I can’t believe we like Dwight Howard again.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Elise/Getty Images.)
As I was watching the Hornets/Lakers game with my boys last night, we saw Dwight Howard make good play after good play as he helped the Lakers break away from the team from Charlotte. More than once, I turned to my friends with a flabbergasted look and asked, “Who is this guy?!”
That guy was Dwight Howard. Arguably the most disliked active NBA player in the last seven or eight years (don’t talk to me about other players; we know where Howard’s standing was at). Let’s look at how he got to this point.
Howard pretty much forced his way out of Orlando, culminating with that awkward scrum with Stan Van Gundy. When he was with the Lakers the first time, everything went wrong in what was supposed to be a championship season. The Lakers were riddled with injuries, including Dwight’s back. He fleed to Houston, which made Dwight an instant enemy to the Lakers fan base.
Dwight played well enough in three seasons in the Rockets, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2015. But there was talk about him wanting more touches and insisting on more post-ups. In his final season, the Rockets slid to become a .500 team. Wearing his welcome out, he went to Atlanta.
While the Hawks made the postseason, Howard was jettisoned out of the ATL for Charlotte (a few Hawks supposedly cheered once they learned he got shipped out). He had one good year in Charlotte but was once again traded, this time to Brooklyn (for Timofey Mozgov!), as the Hornets cited they wanted to play on a faster pace. After getting waived, he signed with the Washington Wizards but only played nine games because of a glute injury. Memphis dealt for him in the summer before waiving him, which paved the way for his return to the Lakers.
And by the way, before he could re-sign with the Lakers, check out this old tweet from Shams Charania of the Athletic:
Howard, who hasn’t exactly showed signs of awareness throughout his career, knows his standing hasn’t been the greatest to the point that he had to get approval from JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo. Those aren’t exactly two guys who are known for having excellent reputations, either. But a lot has also changed since then. Rondo can be surly at times but he will have a player’s back when needed. And McGee has flourished since getting those two championship rings with the Warriors. Both players can relate to Dwight in a way that they’ve had some pretty bad lows, too.
Dwight seemed to be at peace with this decision. Maybe he had an epiphany. We didn’t hear anything bad when he didn’t score much in the first two games. So when he exploded in last night’s game, my friend (who can probably speak for thousands of Lakers fans) yelled out, “Where was this in 2012?!” Well, to get back to the top, you have to hit your lowest point, right?
Howard has said all the right things. So far this season, he has done all the right things. 16 points, 10 boards, and four blocks in a triumphant game for Dwight. Maybe he HAS actually figured it out. Maybe he really does know what to do.
Obviously, the ultimate redemption is winning the championship that has eluded him all of his career while playing a big part of the team. But for now, it’s one game at a time. At that moment, though, we found the Dwight Howard that we wanted to like for so long.
Maybe Dwight found himself, too.
Bullet Passes
*We have also seen the arrival of Ja Morant in Memphis. No, not his LITERAL arrival but more about the arrival of the game he is very capable of. Morant scored 30 points and dished out 9 assists in the Grizzlies’ first win of the season. More on this win at the end of this little article (or you can skip to that part; no one is stopping you).
*As you all know, the coaches can challenge ONE PLAY per game (fouls, out-of-bounds calls, goaltending). Well, it worked for the Blazers when they challenged Damian Lillard’s foul call. At the time, the Blazers were up by one with 8.4 seconds left. The challenge was successful and it led to a jumpball because no one had possession. The jumpball was won by the Blazers and they held on for the win.
Lillard told The Oregonian (shhh, it’s the clickable link above) that he likes the challenge rule. Of course, he does right now. (He went on to say it helps the refs make the right call.)
*The Golden State Warriors were demolished by the Oklahoma City Thunder by 28 points. In fact, the Thunder led by as many as 42 points. D’Angelo Russell was ejected in the third quarter. And good grief, the Warriors look utterly unrecognizable aside from Draymond Green and Stephen Curry. Take a look at this bench.
Jacob Evans and Damion Lee were on the team last year but they didn’t get much action. Omari Spellman was drafted by the Hawks in 2018. Jordan Poole is their first round pick while Eric Paschall is their second round pick. Ky Bowman is their two-way player that they signed last summer.
But they all looked overmatched yesterday. And the casual fans are probably just blinking at their names.
The Warriors will look better once NBA veterans Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks, and Kevon Looney come back. Klay Thompson probably won’t be back this season. Not mentioned were Glenn Robinson III and the much-maligned but athletic Marquese Chriss who started with Steph, Dray, and D’Angelo.
What I’m REALLY trying to say here is… these are not the Warriors you have known the last five years.
(Yes, I am very aware I said they would win 49 games. Also, why would you listen to me?)
*The Heat lost to the Timberwolves in a battle of unbeaten teams. Do you want to take a wild guess on who’s leading Miami in scoring so far?
It is the explosive Kendrick Nunn.
WHO IS KENDRICK NUNN?
He went undrafted in the summer of 2018. So he played for the Warriors’ G-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. The Heat would pick him up after the NBA season was over.
With Jimmy Butler out, he was placed in the starting line-up for the first three games. And he has come through every time thus far. He’s averaging a cool 22.3 points per game while shooting 42 percent from three. Also, he has 2.0 steals per contest. Suddenly, he might be the leader in this Rookie of the Year race, with apologies to Ja Morant and RJ Barrett.
Let me mention again that Nunn was in the SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS last season. The GOLDEN STATE Warriors sure could use Nunn right now.
*As I’ve said before, I’m not as bullish as others about the game of Andrew Wiggins. I also made the acknowledgment that he HAS to be better. So he showed all of us; Wiggins went on a personal 11-0 run in the closing minutes of the game to help give the Heat their first loss. What’s more was that he was a game-high +15. He actually made a POSITIVE mark.
Sure, maybe all he can do is score at this point. But Wiggins sure made it count this time around. And you actually need players that can put the ball in the basket while playing big minutes. I’m telling you that not everyone is used to that responsibility.
*Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finally made a field goal in last night’s win over Charlotte. It was just hilarious that his first field goal of the season actually didn’t go through a basket; it was a goaltending call. He did end up with 10 points off 4/8 shooting. Good for KCP.
Watch This Play
While Ja Morant was great, it was Jae Crowder who put the finishing touches in Memphis’s first win of the season:
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
Nifty moves by Morant, too, to get the ball to Crowder. Fantastic shot.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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