Golden State Warriors: Pros and Cons of Pursuing Dwight Howard
By Joe Moore
Con: Howard seems committed to fulfilling the historic role of an offensive center
January 4, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) grimaces and grabs his shoulder during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. Clippers won 107-102. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Amid the chaos of the Lakers’ locker room drama, there was one constant clamor: Howard wanted more touches.
While he finished with the third-lowest usage percentage of his career, he still finished with a 21.3 percent usage rate, not ball-dominant, but still a focus of the offense. The concerning part of his possession pleas was the demand for more “post-touches.” According to mysynergysports.com, he scored 0.74 points per play in post up situations, 121st in the league. In the pick and roll, where he has excelled his whole career, Howard scored 1.29 points per play, which ranked eighth in the league.
Howard draws attention in the post, freeing up shooters, but his desire for more post-touches indicates a misunderstanding of his own strengths and weaknesses not beneficial to the development of an elite team.