Dwight interview: "Hack-a-Dwight" mentally bothering him

[Noah Rose]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer/...wight-strategy

Dwight Howard: "In practice, I don't think about what I do when I'm at the free-throw line and I make them. But in the game, I'm thinking so much that when I start missing, I start thinking about missing again -- or if I miss, what people are going to say."

"When I have good free throw-shooting nights, it's because I'm in a good rhythm and I take my time and my head is somewhere else," Howard said. "I just get in the game and I over-think it because that's all I've heard was, 'You can't make free throws. On one hand, I'm trying to prove a point -- and I'm trying to prove it so bad that I just miss it. So that's something I need to work on."

"I always thought of it as like being in love. If you grasp at sand and you hold it too tight, you tend to lose a lot of the sand. But if you hold it just right, then you never lose it. It's just like a free throw," said Howard.

Howard has a series of triggers he uses when he goes to the line to get himself in the right frame of mind.

"When I sing a couple of songs in my head," said Howard.

Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson: "There's so much negativity and scar tissue from so many Hack-a-Dwights that he goes up there and it's embarrassing for him and humiliating for him," Sampson said. "He knows everybody's watching him, and instead of focusing on the process or his routine, he lets those things slip in."

It's not like we didn't already know, but to basically go out and tell the world about it?

[TheReal Kendall]

This guy is a mental midget x10

[Heavincent]

Talk about mentally weak.

[PickernRoller]

Give him a cookie for comfort.

[Mass Debator]

This guy is a mental midget x10

x100

[SpecialQue]

All this does is encourage teams to keep doing it. This was really ill-advised.

[STATUTORY]

soft as corny smiling clown narcissitic fakkit with fragile ego that can't deal with adversities because he's been spoiled all his life and was annointed "miracle baby" by his doting mother

he's the type of guy that gets upset when the world doesn't conform to his view because of his latent god complex

[ILLsmak]

It has a lot to do with team chemistry. Like with Shaq in LA, he could go up to the line and miss 10 free throws in a row, but people wouldn't get mad. However, if you look at Shaq on Phoenix, when they employed the hack a Shaq strategy, his teammates and his coach started getting upset like "Why can't he just make the ****ing free throws?"

Basically the team needs to have confidence in him no matter what, not change the way they are playing, and everything should be OK.

But if they start trying to give him advice at the line or tell him "We really need these, Dwight." It'll get in his head. I think that it's a tough situation. Imagine doing something you aren't good at and having everyone sitting around and sighing like "You're ****ing this up for everyone."

Edit: LOL. Just saw that shit about being in love and grasping sand... singing songs. Wow. I might have to say nevermind.

-Smak

[kNIOKAS]

[Eric Cartman]

for anyone this would be a new all time low, for dwight is just a new medium

[MP.Trey]

Every person who ever played basketball had to deal with making/missing free throws. Who give a f*ck what people say? If they really are messing with your head so much, don't give them the satisfaction of knowing that it's working for them. You tell people you get upset when you get made fun of for free throws, MORE PEOPLE are going to make fun of you for your free throws.

Jesus Christ this guy can be retarded. You're not the first star to get ridiculed for a glaring weakness, and you're not going to be the last. Get the f*ck over it.

[Mr Exlax]

Since he's good at them in practice, get a freaking sports psychiatrist!

[outbreak]

pretty much the same comments he said numerous times in Orlando, he would talk about how in practice he can make 10 in a row then in game he can't hit anything and he didn't know why.

[MP.Trey]

Edit: LOL. Just saw that shit about being in love and grasping sand... singing songs. Wow. I might have to say nevermind.

-Smak

That was pathetic. Really. You sing "a couple of songs" to get yourself ready at the line, and compare free throws to being in love and grasping sand... Wtf?

[OldSkoolball#52]