dwight howard is so dominant

[cornbreadsmart]

and has basically zero basketball SKILL. i'm so glad i don't have to root for this guy. his game is just gross to watch. there's no doubt it's effective as hell but yuck. i know perk is no dwight but does perk have more SKILL? i think so.

[pearljammer10]

Dwight Howard might end up being the best center of all time not named Wilt or Shaq when its all said and done...The kids what, 23? Watch out. He's already grabbing 15 boards a game and almost 4 blocks. Hes only going to get better and thats scary...



What a job Perk is doing on him so far. Im really surprised he is handling him so well cause Howard is just greatly dominate and very gifted on the court.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, D.H. has an amazing amount of natural ability, he just needs to learn how to play better / smarter.  Physically he's probably the best center in the game, he's not mentally there yet.

He'll be scary good if and when he develops further mentally as well as physically.

[cornbreadsmart]

that's what i mean though. shaq is a great comparison. again, we ain't talkin' about skill. i can't argue about the domination. i can't argue that it is'nt effective. we saw the titles shaq racked up. i just find it ugly to watch. when i think best center ever i never think shaq. i always think of skilled big men.

[Fafnir]

and has basically zero basketball SKILL. i'm so glad i don't have to root for this guy. his game is just gross to watch. there's no doubt it's effective as hell but yuck. i know perk is no dwight but does perk have more SKILL? i think so.

They're very similar players. Howard is an amazing player already and he just needs to add the footwork, a better post game, and make 70% of his FTs to be the best player in the league.

If he could do that he'd be more valuable than LeBron. Which is just scary. But I don't think he will be able to. He'll always be a poor free throw shooter for sure.

[Fafnir]

that's what i mean though. shaq is a great comparison. again, we ain't talkin' about skill. i can't argue about the domination. i can't argue that it is'nt effective. we saw the titles shaq racked up. i just find it ugly to watch. when i think best center ever i never think shaq. i always think of skilled big men.

People forget just how skilled Shaq was when he was young. Howard isn't half the passer Shaq was then or now, nor does he have nearly the same touch around the basket.

[cornbreadsmart]

fafnir, you're 100% right. shaq was/is a good passer. he definitely had a better tough too. i never thought shaq had a real nice touch though.he did'nt really need to ofcourse, though.

[Fafnir]

fafnir, you're 100% right. shaq was/is a good passer. he definitely had a better tough too. i never thought shaq had a real nice touch though.he did'nt really need to ofcourse, though.

Shaq has better hands than Howard. Having good hands is so important for a big man to catch passes.

Imagine if Perkins didn't have big ole' stone slabs for hands.

[Reddo]

that's what i mean though. shaq is a great comparison. again, we ain't talkin' about skill. i can't argue about the domination. i can't argue that it is'nt effective. we saw the titles shaq racked up. i just find it ugly to watch. when i think best center ever i never think shaq. i always think of skilled big men.

Part of it is also that we know Shaq mostly from his days in Phil's triangle offense which while being extremely effective if done right is also downright ugly.  Almost as boring as the Piston's style of play back in the early 90's. 

Shaq with the Suns, especially nearing the end of this year when he hooked himself up to the Rejuvenation Machine, was much better to watch.  Great post moves, ran the floor reasonably well when he had the chance as well (more as a trailer than actually leading the fast break, of course).

[LarBrd33]

Perk was the key to the game tonight.  He's done a [dang] good job limiting Dwight in their head-to-head matchups.  Look at Dwight vs Boston this year:

12/1 = 14 points 5-12
1/22 = 11 points 4-10
3/8 = 18 points 6-13
3/25 = 24 points 11-13 

Game 1:  16 points on 6-12
Game 2:  12 points on 5-13

One great game there... but the rest have been far from dominant.  I mean... I'm not trying to jinx us, because I could totally see Dwight going off in the next few games, but it seems you can start to build the case that Perk (and Obese) do a darn good job limiting his domination. 

If Perk can play him 1-on-1 effectively the way he did tonight, Orlando is going to have a tough time beating us.

[Reddo]

Gotta agree completely.  Also about Howard, I love how everyone gives him so much credit for being a huge rebounder (not that he isn't good on the boards) but a lot of that is because Orlando has no other rebounders at all.

Lewis at the PF spot only gets 5.3 a game and Turkoglu at SF gets 5.6 a game.  That leaves a ton of easy boards for Howard to clean up.

[jackson_34]

Dwight is way too mechanical to be compared to Shaq/Wilt. Don't get me wrong, his defense is all-time good without question (or at least it will be), but his offensive game is way below par.

I feel for him because he is expected to lead the team and he does on the defensive end, but in the end he is basically the fourth scoring option on the team behind Hedo, Lewis and Nelson. He'd be a scary player if he possessed a jumpshot or even a little finess.

[budMovin]

Dwight Howard might end up being the best center of all time not named Wilt or Shaq when its all said and done...The kids what, 23? Watch out. He's already grabbing 15 boards a game and almost 4 blocks. Hes only going to get better and thats scary...



What a job Perk is doing on him so far. Im really surprised he is handling him so well cause Howard is just greatly dominate and very gifted on the court.

I am going to have to disagree with that statement. I remember watching a Celtics-Hawks game earlier this year and Tommy brought up the point that when young kinds who are very raw break into the league and have success early, it often stunts their development down the road (talking about Josh Smith). Howard is one of the most physically gifted players to ever play the game. His athleticism allows him to dunk almost at will (except when an uber physical center like Perk is on him)...but while he continues to dunk at this torrid pace, he fails develop the basic fundamentals such as good footwork and an assortment of hooks and fakes that all the greats had.

Howard is one injury away from being a mediocre center for the rest of his career (nobody stays healthy their whole career). I personally think he has already peaked because he is going to lose that athleticism that he relies on as he gets more wear and tear in this league. No doubt he is the best center in the league now, but his window will be too short to be mentioned alongside the greats.

Who is to say that he doesn't get down and dirty with the fundamentals? It really is too early to say that his skills wont mature as his body matures. Thats just my spin.

[jr_3421]

Dwight Howard is more skilled than people give him credit for. He not only has great athleticism but uses it very well. If he was just simply athletic, we'd be looking at a taller version of Stromile Swift. What I think he gets too much credit for is his defense. He is a great WEAK SIDE defender. That is not the same as being a great defender. I was looking at all the highlights and I did not see one play where he made a play on HIS defender. Contrast to Perkins where the majority of his blocks come from the person he is actually defending. Howard is definitely a player than Perkins, but Perk does a lot of things better than Howard.


PS: In addition to Shaq's great passing ability, he also had great feet. A very underrated aspect of a offensive post player.

[belgian c fan]

i think you guys are underrating howards abilities in comparision with shaqs. In his early years all shaq could do waas dunk , just like howard. To put it this way, when his fingers didn't touch the net, it wasn't a basket. It is my opinion that howards hookshots are falling better than shaqs ugly bricks at the rim.
Now i didn't say howard is the better player of the two. Cause shaq had other great assets like passing the bal and far better understanding of the game. But that are things howard can learn. Don't know if he ever will, but chances are he will. And he'll be just as scary as o'neal once was if not scarier.