View Full Version : is Dwight Howard past his prime now?
Jameerthefear
04-11-2015, 08:42 AM
yes
ArbitraryWater
04-11-2015, 09:09 AM
Welcome to 2012....
:biggums:
Just last year he was top 5 and beasted in the playoffs.. dude is still a force to be reckoned with.
Prime_Shaq
04-11-2015, 09:13 AM
:biggums:
Just last year he was top 5 and beasted in the playoffs.. dude is still a force to be reckoned with.
This. Looking forward to him bouncing back next year.
:biggums:
Just last year he was top 5 and beasted in the playoffs.. dude is still a force to be reckoned with.
Top 5?
He was good in the playoffs I guess.
Thorpesaurous
04-11-2015, 09:19 AM
It's a combination of him being undersized, and underskilled, so he always relied on otherworldly athleticism, so now that his athleticism is just all-world, rather than other worldly, he's going to age faster than most guys.
Plus he's been injured, which after a while goes from being a reason to being part of who you are. Especially as you age.
Combine that with the fact that the game is sort of changing in a way that doesn't fit him, and it's sort of a perfect storm.
The one plus is that he's in a perfect situation. A team that has an alpha ball guy, who wants to play four out and use the big to things that Dwight happens to do best. Attack the glass. Roll to the hoop. Finish in traffic. Run the floor.
If he were still on the Lakers running their traditional scheme, it would look like a full scale disaster.
Jameerthefear
04-11-2015, 09:43 AM
:biggums:
Just last year he was top 5 and beasted in the playoffs.. dude is still a force to be reckoned with.
dwight hasn't been top5 since 2012
Top 5?
He was good in the playoffs I guess.
26 and 14 per game is pretty good, yeah.
ImKobe
04-11-2015, 09:58 AM
26 and 14 per game is pretty good, yeah.
While Aldridge had b2b 40+ games against that Houston front court :applause:, and averaged 30 & 11 with 2.7 blocks for the series.
Lensanity
04-11-2015, 10:29 AM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
Jameerthefear
04-11-2015, 10:31 AM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
lol
coin24
04-11-2015, 10:31 AM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
This:applause:
RightTwoCensor
04-11-2015, 10:44 AM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
Leave.
Jacks3
04-11-2015, 11:10 AM
Been past his prime since 2012.
Chadwin
04-11-2015, 11:15 AM
It's sad that he has damn near the same exact game as he had 10 years ago.
Spurs5Rings2014
04-11-2015, 11:15 AM
While Aldridge had b2b 40+ games against that Houston front court :applause:, and averaged 30 & 11 with 2.7 blocks for the series.
:biggums:
Asik was on Aldridge for those games and that was away from the basket. As soon as they started putting Dwight on him, those 40+ games stopped.
LAZERUSS
04-11-2015, 11:18 AM
The overwhelming evidence suggests that he is.
His body is continuously breaking down, and at age 29, it is doubtful that he will ever elevate his game again.
Mr Exlax
04-11-2015, 11:30 AM
That back surgery kind of did him in.
Darius
04-11-2015, 12:30 PM
It's a combination of him being undersized, and underskilled, so he always relied on otherworldly athleticism, so now that his athleticism is just all-world, rather than other worldly, he's going to age faster than most guys.
Plus he's been injured, which after a while goes from being a reason to being part of who you are. Especially as you age.
Combine that with the fact that the game is sort of changing in a way that doesn't fit him, and it's sort of a perfect storm.
The one plus is that he's in a perfect situation. A team that has an alpha ball guy, who wants to play four out and use the big to things that Dwight happens to do best. Attack the glass. Roll to the hoop. Finish in traffic. Run the floor.
If he were still on the Lakers running their traditional scheme, it would look like a full scale disaster.
id disagree that he is wrong for new NBA. Rim running, "dive" bigs that protect the rim and allow you to play 1 in, 4 out are perfect for new NBA
greatest-ever
04-11-2015, 12:35 PM
Possibly. It's possible that 2014 was the last year of prime Dwight but i still think he an be a 20 12 type player next year if he's fully healthy.
Jacks3
04-11-2015, 12:36 PM
id disagree that he is wrong for new NBA. Rim running, "dive" bigs that protect the rim and allow you to play 1 in, 4 out are perfect for new NBA
yeah, but he doesn't want to do that stuff...at least he doesn't want do it as much as he should. he's more concerned about being a dominant ISO post-up big like shaq.
Smook A.
04-11-2015, 12:55 PM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
You must be one of those guys who only takes a player by looking at their stats. To say you'd take Cousins over prime Dwight Howard is absurd. Dwight's impact on defense in 2010-11 was sky high. While Cousins is a pretty good defender, prime Dwight was easily at the very top of the league. Now if you wanna compare their stats, we can do that.
prime Dwight (10-11): 22.9 ppg/14.1 rpg/2.4 bpg/1.4 spg on 59.3% shooting
current DeMarcus: 24.1 ppg/12.7 rpg/1.7 bpg/1.5 spg on 46.7% shooting
Even though Dwight scored just a little less, his stats definitely look better. Not to mention, he was way more efficient. Dwight's only problem that year was of course his free throws. If you ask me, I'd pick prime Dwight over current Boogie every day of the week. Twice on Sundays.
While Aldridge had b2b 40+ games against that Houston front court :applause:, and averaged 30 & 11 with 2.7 blocks for the series.
What does Aldridge have to do with Dwight?
Dwight wasn't even guarding him. Jones checked him in the first two games, then Asik did the rest of the time.
So...?
Lensanity
04-11-2015, 02:25 PM
Leave.
Kill yourself and the people responsible for making you
What does Aldridge have to do with Dwight?
