thompson shoud be a decent role player, maybe in a few years but decent...

 

[Amaretotheline_]

Dwight has a pretty solid jumper, already. He just didn't get much of a chance to show it off with Francis hogging the ball for most of the game.

 

[boisesuns]

Dwight has a pretty solid jumper, already. He just didn't get much of a chance to show it off with Francis hogging the ball for most of the game.

True! The magic coach can't even call plays sometime

 

[Biclops]

I think Dwight Howard is not going to reach his full potential unless they get rid of Steve Francis or the organization builds the team around Dwight Howard and starts calling some plays for him

 

[elindholm]

I love how every struggle that a young big man encounters can be blamed on his selfish point guard. What a racket. I'm trying to remember who the point guard was in Portland while Jermaine O'Neal was there, so we can add him to the loser list while we're at it. Heck, maybe all Milicic needs is to get away from Billups.

 

[Russ Smith]

There was a lot of debate on this board prior to the draft between Okafor and Howard. The consensus actually proved to be true - Okafor had a stronger rookie season and won ROY; but Howard had the most upside and would be a solid contributor early on. Howard did a little better than expected, but not a lot considering the glowing writeups he received.

BTW, it is easy to miss just how big an impact Amare had his rookie season. Inspite of an sore anke, Amare drew double teams from about January of his rookie season and helped get the team into the playoffs.

I actually think Howard had a better rookie year than Okafor. the thing with Okafor is his FG% is so low. For a guy playing inside that much to shoot under 45% from the floor is pretty telling. Howard shot 52% as a rookie. The argument that Okafor had nothing around him does make some sense, but Howard played with guards who shoot first and pass second, most of his points came on his own, Okafor was the #1 option on his team from day 1 and they ran plays to him, never the case for Howard.

I think Okafor will be a good player mind you, I just think he really needs to develop a go to move or shot because he's just not big enough to play the way he tries to play now.


I'm very impressed with Howard I think he's going to be a hell of a player.

 

[Russ Smith]

I love how every struggle that a young big man encounters can be blamed on his selfish point guard. What a racket. I'm trying to remember who the point guard was in Portland while Jermaine O'Neal was there, so we can add him to the loser list while we're at it. Heck, maybe all Milicic needs is to get away from Billups.

Rookie year Kenny Anderson, 2nd year Damon Stoudamire. His biggest problem was he never played, hard to look good in 10-12 MPG.

Francis is a great scorer, but he's not a PG and he doesn't involve his teammates.