CharlotteObserver- Howard is still dunking on everybody, to an extent it’s changing how teams must guard the Hornets. Last season, according to Elias Sports Bureau, the Hornets scored off just 17 lob passes the entire season.
This season, entering Tuesday’s road game against the New York Knicks, the Hornets have completed 10 lob plays, with plenty more to come. “It’s really exciting,” Kemba Walker said. “I’m always praying, ‘Just please: Grab it, catch it, dunk it.’ It’s just a feeling of joy!” Walker and Howard connected on two lob passes in the first half Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Howard immediately noticed the reaction from Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau. “I saw coach Thibs saying, ‘You’ve got to get in on the roll!’ and guys were saying, ‘Oh, man, you throw the ball that high and he jumps, what are we supposed to do?’ Howard said. “It’s really about timing: Reading the defense, body language,” Howard said. “I’ve been showing those guys how to throw that pass, and when it can be most effective.” ------ Under the assumption that the rest of the Charlotte Hornets roster hasn't been living in some alternate universe where wildly athletic big man with extremely limited offensive skill sets are forbidden from touching the rim, I'm really proud of them for going out of their way to make Dwight Howard feel important. Of course, his presence alone opens up a range of scoring options in which touch around the basket isn't required, but speaking about an alley-oop as if they are some awe-inspiring lesson that can change the way basketball will be played forever? Well, that is literally a play straight out of a Will Ferrell sports parody... Look, I'm not completely sure what personality traits - other than irrational confidence and sociopathic tendencies - have made it so damn hard for Dwight Howard to fit in with the half dozen teams that have passed him on for pennies on the dollar. But considering his repetitive demands for post-ups and his offseason insistence on working on his three-pointer despite not being able to knock down a free throw, I have no choice but to think it has something to do with him needing to feel needed. I say the following under the pretense that Kemba Walker has actually played against DeAndre Jordan in his career; I applaud him for treating the person who "opened his eyes" to a staple of every single NBA offense like an infant that managed to slam the round peg in the round hole. Never has a mid-season Dwight Howard interview read so genuinely enthusiastic even without the presence of a fake smile, so I guess those exaggerated ooh's and half-serious aah's are having the desired effect. As it turns out, dumbing down the offense wasn't the key to getting Dwight Howard to step in off the 'Welcome' mat to feel appreciated. Having his teammates dumb down their fundamental knowledge of basketball so that he felt smart was. I bet the Atlanta Hawks wish they knew that all they had to do was treat his dunks like original and mind blowing exposures of systematic flaws to keep him from becoming a malcontent. Then they surely would have thought twice before flipping him for Mason Plumlee.
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