We do not respect Dwight Howard?

[manl_lui]

so while watching today's game, ESPN or ABC said our strategy of fouling Dwight right under the rim is disrespectful to his game...

this rings a bell to the hack-a-shaq back in 08 when Spurs constantly fouls him...

in my opinion, its just strategy, its not a cowardly move, its just taking advantage of his weakness...

what do you guys think?

[misha]

I think that the commentator was full of crap.

[RondoKid]

Its part of the game. If he doesn't like it. Then start making FTs and teams will respect him more.

[ACF]

They just said (a moment ago) that we are playing good D on him and if he is about to get the shot up, we should foul.

And of course we respect him. But he's not Superman, so there's no reason to fear him.

[Rondo_is_better]

Probably not, cuz he sucks at offense.

[Roy Hobbs]

It's not that the Celts don't respect him.  Rather, they don't fear him, and are willing to cover him with one defender.  Most teams aren't willing to do that, primarily because they don't have defensive centers as good as Perk.

[manl_lui]

in my opinion, we played great defense on Dwight today, Perkins did an excellent job 1 on 1 with Dwight, Big Baby and Sheed both had some great fouls on dwight, thank god i did not see any dunks from Dwight today

[fairweatherfan]

The "disrespect" isn't fouling him, it's refusing to double him down low.  Orlando thrives off ball movement when Howard is doubled, but we're playing him straight up and challenging him to score - the one time Rondo came in and doubled, Williams got a 3. 

Good strategy by Doc but not a surprise since we did it last year.

[BudweiserCeltic]

You guys seem to be taking that "respect" comment way out of context.

[Jon]

Yes.  We don't respect his offensive game, since he has none.  For all the Superman comparisons he gets, he's much closer to a bigger Alonzo Mourning.

[celticinorlando]

get physical with him and he starts to press and disappear...sheed got in his mental kitchen

[Frezz]

How's that any more disrespectful than say, a defender sagging off Rondo and giving him a jump shot? People truly are stupid sometimes.

[Roy Hobbs]

Yes.  We don't respect his offensive game, since he has none.  For all the Superman comparisons he gets, he's much closer to a bigger Alonzo Mourning.

Alonzo was definitely more skilled away from the basket.  Howard is like a less talented, young Shaq.  His entire game is strength and athleticism; if he's matched up against somebody stronger, he can be shut down.

[Jon]

Yes.  We don't respect his offensive game, since he has none.  For all the Superman comparisons he gets, he's much closer to a bigger Alonzo Mourning.

Alonzo was definitely more skilled away from the basket.  Howard is like a less talented, young Shaq.  His entire game is strength and athleticism; if he's matched up against somebody stronger, he can be shut down.

I'll grant you the jump shot that Zo had, but the only thing really similar about Shaq and Howard is their size.  Shaq was more polished in the post in high school. 

[Bahku]

Yeah, the Celtics "respect" Howard ... absolutely! They're not a stupid team, and not respecting Howard would be moronic. However, I don't think they fear him at all, and neither do I for our team.

For some reason he has rarely done well against us, and is almost always in foul trouble trying to handle Perk and KG in the post. Personally, I can't stand the guy, especially since all that slam-dunk Superman crap ... that was nauseating, (and not even a dunk!).

Great, great win, Boyz!