This topic contains 16 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar NYK2010 13 years, 5 months ago.

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  • #22199
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    mikeyvthedon
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mArHU1ewSog

    I know this has been talked about on here quite a bit, but I do not know if people had seen the video as well. Very interesting, and what I come away with more than anything is how incredibly natural everything seems for Hakeem. That is a man who truly loves basketball right there. He was incredibly quick and agile for a big man and it shows in his footwork. His post moves amongst Centers are second to none, and that is what puts him up there with the greats of the game and that position. I mean, even in his mid 40’s, he looks like he is in tremendous shape and his spin moves were a total blur. But, while it no doubt was great that Dwight worked on the moves and counter moves with the master, it was incredibly clear that Hakeem was leaving him in the dust doing those same moves. Dwight can jump higher and is stronger than Hakeem ever was, and while his speed for his size is great as well, it seems to be nowhere near Hakeem, even now. I think Hakeem’s ultimate lesson to Dwight would be to do the things he taught him everyday, over and over again. What Dwight should be learning is dedication to ones craft. The muscle memory that comes from doing things the right way, and doing them over and over again. That is why you can never practice enough and the best ones are the ones that practice the most and the hardest. Sure, physical gifts can dictate how far you can go as a player, but you can always work to become the best player you can with what you have. The one thing I was surprised about was that when Hakeem was doing the move where he finished off of the backboard, that Dwight was just turning further basline to the point where he could not use the glass. Yes, he was making the shot, but I think he should be practicing using the backboard, it is much more efficient when you are being covered in action. During a game, I believe a lot of those fades towards the baseline are hitting back rim under pressure.

    Just wanted to know other peoples opinions on Dwight Howard. He is a tremendous talent who has lived up to or possibly even surpassed great expectations, and has become the games premier center, rebounder and shot blocker. But, his woes on offense have only exacerbated over time, and while he shoots a very high percentage from the field, he has failed to become an offensive juggernaut that many of the games best big men with similar gifts were. Is it due to his attitude or some other aspect of his game? People have noted that while Dwight has worked with Patrick Ewing, known as one of the most dangerous scorers at Center in NBA history due to his inside/outside game, that he has actually lost confidence in his offensive abilities. To me, it is incredibly difficult to call Dwight Howard a top 5 player in the NBA without him stepping up his offensive contribution. He simply is not enough of a shut down defender to overlook the fact that he is not the offensive presence I believe everyone thinks he should be. Let’s put it this way, when Hakeem was the premier player and center in the game, no one was saying he had trouble scoring. This was during a period where there were other scoring Centers such as Shaq, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. Mutombo was a great defender and shot blocker, but he also had about 4 inches and who knows how much wing span on Dwight and was nowhere near his athleticism.

    I think that it was great that Dwight Howard worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon and it shows he wants to learn and work on his offensive game. But, he has to put what he learned to use before I put him near the class of those Centers I listed that played during Hakeem’s era and are missing from Dwight’s. The game has changed, but not enough for Dwight Howard to be averaging 18-20 points per game and saying that makes him an MVP candidate. Dwight should be able to dominate both sides of the basketball consistently, it would make his team better and it could lead him to being mentioned along the other great big men, which I think is something people expect from him in a time where he is so far above his peers yet nowhere near the top of his predecessors who played the same position.

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  • #410336
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    Sup
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    Hakeem would’ve dominated this era.

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  • #410342
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    mikeyvthedon
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    I think it is safe to say David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and of course a young Shaquille O’Neal would as well. They all would have made the distance between themselves and Dwight the same difference as between Dwight and most of his competition at Center right now.

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  • #410347
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    Anton123
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    It seems like Hakeem could still play in the NBA like 15 mins a game, he’d still have the best post game

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  • #410367
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    kurtu17
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    thats why i  didnt understand why someone was putting dwight as a top 5 player in the league the other day…your franchise player has to be able to get u a bucket when your teams needs it…im not saying he is a bad franchise player but he is goin to have to put a lot of work in if he wants ppl to remember him 5 to 10 years after he is done playing…

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  • #410371
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    hiphopismylife
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    The dream shake alone would be a huge help to Dwight’s offensive repertoire.

