Dwight Discussion: Dwightmare on Figueroa St. Part Boo

Ariza3 wrote:he doesnt fight for position bc he feels there's no oint bc they wont give him the ball. thus rebounding is down defense everything.

I don't agree, it goes both ways, you want the ball you fight for the ball. If Dwight got in great position more often and demanded the ball he'd get it more IMO, you have to want to be great.

If Dwight fought for position down low he would foul out in 2 minutes. He doesn't know how to seal a guy off without taking his off arm and shoving them out of the way.

His offensive game is pretty sad, injury or not, he doesn't even know how to do the simple things on offense. If it isn't a dunk, it's a problem.

Both Kobe and Steve are proven playmakers. If you play with them and blame you don't get fed. Obviously, it's your fault. Another evidence is Pau. when Pau play with them, he can score 20+ easily with many assists.

I'm not blaming Dwight. He isn't 100%. He doesn't fit well in MDA's offensive system either. His strength isn't utilized properly here IMO. However, his attitude is questioned. Whatever he like being a Laker or not, whatever he like his teammates or not, he should play, like a professional and he should compete, like a great. He should give 100% every game.

Kobe is a great scorer but has become a playmaker. Steve is great passer but became a spot up shooter. Dwight should learn from them.

Not trying to sound like many of the over-reactors, but I'd trade him now before he walks in the off-season.

We're not going anywhere with him as the top dog. Cut bait now.

Dwight Howard blamed his guards for the 38-29 rebounding discrepancy
"They were long rebounds. Rebounds that were coming to the elbows. We have to get guards to come back and get those long rebounds." 2 minutes ago

I agree with this, that it should be a team rebounding effort........

But....

Chris Bosh got 11 boards.....

Dwight had 9 boards......

Don't worry D12 the more you point that finger at others, you still got 4 more pointing right back at you.

John3:16 wrote:Not trying to sound like many of the over-reactors, but I'd trade him now before he walks in the off-season.

We're not going anywhere with him as the top dog. Cut bait now.

I'm also beginning to question whether we should keep him or not. He clearly doesn't have much of an offensive game unless it's a clear dunk, and currently he's not at his previous level defensively although that's too be expected since he's coming off back surgery. My worry though is that hey may not be able to play at that same level and if that's a case we might have to reconsider our future with him.

I kind of wish he fully recovered from back surgery rather than rush back. He got the itch to play with his new team and I think it cost him physically. If he opted for the full recovery who knows we might be in a better place if he showed up in December rather than October. Unfortunately he's weak minded and is too concerned with people hating him. He needs to learn to have that, "I don't give a F**K" mentality. All the great players have it(Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, Malone, Garnett, Bird,etc...) All the Laker greats have it.

yup everyone has to rebound but its hard when the guards are too busy trying to get back and stop a fast break. so its a double edged sword. the rebounds were just long all game and went right to the heat. cant do much about that hen trying to get back too.

on that nash dwight argument it was just nash got stuck and dwight was saying lob it up and instead nash bounce passed it which isnt that smart bc bigs are not gunna be able to get those as well as lobs bc the heats bigs are smaller. just miscommunication and dwight was prob frustrated.

Doc Brown wrote:

Dwight Howard blamed his guards for the 38-29 rebounding discrepancy
"They were long rebounds. Rebounds that were coming to the elbows. We have to get guards to come back and get those long rebounds." 2 minutes ago

I agree with this, that it should be a team rebounding effort........

But....

Chris Bosh got 11 boards.....

Dwight had 9 boards......

Don't worry D12 the more you point that finger at others, you still got 4 more pointing right back at you.

Even if it's true, does Dwight ever put blame on himself? It always seems to be on somebody else.

blinkme28 wrote:I kind of wish he fully recovered from back surgery rather than rush back. He got the itch to play with his new team and I think it cost him physically. If he opted for the full recovery who knows we might be in a better place if he showed up in December rather than October. Unfortunately he's weak minded and is too concerned with people hating him. He needs to learn to have that, "I don't give a F**K" mentality. All the great players have it(Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, Malone, Garnett, Bird,etc...) All the Laker greats have it.

It's easy to look back now and say that, but remember the hype that surrounded this team. Most believed (myself included) that we wouldn't need Dwight at 100% with Kobe, Nash, and Pau.

Doc Brown wrote:

Dwight Howard blamed his guards for the 38-29 rebounding discrepancy
"They were long rebounds. Rebounds that were coming to the elbows. We have to get guards to come back and get those long rebounds." 2 minutes ago

I agree with this, that it should be a team rebounding effort........

But....

Chris Bosh got 11 boards.....

Dwight had 9 boards......

Don't worry D12 the more you point that finger at others, you still got 4 more pointing right back at you.

Yeah and he's not even being honest... There were a bunch of rebounds near the rim that he failed to get, either because he wasn't boxing out or because he didn't react fast enough. Van Gundy pointed out that he was getting beat for rebounds and how it was unlike him and all that..

last stand wrote: So it's silly to say I hope Dwight walks.

