Dwight Howard was drafted 1st overall in 2004 straight out of high school. Ever since he was drafted, he has had huge expectations. Statistically, I think it is okay to say he has at least reached them. Throughout his career, he has averaged 17.8 PPG, 12.7 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. In terms of on-court success, has he reached his potential? Not quite.
Dwight came close to winning a ring once. He reached the Finals in 2009 with the Orlando Magic, but the Los Angeles Lakers made easy work of his team, winning the series in 5 games. That 2009 series looks like the only opportunity Dwight will have at winning a championship.
Over the off-season, Dwight left the Houston Rockets to go home and play for the Atlanta Hawks. This team looks rather unpredictable, and Dwight will likely be the focal point on offense and defense this season. Will he be able to find his form again? Will he be able to score like he did in Orlando, while still grabbing 12 boards and blocking 2 shots every game?
Howard told Tim McMahon of ESPN that he made changes around him, and he thinks that they will translate to success on the court:
“Just things off the court, a lot of the stuff that was happening around me, just personal things. I tried to change that up and just really start over, get a clean slate. No offense to the people that I had around me, but I just wanted to start over, start fresh. Like I said, it’s a new beginning, so I wanted everything to be fresh. I didn’t want to bring any old baggage or anything from my past to this organization. They believe in me, this city believes in me, so I just wanted to make sure that when I’m out there on the court that I’m free, that I can give this city and this team everything that I’ve got.”
Dwight has said the right things for a while now, but he still needs to show us how good he actually is. Can Mike Budenholzer get Dwight to play to his strengths? If so, this Hawks team will be fine. We know he has been working on his jump shot, but will it be a weapon in games? Will he hit free throws? Will he be able to dominate opposing defenders in the post?
This season, the Hawks will be as good as Dwight is. If he plays to his strengths, he has strong enough teammates to make a playoff run.
