Dwight Discussion: Dwightmare on Figueroa St. Part Boo

wcsoldier81 wrote:You can't have a good touch when you're shooting the ball with your palm instead of fingertips ... he's throwing the ball at the basket , not shooting it ...

SpencerHarrison wrote:Not smart to have Dwight shoot that many times. Wasted possessions. Lakers had a chance to run up a lead before the half but got post bricks instead.

I actually like Howard's game enough to hope he stays in LA now, but this idea of him being a back to the basket post scorer is dense. Not his game. I'd rather see somebody take a contested 3. Dwight is for putbacks, second chance scoring, oops and easy feeds. He is NOT a primary scorer, and probably won't ever be.

wcsoldier81 wrote:Who do you want to rely on ?

Tonight's game was another proof D12 isn't 1st option material night in and night out ... got a good amount of games like this one in Orlando

LakersN4 wrote:

wcsoldier81 wrote:Who do you want to rely on ?

Tonight's game was another proof D12 isn't 1st option material night in and night out ... got a good amount of games like this one in Orlando

Noone.. thats kind of the point i was making. When Kobe is out, we have moone that can carry us offensively and our best shot at Winning games is running the system and letting it create our offense.

lotus wrote:The trade for D12 is looking better and better now that he is playing with more commitment and Bynum is looking at 2 knee surgeries in the off season. I feel bad for Bynum.

Published: March 19, 2013 Updated: 8:40 a.m.
Ding: Howard leaves manager after 9 years

Kevin Ding column: Lakers center Dwight Howard has fired his longtime business manager, another step in his evolution into his own man.

PHOENIX – More and more over the past two months, Dwight Howard has smiled the real smile.

He has joked with people to make himself happy instead of worrying about making them laugh. He has accepted both criticism and advice of others and come away a bigger man because he's not trying so hard to judge himself compared to any others.

Howard is growing all on his own, single-mindedly focused on who he wants to be, and he has taken another major step forward in his career by leaving the business manager who has been Howard's primary advisor his entire career, Kevin Samples.

"We had nine great years together," Howard told me late Monday night. "Just time to go separate ways."

For all the intangible growth Howard has discovered recently, breaking away from Samples is a concrete gesture that the past is the past – and Howard is confident in calling his own shots in the future.

"I know what I want to accomplish," Howard said. "I've always written down my goals and everything I want, and I want to make sure I get 'em. Everything I've lost, everything that's gone away, I'm going to get it back."

Samples came to Los Angeles with Howard after the trade to the Lakers, and it was hard to envision him not being around considering they're actually first cousins – and Howard's parents dispatched Samples to live with Howard in Orlando right after the 2004 NBA draft as a big brother/guidance counselor/business manager.

Their relationship grew into Dwight Howard Enterprises, which had two and only two officers: Howard and Samples.

For Howard to sever the tie is no small statement.

"He's still my cousin, my family, so we'll always be around each other," Howard said. "But we just parted ways on the business side."

Someone should've been fired for the "Dwightmare" in Orlando, for sure. But Howard's M.O. has never been to hold an employee accountable like some cold-hearted taskmaster.

What has changed is Howard can reflect on what went awry in Orlando with a healthy perspective now: He wanted to leave the Magic organization, but not really the people and the community that had become so connected to him. He needed to venture out to grow and deep-down he knew it – but he was a little scared to try something that big and new.

Howard was a little scared as he started out with the Lakers, too – unsure about his body after back surgery and lacking his usual freakish physical dominance. Even as Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was behind the scenes reclaiming his spot on the All-Virtue team for patience, frustration grew from teammates and coaches over Howard not more aggressively testing the limits of what he could give the Lakers.

Howard maintains that it was mostly his lack of physical fitness that stopped him, but maybe he looked chicken because nothing was egging him on.

Howard's major breakthrough was in attitude.

