Dwight Howard overrated

Anyone else sick of hearing Howard bitch about being underappreciated or dissed because of the whole Kobe v. LeBron thing? And the Orlando papers lap it up too. Howard is just not that great. Yeah, he had 3 dunks in overtime. Blah blah. That was because of Orlando's outside shooters. Plus he was single-covered by Z, who I'm pretty sure I could dribble round on a bad day. What did he do up to that point? Not much. If Orlando wins the title and he gets series MVP, it'll be because he's more famous than everyone else on that team. Turkoglu should really win it. (Plus there should definitely be an asterisk after their title. There's no way they get past Boston if Garnett is healthy. Their main advantage is that Turkoglu and Lewis can just shoot over their smaller defenders. Put Garnett on one of them and it's over.)

Also, watching Orlando is like watching a college team (and I mean that in a bad way). Buncha shooters, move the ball around the outside waiting for an opening and jack up a 3. I wouldn't be surprised if they've scored more than 50% of their points on threes in a game. It's not exactly exciting basketball. And the thing is, it seems to work just as well with Marcin Gortat as it does with Dwight Howard...

A Lakers/Orlando finals would really suck. I would have to root for a giant asteroid to hit the stadium. I guess I'd have to go for Orlando, but it would be despite Howard and it would be hard, because he's REALLY full of himself. He's worse than a young Shaq and not nearly as dominant OR funny.

 

Actually I think he has complete grounds for what he is saying. The amount of disrespect that the other teams are receiving because of Cleveland and LA is alarming in my view. If anything, and Orlando victory will help me rationalize the credibility of the league again. If Orlando makes it to the finals, IMO it immediately kills any conspiracy theories out there. The facts are, it doesn't matter who you are, you are going to have a tough road to the finals, and you will have to get over bad reffing at some point to get to your goal. You just have to play so well, that even the refs can't take it away from you.

 

I think the fact that he nutted up and hit those two free throws speaks a bit too.

The other question I would ask is, was he over rated when he blocked Lebrons game tying attempt near the end, all ball? The game is not only on the offensive end folks.

 

Dude ... Howard is so NOT overrated. He totally dominated the paint last night and killed Cleveland in overtime.

-Pop

 

I don't think he's overrated. If you take out his FT% in fantasy sports he'll net out as the fourth best player behind Wade, Paul and James (in that order, via BasketballMonster).

He's clearly an elite defender, and although his offensive game is still limited you can't deny that he can overpower other players and draws considerable attention. His ability to get double teamed is what opens up the 3-point shooters, much how Houston was successful back in the 90's using the strategy of kicking it into Hakeem and then passing out to players like Vernon Maxwell for open 3's.

For these reasons, he is very valuable. However, I am inclined to echo what someone else already mentioned, which is that Hedo Turkoglu probably deserves the series MVP if they do indeed win it. The mismatch he creates on the pick and roll and the good decisions he's been making are what have really allowed the team to get into their offense by getting Dwight good catches in the post against mismatches. He's essentially their point guard when he's on the floor, and his assist numbers show it. At the very least, he deserves consideration for co-MVP with Dwight. Other players like Lewis and Pietrus are contributing a lot too, but I think that Turkaglou and Howard have been the most important, and without either one of them I don't see how Orlando would have had a chance at all.

 

Orlando have figured out how to use Howard as a massive decoy to open up threes. And they've also figured out that the team that shoots the most threes at a vaguely decent % will win, because threes are overvalued. I hope we don't get a ton of teams following their example, because it's boring to watch. (It helps to have big men who can hit threes. Rasheed Wallace and Steve Novak should be pleased...)

 

I don't agree with the part about they do the same thing without Dwight. They can take the same amount of 3's but when Dwight isn't in the paint, defenders can stay with their man more. Gortat and Battie don't quite demand double teams which opens up the 3pt shooters. Dwight is the reason they are causing the match-up problem because if you leave him alone, he'll own you like last night but if you double, he'll find on of the many 3pt shooters.

 

Dwight Howard is "rated" -- he's exactly the player he's made out to be: a tremendous athlete, a fantastic rebounder, dominant shot-blocker, and impressive dunker who gets to the foul line better than anybody in the league. What else has he been made out to be?

 

He's a great player, but he has no offensive low post game. If he can't get position close enough to the basket, he can't create anything for himself. Within 5-6 feet, he is a monster, though.

 

Everyone is giving him props while saying he needs to improves/add some offensive moves...I think his credit is right on cue

 

If G.O. can turn into anything like Dwight, I'd be EXTREMELY happy. Dwight is an absolute beast, I love his game.

 

sometimes I wonder about Howard. He definitely has a ton of work to do on the offensive end (he really lacks a soft touch and post moves). But he is definitely a great rebounder/defender.

 

I don't know if he is overrated . . . but I can't think of another center in the league I would want over Howard (except Oden of course)

 

Funny, I was thinking about starting a thread like this after watching last night's game. Howard is very limited offensively, and, like Oden, he goes long stretches without touching the ball. But he's very powerful, and he can play defense and rebound.

I see no reason why Oden can't become another Dwight Howard, or be even better. He's got the same tools.

 

I agree that he is rated perfectly. No one thinks he is a dominant offensive player or that he even has any decent post moves. He is a dominant defender and rebounder and when he is close to the basket his footwork is good enough for him to get an easy dunk/layup, or get fouled.

And Varejao was guarding him when he got those 3 dunks, not Big Z.

 

No one? That's not my impression. It seems like a lot of people consider him a go-to guy in a half-court situation. While getting him "touches" make sense, he's definitely not a go-to scorer against a set defense.

 

I don't remember anyone saying he is a go-to scorer. But getting him touches opens up their three point shooters.

 

i can...hes slower, weaker, and much more injury prone

 

says the Bynum man! lol.