“I feel like that’s a very successful way of playing. I know (the Rockets) have their opinions or whatever. (But) for the rest of the season, I’m going to make it an effort just to do what they need me to do offensively and defensively, and not focus on what happened back in Orlando (and) what happened in LA (with the Lakers) and just put my mind to finishing this season on a real high note.”
In reading Howard’s interview with Sam Amick of USA Today, one almost gets a sense that Howard is at peace with a decision he’s already made. He seems to have moved on, resigned to the fact that the Rockets won’t feature the low post ability he believes he possesses. Howard has been classy, mature, and undeserving of the slander he’ll inevitably endure this summer. But in his citing O’neal and Abdul-Jabbar as peers, one gets a glimpse at the dissonance between reality and Howard’s self-perception.
Numbers aside, the Rockets have been almost unwatchable of late with Howard on the court; the Rockets are only watchable with Howard on the bench and not plodding around in the lanes James Harden likes to use. And he may not be good enough anymore at protecting the rim to offset his drastic decline out on the perimeter. The latter trait these days may be just as important as the former. I first noted the slippage against the Trail Blazers in 2014, when Howard would labor recovering back to a rolling LaMarcus Aldridge. Now it seems the big man has difficulty bending down altogether.
That’s not to say Dwight Howard is useless or can no longer help this team. But it’s tough to see this team committing the type of resources Howard would demand to secure him long term. I was on the fence initially, but its become clear its time for both sides to go in a different direction. That the Rockets didn’t move Howard at the deadline is not revealing of a desire to keep him beyond this season – they likely felt they were better off with him than without him when not yet being able to make use of the cap space his departure would clear.
Clint Capela might be a step back. (He certainly wasn’t last night against Indiana in posting a +12 to Howard’s -14). But its become clear that its just not enough of a drop-off to warrant keeping Howard at a significant percentage of the team’s payroll.
