Dwight Howard earning respect
May 27, 2009 by James Edwards
Filed under Dwight Howard, LeBron James, NBA Playoffs, Orlando Magic
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Hey, this Dwight Howard guy is pretty darn good. Well, we all know that is an underestimation for the ages. Howard has been dominant.
Oh, yes, LeBron has been LeBron and is still clearly the greatest player this side of Kobe Bryant, but Howard has turned his team into winners and carried them on his back. When he becomes unstoppable underneath, then the Orlando shooters like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, and Michael Pietrus become great 3 point shooters.
Howard wants a shot at the Lakers
Vinnie Johnson once remarked after making a dozen threes in a row in warm-ups, “But can you make them in a game with a hand in your face?” Well, when you are sending 2 or 3 guys down low to stop Howard, there are no hands in your face!
Everyone is still looking to LeBron to somehow pull this one out, but the Magic are frustrated with how much the public pays attention to only LeBron. They want respect and they want a shot at the NBA Title.
So the Cavs laid off Howard to start Tuesday, and he made them pay, scoring 11 points in the first six minutes. They went back to double-teaming him for much of the next three quarters, and Howard scored just six more points before the start of overtime. Still, all the attention he drew freed the Magic shooters, most notably Rafer Alston (notes) and Michael Pietrus (notes), who combined to make 11 3-pointers.
On one comical possession, Cavs guard Mo Williams turned his back on Alston to follow Courtney Lee (notes). With no other Cav within five feet of him, Alston buried yet another 3-pointer.
“We need one stop,” James said. “We haven’t got one stop to win a ballgame yet.”
James has realized he can’t beat Howard and these Magic alone. He received more support on Tuesday than he did in Game 3, but it still wasn’t enough. Williams made just two shots after halftime, falling flat, so far, on his “guarantee” that the Cavs would win the series.
Photo source Newscom
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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You are right. The attention that Cleveland has had to pay to Howard underneath has given Turkoglu, Lewis, Alston and Pietrus a lot of open looks. Orlando has been killing the Cavs with their 3’s. I can see how it would be frustrating for Orlando that LeBron gets so many headlines. If the Magic move on, it probably won’t get any better if they end up facing Kobe and the Lakers.