Perhaps the most entertaining moment of what turned out to be a lacklustre Western Conference Finals between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors came during the exit interviews, when Dwight Howard, who’d averaged just 14 points through 5 games, proclaimed himself a champion.
Howard (who, despite 11 years in the league, clearly doesn’t understand how the NBA works) said “I’m going to continue to push myself to the limit and remember that no matter how the season ends, I’m still a champion. And I won’t let anyone tell me anything different.”
Quite what he’s referring to here is anyone’s guess.
I mean, he is a Southwest Division Champion, he’s also a 3-time Southeast Division champion, not to mention an Eastern Conference champion, but until he’s actually seen holding the Larry O’Brien trophy aloft he won’t be considered a champion in the true sense of the word by anyone other than himself.
Given the fact that he plays alongside James Harden there’s every possibility that Howard may eventually go on to become an NBA Champion at some point, but it’s this sense of self-entitlement that, along with several nagging injuries, has dogged Howard’s game for the past few years.
Ever since his one and only NBA Finals appearance with the Orlando Magic back in 2009, and perhaps even before that, Howard has considered himself one of the best players in the league.
Back then he certainly had the potential to be, as he was widely considered the most effective rim-protector around, an exceptionally athletic defensive anchor, and a shot blocker capable of deterring even the strongest finishers from entering the paint. On the other end of the floor he was a work in progress though, still learning how to post up, trying to add a jumpshot to his game, and attempting to increase his productivity at the free throw line, or so it seemed.
As the years passed, Magic GM Otis Smith attempted to find the right supporting cast with which to surround (and eventually appease) Howard, pairing him with the likes of Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, and Glen Davis in the process. Understandably, none of these candidates succeeded in plugging the gaping holes in Howard’s offensive game, making the “Dwightmare” something of an inevitability.
It resulted in a year long stint in L.A., one he spent sparring with Kobe Bryant and Mitch Kupchack, until free agency took him to Houston on a four year $88 million contract.
With a deal not too far off the one he’s always craved in his back pocket and a superstar at his side, the stage seemed set for Dwight Howard to evolve into the superstar he has always believed he is, while going after the championship he’s always believed he deserves. But, two years in, things haven’t quite panned out that way, as the Portland Trailblazers eliminated his Rockets in the first round of last year’s playoffs, and injury limited him to just 41 regular season appearances this year.
When he did play this season, he averaged 15.8 points per game (lowest since 2005-06) and 10.5 rebounds per game (lowest since 2004-05) in an average of 29.8 minutes (career low).
Given his status as a self-proclaimed champion though, you’d expect Howard to raise his game for the postseason, to find an extra gear that the likes of Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James have engaged so effortlessly over the years. Yet in 17 playoff appearances he averaged just 16.4 points and 14.0 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game, numbers that aren’t exactly gaudy by any stretch of the imagination.
That said, the Rockets surprised a lot of people by coming back from 3-1 down against the L.A. Clippers in the Conference Semis, an exceptional achievement, albeit one, that for all intents and purposes had very little to do with Howard and everything to do with Houston’s true superstar, James Harden, not to mention his supporting cast. Yes, that’s right, the performances of role players like Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, and Pablo Prigioni overshadowed Howard’s contribution, providing a sense of just how tentative he can be, especially in big games.
It’s not as if Harden didn’t need him either, because he did. In fact, he needed Howard more than ever against the Golden State Warriors in the Conference Finals. But, unfortunately, the latter’s most memorable contribution to the series occurred when Steph Curry boxed him out in game three. In Howard’s defense, he did suffer a knee injury when Josh Smith rolled into him early in game one, but whether or not that’s an adequate excuse for how ineffective he was overall is something he’ll have plenty of time to think about this offseason.
Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey might also want to do some thinking this offseason, because as this postseason wore on and Houston ran less and less of its offense through Howard, it became abundantly clear that Harden’s going to need more in the way of reinforcements if he’s going to be able to lift Houston to the next level going forward.
As for Howard himself, he needs to take a good look at his own game.
It’s unlikely that he’ll ever sort his footwork out, or that he’ll offer much more than a pick and roll option on offense. And as for his work at the free throw line, the career low 52.8% he shot from there this year tells us all we need to know.
Improvement for Dwight Howard will come in the form of accepting his role on James Harden’s team, avoiding the petulant kind of play that saw him suspended for Houston’s opening game of next season, and realizing that the ‘champion’ tag doesn’t come for free.