Dwight wasn't even guarding him. Jones checked him in the first two games, then Asik did the rest of the time.
So...?
I cant remember why Asik and Dwight didnt work in that series. I remember everytime they tried Dwight on LMA they couldnt get the rebound when he missed.
Meticode
04-11-2015, 02:35 PM
No, he's not past his prime. It's all situational. The past few years injuries had hampered him.
He wont shine like he did in Orlando because Orlando didn't feature a ball-dominate guard like Harden.
I still think he has 1-2 good years left similar to what he did in Orlando, he just needs to really stay healthy and get motivated. Those two things always have recently held him back.
7secondsorless
04-11-2015, 03:05 PM
What's funnier is that peak Ben Wallace >> peak Dwight. Bet Kobe wouldn't have tried to run Wallace out of town.
Demitri98
04-11-2015, 03:17 PM
Yep
Prime was from his 1st DPOY 08 to 2012 when he underwent back surgery
He's still pretty good though, has a few more ASGs/All-NBA teams left in him. Being huge and muscular with a long wingspan, broad shoulders and impeccable timing doesn't go away.
I cant remember why Asik and Dwight didnt work in that series. I remember everytime they tried Dwight on LMA they couldnt get the rebound when he missed.
Lopez owned Asik on the offensive end, and when he missed, he got the offensive rebound over and over
He ate Asik up.
Didn't see that coming.
SCdac
04-11-2015, 03:20 PM
It's sad that he has damn near the same exact game as he had 10 years ago.
this
upside24
04-11-2015, 03:55 PM
Would feel bad for him but he doesn't seem to take the game all that seriously. He could still be effective if he had worked on improving his skillset the last few years.
What a waste really.
Doranku
04-11-2015, 03:56 PM
Seems that way. Lakers/Rockets Dwight looks like a shell of the potential MVP player that we saw in Orlando.
COnDEMnED
04-11-2015, 04:08 PM
Lakers and Orlando dodged a bullet.
bizil
04-11-2015, 05:06 PM
The overwhelming evidence suggests that he is.
His body is continuously breaking down, and at age 29, it is doubtful that he will ever elevate his game again.
I agree! Age wise, he should be strong in the prime of his career. Hell even at his peak. But the injuries are dictating something different. I would say Dwight is past his prime.
Thorpesaurous
04-14-2015, 04:37 PM
id disagree that he is wrong for new NBA. Rim running, "dive" bigs that protect the rim and allow you to play 1 in, 4 out are perfect for new NBA
I don't disagree with this, but I'd make the same argument as Jacks in that he just hasn't really shown a willingness to be that guy. Although I will say that that is part of my argument about him being in the perfect spot, because Harden is just that good that he's almost pressed into doing it. But he wasn't happy about being that guy with Kobe.
One of the things about the current game passing him by a bit though comes on the defensive end. And I think it's something that's overlooked a little.
By allowing the zone, or the defensive three seconds, or the illegal defense grace period before blowing the whistle, or whatever you want to call it, the league has made it easier for less athletic bigs to defend. Guys can get away with being smarter about their movement. They can cheat more to the "right" spot on defense more than ever before. And it's allowed guys who are admittedly lesser athletes, to use increased size as a bigger advantage defensively. Marc Gasol. Omar Asik. Noah to a degree.
Now none of that has made Dwight any worse, but it has closed the gap he had as a defensive stalwart. When you're demanding your defenders stay out of the paint from the weakside, then a guys ability to get across the lane to the rim faster and higher than anyone else is a huge plus. But if you're just gonna let guys hang out there, then Dwight's ability to close a gap that doesn't really exist anymore really chews into his value on that end. Especially because he never seemed to pick up many other benefits from that athleticism on D. He still has mental errors more than he should. And it's not like they take advantage of his athleticism to do other weird defensive things, like run traps with him.
Although there are still a ton of metrics that show him as an absolute elite defender. It just seems like the gap has closed moreso even than his deteriorating athleticism would indicate it should have.
Smoke117
04-14-2015, 04:43 PM
:biggums:
He's been past his prime ever since he hurt his back in ORLANDO.
Even prime Dwight was so unbelievably overrated though. Give me current Demarcus Cousins over prime Dwight 10 times out of 10.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/14kwrhk.gif
ihatetimthomas
04-14-2015, 04:44 PM
No, he's not past his prime. It's all situational. The past few years injuries had hampered him.
He wont shine like he did in Orlando because Orlando didn't feature a ball-dominate guard like Harden.
I still think he has 1-2 good years left similar to what he did in Orlando, he just needs to really stay healthy and get motivated. Those two things always have recently held him back.
I'd argue that injuries have a direct correlation to ones prime, as it will allow them a longer or shorter prime. His injuries may be the reason for his drop in production, but thats the situation he is in and that affects his prime. I do not believe he will ever be the player he was pre injuries. And that means he is out of his prime in my book.
L.A.Showtime
04-14-2015, 04:44 PM
Yes, injuries ended his prime early, but he is still effective when on the court. Crazy to think his peak was 6 years ago.
choppermagic
04-14-2015, 04:50 PM
He's past his prime already. Still a great player but no where near a game changer.
In fact, most casual fans will likely have little idea what he's even up to these days, showing how little conscious impact he is having on the league.
Dragonyeuw
04-14-2015, 06:03 PM
His prime ended when he had the back issue, and otherwise doesn't have the skillset and fundamentals to compensate. When 50 year old Hakeem looked more fluid than Dwight in the post when they were training a few years ago, I saw then that this guy wasn't going to be anything special once he passed his physical peak. He really hasn't done anything with his game since Orlando.
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