- I’m pretty much still shocked that we saw Capela instead of Dorsey last night, because it’s not a McHale move, given his track record. We screamed collectively last year just to give Motiejunas even a look when no one on this team could cover LaMarcus Aldridge, and that didn’t happen. And don’t tell me it’s because Motiejunas sucked last year. He had made huge strides defensively, even coming in to slow down Zach Randolph in one particular game. So when I saw Capela come off the bench for the usual Dorsey minutes, my jaw dropped. It just made too much sense. It’s not so much the shot-blocking that gives him an edge over Dorsey but rather the fact that he’s not a complete zero on the offensive end. He can actually kind of finish and was serving as a target on some of the same plays the team was running for Howard.
- Speaking of Dwight, we see now why people have been literally begging him to roll to the hoop and abandon the post ever since he left Orlando. When he plays in that way, he’s still one of the most dominant forces in the game for the simple reason that he draws so much attention from the defense. When Dwight is in the post, while he may score here and there, he’s almost just as likely to turn the ball over, and the rest of the team is standing around. Don’t believe me? Check the numbers. Even if Dwight doesn’t complete the lob, the team is almost always guaranteed to at least get some kind of high percentage look because he’s sucking so much of the help away from wherever the ball is. Had Dwight not gotten into foul trouble last night, that game would have been a blow-out. Orlando didn’t just go to the Finals with Dwight rolling to the hoop by accident.
- On that point, maybe this is a turning point? Maybe Dwight has actually bought in? He had some postup touches with Harden sitting, but maybe everything he said in an earlier interview with USA Today wasn’t just lip service? We can only hope.
- I’ve been saying for some time that I think Hakeem might be the worst thing to have ever happened to Dwight Howard. Sometimes you need someone to tell you the truth, not to enable you. Hakeem put, or reinforced in Dwight’s mind that he can dominate in the paint and that all great big men dominate in the paint. In reality, Dwight was dominant already, playing as he had been.
- Nice rebound from Terrence Jones last night, after being maybe the worst player on the court last year against Portland. Shows how far he has come this season.
