<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dwight Howard doesn't remember what he weighed at birth, but one thing is certain. His mother was ready to get it over with. "I was 21 inches," he said. Imagine if baby Dwight hadn't been two months premature. They might have needed a crane to deliver him. As it was, Sheryl Howard had to stay in bed through half the pregnancy. Her perseverance paid off, which is a lesson everybody should keep in mind. The kid's coming along. It's just not as fast as a lot of people think and hope. If they wonder why, there will be 20 reasons staring Howard in the face today. Twenty-one, if they light a birthday candle for him to grow on. "You lose sight of that sometimes," Brian Hill said. He's still only 20. There are candy bars that old at TD Waterhouse concession stands. It's easy to lose sight because Howard always has done things ahead of schedule. He's the youngest player to get 1,000 NBA rebounds. He's the youngest to have a 20-point, 20-rebound game. He's good for a couple of SportsCenter highlight dunks per night. The comparisons are coming faster every week. Howard has been likened to Kevin Garnett, David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal. After getting seven rebounds in the first quarter against Chicago, somebody undoubtedly called him Dennis Rodman with a brain. In the spirit of Lamaze, let's all take a deep breath. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," Magic Assistant General Manager Otis Smith said. The Magic are in a tricky spot. They worry their prized possession will melt under the expectations, but they need Howard to blossom ASAP. The way they played against the Bulls, they need him to turn into David Stern and declare every turnover is worth five points. The fact is, Howard is not nearly a Shaq or Robinson, Garnett or even a pre-Madonna Rodman. Right now, he's not even Dwight Howard, since it's too early to tell just what Dwight Howard will be. When he gets the ball, he still usually thinks instead of reacts. Every night is a journey along the learning curve. It's still going to get bumpy, like when Prof. Tim Duncan took him to school Monday night. Or against the Bulls, when he had another huge first half, then faded against untenured defenders such as Michael Sweetney. Howard still ended up with 17 points and 16 rebounds. But would a team with Shaq or Garnett or Robinson have lost its fifth in a row in such an ugly way? "My team is looking for me to make the big shots down the stretch," Howard said. He's not ready to deliver them yet. At worst, Howard looks like he'll be good for a dozen rebounds and a dozen points a night for the next 15 years. At best, who knows? The intrigue drives the hype. That, and just about everything else. His body, his attitude, his eagerness to improve.</div> Source