No more whining about touches in the post – replaced by a total commitment to defending and rebounding, plus creating devastating pick-and-roll ball with two legendary ball-handlers Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

No more excuses about his body – which Howard still managed to bring in at a career-low 5.8 percent body fat to start the season and drop down further to 5.0. No more needing time to wait and hope for less pain from the torn labrum in his right shoulder. Instead, a commitment to cutting sugar out of his diet to two months and pushing his conditioning to the point that it meant even humbly asking out of a game.

Rather than spouting clichés about the Lakers needing to do the right things to start winning, Howard simply started doing those things that he knows are right.

And when you live life like that, you can't help but feel comfortable in your own skin.

That's how Howard could be so unflappable as he marched through the fire of his Orlando homecoming one week ago.

Bryant advised Howard to be a killer, but that's Bryant. What Howard is learning more from Bryant is how not to surrender to the fear of failure.

When Kobe isn't being afraid to fail, he is a killer.

But when Dwight isn't being afraid to fail, he is a joy.

So Howard played his game, had his fun and got the victory in Orlando, telling hecklers "Thank you" or "Let it go" or "I'm going to get mine" depending on how he felt – not giving anyone's hateful words or outside opinions the power to control him.

Even Monday night in Phoenix, Howard launched a series of jump shots – missing some, banking one in quite nicely. The reflexive reaction is to term it a low-percentage play, but understand this: It's a kind of progress for Howard.

He hates to miss shots. It's a huge part of his free-throw anxiety. He gets more caught up in the crowd's reaction than his own satisfaction – and even more so feels their dismay when he misses. What Kendrick Perkins figured out in becoming a Dwight-stopper was that Howard really only wanted to take shots he knew he would make – dunks – and with everything else was afraid to fail, afraid what other people would think if he did.

Now Howard is trending in the other direction, though.

He believes more than ever that there is more for him to learn and accomplish – and through that mentality, all the power is his. No more tricks meant solely to impress and amaze the audience.

The magic act is over. There's a job to do and a personal legacy to build.

When Kobe isn't being afraid to fail, he is a killer.

But when Dwight isn't being afraid to fail, he is a joy.

Weezy wrote:Good Kevin Ding article, as usual

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/howard-500308-lakers-orlando.html

Published: March 19, 2013 Updated: 8:40 a.m.
Ding: Howard leaves manager after 9 years

Kevin Ding column: Lakers center Dwight Howard has fired his longtime business manager, another step in his evolution into his own man.

PHOENIX – More and more over the past two months, Dwight Howard has smiled the real smile.

He has joked with people to make himself happy instead of worrying about making them laugh. He has accepted both criticism and advice of others and come away a bigger man because he's not trying so hard to judge himself compared to any others.

Howard is growing all on his own, single-mindedly focused on who he wants to be, and he has taken another major step forward in his career by leaving the business manager who has been Howard's primary advisor his entire career, Kevin Samples.

"We had nine great years together," Howard told me late Monday night. "Just time to go separate ways."

For all the intangible growth Howard has discovered recently, breaking away from Samples is a concrete gesture that the past is the past – and Howard is confident in calling his own shots in the future.

"I know what I want to accomplish," Howard said. "I've always written down my goals and everything I want, and I want to make sure I get 'em. Everything I've lost, everything that's gone away, I'm going to get it back."

Samples came to Los Angeles with Howard after the trade to the Lakers, and it was hard to envision him not being around considering they're actually first cousins – and Howard's parents dispatched Samples to live with Howard in Orlando right after the 2004 NBA draft as a big brother/guidance counselor/business manager.

Their relationship grew into Dwight Howard Enterprises, which had two and only two officers: Howard and Samples.

For Howard to sever the tie is no small statement.

"He's still my cousin, my family, so we'll always be around each other," Howard said. "But we just parted ways on the business side."

Someone should've been fired for the "Dwightmare" in Orlando, for sure. But Howard's M.O. has never been to hold an employee accountable like some cold-hearted taskmaster.