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  • #410375
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    sacphil_08
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    I completely agree. I think its exactly what you were saying as far as the muscle memory goes. I know from playing basketball that you can practice moves but when the pressure is on is when you go to whats the most comfortable for you an thats what dwight has done and what he’s most comfortable with hasnt exactly worked to this point. If dwight were to become a 20-25 point scorer orlando could start (dare i say) a dynasty. They have a great team concept. Theyve made it to the ECF two years in a row and he’s had a very minimal offensive repertoire. Imagine if he were to in a series put up 22 ppg, 12-15 rpg, 2-3 bpg he would be unstoppable, forcing a double team which leaves all their shooters open. They could easily create a dynasty without a very consistent isolation player on the perimeter with that team, mind you rashard lewis should play the 3 and they should start maybe brandon bass at the 4.

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  • #410376
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    JoeWolf1

     Hakeem is a great guy to learn from, is performance in the 94-95 Finals was one of the finest showcases of post skills I can remember.  He tore up a much bigger, stronger, and more athletic Shaq in a way I didn’t think was possible at the time.  Young Shaq was an amazing specemin to watch, and Hakeem took it to him. If Dwight Howard can just become a little more compitent on offense he could be an MVP canidate, if he could add a few more ppg from added post moves he’d be a 24-25 ppg 12-14 rpg 2-3 bpg post player, and Shaq, KG and TD 7-10 years ago were the last guys in the league that took their game to that level.

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  • #410381
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    hiphopismylife
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    Yeah more important than how much he learns from Hakeem will be how quickly he can get the confidence to use it in a game.

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  • #410383
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    JoeWolf1

     All he needs is a couple go to moves, a consistant hook shot would do him wonders, he has an okay at best one right now and with that already in place if he perfected it or at least significantly improved it I think it would have a lot of impact.  With his athleticism and strength a hook shot with both hands would net him 2-4 more ppg than normal. IMO.

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  • #410384
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    RUDEBOY_
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    yeah i rate Hakeem & McHale as the 2 guys that had the best post moves in league history.Kareem would be 3rd….Shaq was more dominate inside..But he did he’s on brute strength ….

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  • #410387
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    mikeyvthedon
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    But, I agree, he was just so hard to guard due to his strength. He had good foot work, and of course had counter moves and moves just as Hakeem was showing, but his offense relied on lay-ins and dunks, much like Dwight’s has. Shaq also outweighed Dwight by probably 50-60 pounds (I am being generous to Shaq’s weight). But I like your pickes for great low post scorers, Hakeem, McHale and Jabbar were three of the best to ever maneuver the post. Hakeem and McHale with their incredible footwork, fakes and counters, and Kareem also with the most unstoppable go to move the game has ever known. If anyone ever brought that back it would be amazing, but it is a very difficult move to develop and requires a lot of hours to master.

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  • #410392
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    JoeWolf1

     David Robinson was very good as well, he had a jump hook, a nice jump shot and turn around jumper paired with fantastic size and athletic ability, not top 3 though. Another guy I think of from a strictly post skill standpoint is Vlade Divac. He didn’t have the physical tools as some of the greats, but that guy had so many moves a high bball IQ and superb post passing.

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  • #410445
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    omar dayze
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     all i can say is good luck to dwight cus hel need alot more sessions than that. Im not a hater, i like dwight and what his athleticism allows him to do, but as long as the Magic’s franchise player cant be relied on to score on any given possession, they wont get that trophy.

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  • #410447
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    Mr. 19134
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     Why can’t he atleast get a jump shot like Amare did.  When you that big and athletic how hard is it to develop post moves really?  He can’t atleast get a go too jump hook.  That would be an unblockable shot for him.  

    Thats why I love Cousins so much he already has a ton of post moves.  And in like 3 years will be the best center in the league.

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  • #410501
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    Chrischi
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    Of course Dwights offensive game needs refining.

    But they wanted VC to be the guy with the ball in his hands and create for others or himself the last 2min. But sadly that didn’t work too well as we saw in the first half of last season and they brought the ball back to Dwight in the 2nd half. He really has to be able to beat every center 1on1 and draw double teams, if not Orlando won’t reach anything. He has to beat Perkins, Shaq and Bogut 1on1.

    And like many of you said, he needs a reliable Hook Shot.

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  • #410504
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    NYK2010
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    If he could even hit free throws like Hakeem did that would be huge teams couldn’t just foul him than.

    I saw some of his moves against the Rockets he looked good granted it was mostly against Yao and Jordan Hill not exactly elite defenders.

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