The Wizards center spot used to be manned by Marcin Gortat, but now the job belongs to Dwight Howard. What’s the realistic impact Dwight may have? Here’s NBC Sports Washington reporting:
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As the Wizards opened training camp this week at the Medstar Performance Center in Southeast Washington, head coach Scott Brooks’ first message to his team was about defense and how he believes they can make a significant leap this season. Part of his thinking is rooted in the fact they added Dwight Howard through free agency this summer, as Howard gives them a level of rim protection they have not enjoyed in years.
It also wasn’t that long ago that the Wizards were a top-shelf defensive team. When Washington first began making playoff runs with John Wall and Bradley Beal running the show, they were an above average team on defense. From the 2012-13 season through 2014-15, they were top 10 in points allowed.
Their roster has changed significantly from those days and some of their best defenders like Trevor Ariza moved on. But last year they were 15th in defensive rating and 15th in points allowed, and Brooks feels a jump into the top 10 isn’t out of the question.
Howard himself believes they can be even better than that.
