After the last two years of indecision and uncertainty, Dwight Howard finally made his decision on where to play (at least for the next 3 years): Houston. In electing to play for the Rockets, Dwight saw immense potential in pairing with James Harden, Chandler Parsons, and coach Kevin McHale. There was a school of thought that couldn’t see a superstar walk away from the Lakers; in fact in recent memory you would fail to recall the last person to walk away in their prime from the league’s premier franchise. People in Howard’s circle cite concerns of playing in Mike D’ Antoni’s offense, and playing second fiddle to Kobe as the biggest reasons why Dwight walked away. D-12 also wanted to go to the place where he had the best chance to win championships for years to come. In going to Houston, Dwight may not get everything that he was hoping, which makes this latest decision so typical of him.

            There is no question the Rockets offered the best situation in terms of winning now and the future, with a core of Harden, Parsons, Lin, Beverly and young guns Terrence Jones, Greg Smith, and Isaiah Canaan providing quality bench minutes. This team is built to win now and in the future with all their players in their primes and with the best years ahead of them. If Dwight’s number one priority is being in a position to compete for championships for years, then Houston makes plenty sense. But you see, as we’ve gotten used to Dwight being Dwight, we know this isn’t the ONLY thing he wants. It’s never just one thing with him. When he was in Orlando, he wanted to be “the man”, but when things went sour he couldn’t handle the blame and instead got coach Stan Van Gundy fired. He wanted to be involved in personnel decisions, but that too in the end wasn’t enough. Howard was eventually traded to LA after a season and a half of going back and forth of where he wanted to be, and dragging the Magic franchise and fan base through a maddeningly frustrating period.  

            The problem with Houston isn’t lack of talent, it’s the offensive schemes run by McHale and how Howard will fit into it. McHale’s pick and roll offense is rather similar to what Mike D’ Antoni was running in LA.  With the Lakers, Howard grew frustrated as he wasn’t the focal point of the offense, since the offense revolved around guard play. In leaving Nash/Kobe, Dwight will now have to adjust to playing alongside James Harden. Houston had one of the best offenses in the league last year, and it was largely due to the ball handling and play making abilities of Harden. In other words, McHale’s system NEEDS Harden to direct the offense and by virtue to be the focal point. This will be McHale’s biggest challenge, tweaking his system and directing the offense from the post as well as from as the top of the key. If McHale doesn’t find a way to feature Dwight the way he was in Orlando, Houston may have a problem. Happy Dwight = dominate Dwight, unhappy Dwight = distraction Dwight.

            The other question with Dwight’s decision is how the big man is going to handle adjusting to being Harden’s co-star? It’s well chronicled that D-12 loves being that “guy”, but with Harden’s beard fever all over Houston, can Dwight adjust to sharing the spotlight? More importantly if he struggles, and doesn’t deliver in the playoffs, and the fans start to get on him, how will he react? Houston may not be the media market LA is, but with all the hype and attention Dwight has brought on him, not delivering when it matters most will subject him to immense criticism, much like LeBron had to deal with. While Harden may be a superstar, the spotlight will not be nearly as heavy on him if he fails, it will shine brightly on D-12. The pressure without question is already building on Howard, and he will be the guy to take the fall if Houston fails.

            The Rockets present Dwight with a tremendous opportunity to win, but it will be on him to adjust to the team and deliver a championship. If Dwight goes in with a mindset of wanting to be the focal point of the offense, and wanting to be THE star of the team, he will find himself disappointed. Furthermore if he doesn’t take the Rockets to the promise land, he will receive a ton of backlash and find himself in a similar situation to which he’s been in before. Watching Houston going forward is going to be very fascinating to see how far they can go. With the right attitude and mindset, Dwight can elevate this team to a championship. But if he continues to exhibit immature and a self centered approach, the Rockets and him will end up no different than the Lakers of last year. Throw in the early opt out clause, and this could very well turn out to be Indecision 2.0. Stay tuned.

 

Written by: Zubair Khan

7/8/13