I didn't say I wanted him to walk. That's my fear. So we should trade him now while we can get something in return.

I have said to trade him, but I'm going back on that; We should keep him. He's not leaving 30 million dollars on the table especially considering the injuries/rehab he will have this summer. I don't think he will get another max contract at age 32 especially considering his decline in athleticism at that age unless he improves his game. I just don't see that happening. For better or worse, he's here for the long-haul.

Well, I agree with Dwight about the guards helping out on the boards. He could have grabbed more, but today was one of those games where I thought you could really see that Dwight just isn't 100%.

John3:16 wrote:

last stand wrote: So it's silly to say I hope Dwight walks.

I didn't say I wanted him to walk. That's my fear. So we should trade him now while we can get something in return.

Reading on Twitter today, Steve Kyler was talking about how we can still Sign and Trade D12, we just can't get any sign and traded players back in return.

His example was....

Sign and Trade D12 for Al Horford + Teague - Legit

Sign and Trade D12 for Josh Smith - Can't do because we would have to sign him to do it.

dwighthowardsdad wrote:I have said to trade him, but I'm going back on that; We should keep him. He's not leaving 30 million dollars on the table especially considering the injuries/rehab he will have this summer. I don't think he will get another max contract at age 32 especially considering his decline in athleticism at that age unless he improves his game. I just don't see that happening. For better or worse, he's here for the long-haul.

My main concern is, can we win this year or next with him? That requires him & Pau both dominating or him + the return for Pau & possibly Metta being enough to win. Dwight's value is much higher & we could get bigger impact guys for him. Pau works better in this offense than Dwight does. Not just with D'antoni, but with our personnel in general. We can't count on Pau to anchor the D but we could get whatever we want for Dwight so that can be fixed. If we can get a package like Batum + LMA, I think our team becomes better.

I think the problem that most people don't realize is the fact that we can't win with Kobe as our #1 option anymore, the league has changed since the last decade. IMO until Kobe retires we will not win another championship sad to say.

lakersin4 wrote:

dwighthowardsdad wrote:I have said to trade him, but I'm going back on that; We should keep him. He's not leaving 30 million dollars on the table especially considering the injuries/rehab he will have this summer. I don't think he will get another max contract at age 32 especially considering his decline in athleticism at that age unless he improves his game. I just don't see that happening. For better or worse, he's here for the long-haul.

My main concern is, can we win this year or next with him? That requires him & Pau both dominating or him + the return for Pau & possibly Metta being enough to win. Dwight's value is much higher & we could get bigger impact guys for him. Pau works better in this offense than Dwight does. Not just with D'antoni, but with our personnel in general. We can't count on Pau to anchor the D but we could get whatever we want for Dwight so that can be fixed. If we can get a package like Batum + LMA, I think our team becomes better.

Yes, we can win with him. However, we have to put the right pieces around him so he can be successful. If Dwight re-signs, which I expect, Pau is gone, IMO. Metta is going to exercise his Player Option on his contract, so he will be here unless he's moved, which I don't expect. No GM in their right mind would take Metta unless he's part of a Pau trade or we attach a 1st round pick and we don't have any. So, he's here at least for 1 more year. What I do expect is him to have a greatly diminished role because with the way he's played this year, the FO will upgrade that SF position, IMO.

Pau is a better fit offensively; you're right. The problem is he's 32 and is has been injury prone this whole year. Dwight for the most part despite this year has been durable his whole career. Dwight does need another piece, though. A Kyrie would be perfect for example. A top-notch PG who can break down the defense, spoon-feed him the ball, space the floor with great shooting & close games. Also, great shooters at multiple positions to have ample space for Dwight to work and be most effective, IMO.

Ice-Fire wrote:I think the problem that most people don't realize is the fact that we can't win with Kobe as our #1 option anymore, the league has changed since the last decade. IMO until Kobe retires we will not win another championship sad to say.

wrong. you can still win a ring with 24 as the #1 option but you need a big that is committed to defense and rebounding. add a legit athletic wing to the team and you can win & still need a legit backup pg. oh wait MDA is still the coach we are screwed.

I absolutely hate Dwight's game. I'd rather have an unselfish scrub in there rebounding and blocking. Use the money elsewhere. All I've seen from Howard this year is a limited offensive arsenal, horrid FT shooting, injury problems, stripped balls and media nonsense.

WAY overrated

hollywood swinger wrote:wrong. you can still win a ring with 24 as the #1 option but you need a big that is committed to defense and rebounding. add a legit athletic wing to the team and you can win & still need a legit backup pg. oh wait MDA is still the coach we are screwed.

You are 100% correct which is why it's vital that we have a good plan to bring in a good athletic SF in 2015 and a good back-up PG.

Batum is someone I would try to steal from Portland.