What has changed is Howard can reflect on what went awry in Orlando with a healthy perspective now: He wanted to leave the Magic organization, but not really the people and the community that had become so connected to him. He needed to venture out to grow and deep-down he knew it – but he was a little scared to try something that big and new.

Howard was a little scared as he started out with the Lakers, too – unsure about his body after back surgery and lacking his usual freakish physical dominance. Even as Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was behind the scenes reclaiming his spot on the All-Virtue team for patience, frustration grew from teammates and coaches over Howard not more aggressively testing the limits of what he could give the Lakers.

Howard maintains that it was mostly his lack of physical fitness that stopped him, but maybe he looked chicken because nothing was egging him on.

Howard's major breakthrough was in attitude.

No more whining about touches in the post – replaced by a total commitment to defending and rebounding, plus creating devastating pick-and-roll ball with two legendary ball-handlers Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

No more excuses about his body – which Howard still managed to bring in at a career-low 5.8 percent body fat to start the season and drop down further to 5.0. No more needing time to wait and hope for less pain from the torn labrum in his right shoulder. Instead, a commitment to cutting sugar out of his diet to two months and pushing his conditioning to the point that it meant even humbly asking out of a game.

Rather than spouting clichés about the Lakers needing to do the right things to start winning, Howard simply started doing those things that he knows are right.

And when you live life like that, you can't help but feel comfortable in your own skin.

That's how Howard could be so unflappable as he marched through the fire of his Orlando homecoming one week ago.

Bryant advised Howard to be a killer, but that's Bryant. What Howard is learning more from Bryant is how not to surrender to the fear of failure.

When Kobe isn't being afraid to fail, he is a killer.

But when Dwight isn't being afraid to fail, he is a joy.

So Howard played his game, had his fun and got the victory in Orlando, telling hecklers "Thank you" or "Let it go" or "I'm going to get mine" depending on how he felt – not giving anyone's hateful words or outside opinions the power to control him.

Even Monday night in Phoenix, Howard launched a series of jump shots – missing some, banking one in quite nicely. The reflexive reaction is to term it a low-percentage play, but understand this: It's a kind of progress for Howard.

He hates to miss shots. It's a huge part of his free-throw anxiety. He gets more caught up in the crowd's reaction than his own satisfaction – and even more so feels their dismay when he misses. What Kendrick Perkins figured out in becoming a Dwight-stopper was that Howard really only wanted to take shots he knew he would make – dunks – and with everything else was afraid to fail, afraid what other people would think if he did.

Now Howard is trending in the other direction, though.

He believes more than ever that there is more for him to learn and accomplish – and through that mentality, all the power is his. No more tricks meant solely to impress and amaze the audience.

The magic act is over. There's a job to do and a personal legacy to build.

Weezy wrote:I don't wanna be that guy, but why is nobody complaining that he only got 6 "shots" last night? Is it only an issue that he gets that few shots when Kobe is playing, but when he's not its ok? Just saying, I don't see the usual people complaining about him going 4/6 for the game and not getting more shots, kinda odd.

Mark Medina
Dwight Howard: Suns players told him they fouled "the crap out of him"
PHOENIX — A bizarro world opened up. And the reasons went beyond the Lakers losing to the Phoenix Suns mere days after collecting a signature victory over the Indiana Pacers despite Kobe Bryant’s absence for most of it.

This has to do with Dwight Howard’s performance. His 16-point performance on 6 -of-18 shooting included only a 3 of 12 mark from shots in the lane. Yet, Howard also hit two mid-range jumpers. Howard made 4 of 5 free throws, but he missed two open dunks and committed four turnovers.

What gives?

”There was a lot of times where they were intentionally trying to foul and they weren’t called. They even said it, ‘I fouled the crap out of you on that play,’ and we’d just laugh about it,” Howard said. “But there’s nothing I can do but try not to say anything to the referees and just play through it.”