Howard wants to Increase His Blocks

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ORLANDO - Dwight Howard's teammates were on him again after practice Tuesday, challenging him to prove he still can touch the piece of tape on the side of the backboard some 30 inches above the rim.

The strip of tape was originally put there two years ago when Howard, then 18, was working out for the Orlando Magic prior to the 2004 NBA Draft. It's still there for all to marvel at, and every so often Howard has to prove his majestic wingspan and leaping ability.

After hemming and hawing a few seconds about being older now and weighing 25 pounds more, Howard sprung from the floor and actually touched a couple of inches above the tape.

"Myyyy good-ness," gushed Magic assistant coach Morlon Wiley, shaking his head.

Magic head coach Brian Hill also was impressed, but what followed were hardly words of glowing praise.

"Now, when a guy drives baseline, that's how I wanna see you jump and contest the shot," Hill said without even a hint of a smile.

Opposing coaches and players have made a habit this season of gushing about Howard, the Magic's 6-foot-11, 265-pound beast of a power forward. Howard hasn't been nearly as complimentary toward his own play, feeling he should be further along in his second NBA year. Too often, the steps have been incremental rather than monumental.

Howard's not happy with how few shots he's blocked or how often he's turned the ball over. With the Magic at 22-41 and assuredly out of the playoff hunt again, Howard has pointed the finger back at himself.

"It's not that I'm totally unhappy, but I just feel like I could have played a lot better," said Howard, whose Magic host the Utah Jazz tonight. "I could have done more than I have to help us win this season. I'm the toughest critic on myself, and I'm gonna stay on myself so I'll never feel like I've arrived."

Despite his perceived problems, Howard has, for the most part, arrived this season. By trading Steve Francis to the New York Knicks, the Magic basically handed the reins of the team to Howard. He has led the league in rebounding most of the season and currently ranks third at 12.2 a game. He's boosted his scoring average 3.5 points (from 12.0 to 15.5 ppg.), while also posting 45 double-doubles (third in the NBA) in 63 games.

"Last year when we threw the ball to the post, Dwight couldn't do much with it and we just saw glimpses," Magic guard DeShawn Stevenson said. "But this year he's a force down there. He has legit moves now. This offseason he just needs to learn how to read double teams. Once he gets that down, he's just going to take his game to another level."

Ahh, the double teams. Because Howard has become more of a scoring force, teams have sent the double teams at him in waves. They have given him fits like he never expected. Howard has turned the ball over more than any other NBA power forward, and his 170 miscues rank 14th overall.

This is where Hill reminds that Shaquille O'Neal led the NBA in turnovers in his rookie season 1992-93 as he learned to pass out of double teams.

"It's been tough because it's so new for me," Howard said. "It's something I have to get used to. All the guys who have been double-teamed, they didn't really know how to handle it the first year. Guys like Shaq, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, they eventually figured it out, and that's what I'm going to do."

Hill said it's actually "refreshing" to hear Howard is unhappy he hasn't made more progress this season. Hill sees a player still hungry to learn.</div>

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