<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Everybody, of course, is pointing to Dwight Howard as the guy who must raise his game if the Magic are to avoid getting the broom-and-duster treatment by Detroit. Fair enough. He's the franchise player, but he's also 21. He doesn't quite yet have the steely focus or well-rounded offensive game yet that a mature player eventually develops. The pressure on Howard is immense --- and it has been all season. There have been people coming at Howard, and there have been behind-the-scenes sorts of things that I can't divulge. Think of the early Shaq years: He was trying to live up to being the franchise player. People were telling him what to say and how to say it. Everybody wanted a piece of his time. He had an agent in his ear and friends in the other one. The media wanted to be in both. He had a hard-nosed father who wanted to still have an influence in this maddening circle. Oh, and everybody had a suggestion how to fix his free-throw shooting. Maybe now you have a little bit of an idea what Howard has had to go through. It's awful crowded in the living room of Dwight Howard's mind. Then there's this little playoff tournament. Howard made it in his third season, Shaq in his second (1993-94). The Magic won 50 games that year and didn't crawl into the postseason, And Howard doesn't have Dennis Scott as a dependable three-point shooter or Penny Hardaway as an electric point guard or overachieving Scott Skiles as Penny's backup or Nick Anderson as a tough two-guard. Howard doesn't have enough help, but he has all the pressure on his shoulders.</div> Source: Orlando Sentinel
<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq also got swept in his first playoff experience......</div> Lol, that's what I was thinking. Also, not sure, but does anyone see any similarities? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dennis Scott as a dependable three-point shooter</div> JJ Redick. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Penny Hardaway as an electric point guard</div> Jameer Nelson(or what we hope he can be recognized as). <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Nick Anderson as a tough two-guard.</div> Trevor Ariza. I'm not saying game similarities, but description wise. Lastly, Barkley pointed something out on TNT. Why hasn't the Magic brought someone in to teach Dwight some back to the basket, or post moves? In his words, "Teams are gonna stop all that dunking".
Wow, One and Only, me and my dad were talking about the same thing in the car today. I said Darko's post moves were more developed than Dwight's because once he puts the ball on the floor, he loses it. Otherwise he just dunks the ball. We need to bring in some help for him like all of the other young guys in the league get (Bynum gets Kareem, Yao gets Hakeem, etc.). He had Clifford Ray as a big man coach but we fired him because he was asking for too much money. This pissed Dwight off but I think he might still work with him over the offseason.
^I don't mind the fact that they gave Ray the boot. They can find better. I do mind the fact that they haven't gotten anyone in yet. At this rate, Darko will have to be Dwight's mentor.
Howard's fine. He's just a young cat that has great power. Once he's near the basket- BOOM! He's also a pretty good shot blocker. He'll add dimensions to his game. I don't know why people say he needs jumper. Thats not his style. He could have a jump-hook or a little fade away C-Webb shot. Dwight Howard is a star in this league!
