Why Bad? First off Howard is not as healthy as he should be after receiving back surgery and playing with two injured shoulders. Dwight's career has taken a turn due to these injuries and its only going to get worst. He was once the most dominant center in the NBA but as years progressed for Howard's career, teams have found a way to slow him down by simply hacking and bumping him every time he touches the ball. This is able to happen because he likes to bring the ball down and power up for a hard slam or lay-up. With so much momentum that Howard brings, a hard hack could cause damage to one's body. Could you imagine the amount of damage this guy takes 82 games a season plus the post-season? Teams plan these attacks in their game-plan against Howard, not to injure him but to make him shoot free-throws. Howard shoots 57% from the charity line so giving him a hard foul is not going to hurt the team too much. Here's my point! Let's be honest! The addition of adding Howard is not going to guarantee the Rockets championship hopes in one year. I could be wrong but I am sticking with my prediction because of the lack of a championship supporting cast. This means the Rockets will be looking to grow into a championship team in the west maybe in the next 2-3 years. Maybe sooner than that but I'm sticking with my prediction because this team is too young and inexperienced. There are thirteen players on that roster that under the age twenty-five. Plus we don't know if Howard will like McHale's system. We don't know if Harden and Howard will like to play with each other yet.With the Rockets in the rebuilding process how would we know if Howard's body will be able to take much more of the brutal attacks over the next couple of years. Whose to say Howard will make it to the promise land with this team? Now I'm not putting any kind of bad luck on this guy but if Howard does not improve in his free throw percentage, the result could be him sustaining more injury problems.
My second point is the decision itself to play with James Harden over Kobe Bryant. It's insane!Leaving 30 million dollars on the table is crazy but leaving Kobe Bryant is just insanity. Now I'm not trying to disrespect James Harden in anyway as a player. But I am a guy that judges based on what I've viewed with my eyes on each team and player. Just a year ago I seen James Harden play a huge role in a dynamic trio with Westbrook and Durant but I also saw Harden become ghost in his scoring ability in the finals against the Miami Heat. Some fans believe the presence of Harden played as a huge factor in the result of OKC losing to the Miami Heat that year. This past season Harden had a remarkable year scoring a career-high 25.9 points per game shooting 43% from the floor carrying the load of a young team as a true star. At 23 years old James Harden is a star and will only continue to grow into an even more star as the years progress in his career. But let's be serious sports fans it's Kobe Bryant! Five time NBA Champion! He's won 5 out of his 7 NBA finals series in his career. If there is one man that can lead Howard to promise land that would be Kobe Bryant. Yes he is 34 years old and did suffer an Achilles injury just before the playoffs but one thing about Kobe he is a competitor. Bryant has played through injuries throughout his whole career but never let that blur his vision of winning a championship. This past season we saw a seasoned guard still carry his team and finished top five in points per game along with players younger than him. My point is we do not know what kind of outcome the Lakers may have had if Kobe was healthy. As a fan of the game I do understand that the team that plays the best going into the playoffs is usually the team that achieves it all. I honestly believe that could have been the Lakers this season. Yes this team struggled throughout the season transitioning with a new coach and injuries but the Lakers had a strong finish. They were able to win their last seven out of nine games along with a 34 year old Bryant averaging 29.2 points per game before sustaining his injury. Howard could have came back for another season to give this team another title run, hopefully one with less injury problems. Kobe Bryant can be a little off the charts with his competiveness but he has five championship rings to go along with that attitude. We will never know what would of happened but I do know that Kobe is making plans to return and will make this next season count after an embarrassing past season in his eyes. One thing we can say about the Mamba is that when this guy means business, you better be prepared to deliver the ties for this guy.
My third point is the effects of Pau Gasol's presence to Dwight Howard's game. Playing along side Pau Gasol is a big man's dream and blessing in disguise. Gasol is probably the second best skillful seven footer in the NBA because of his ability to see the floor very well and deliver great passes. He also obtains a tremendous mid-range shooting ability that could draw defenders out to him which could result less attention to Howard. Without Pau Gasol, the offense drops by a fair amount which seems normal considering he's one of the best passing big men in the league and his ability to hit a mid range shots are important. What makes Gasol so special is that he is what you would call a "big guard" so close to the basket creating scoring opportunities for big men like Howard and former Laker Andrew Bynum. Not only will this attract less attention to Howard but could properly assist him from being "hacked" many times in the paint. Less "hacks" equal to a healthy Howard which equals to a long NBA career.
Now let's ease the tension in the air down a little bit and discuss why this would be a possible good move for Howard. The Lakers organization and fans could be a difficult environment for one player to play for because of so much demanded expectations to do nothing else but win championships. This is a organization that will not just settle for making the playoffs or 'almost had a chance' opportunities. It takes players such as Bryant to have that strong desire to win it all and never settle for less. To be honest Dwight doesn't bear that amount hunger to the game and would probably settle for being an entertainer for fans. Playing under a organization with that much expectations could have been too much on the heart of Howard. Maybe Kobe's competitive spirit was too much too handle for the next three years in a Laker uniform. There is probably more to the story than we know behind the scenes of this organization in the past year.
One thing I must agree on with Howard's decision is that Mike D'antoni's system was not the right fit for this guy at all. Lakers owner Jim Buss knows himself that this Laker team was not built to fit D'antoni's system but rather legendary head coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Buss hiring Mike was one of his egoistical ways of trying to prove to Phil he could win championships without him. Honestly I believe Jim Buss is a egoistical idiot who will only continue to suffer if he allows his cockiness to get in the way of his business.
Dwight wants to become 'THE' star on a small market team with less demands and expectations than the Lakers. Houston will be a great fit for him emotionally because we are not looking for Houston to show up in the finals any time soon. In reality, with teams like the Miami Heat evolving every year Dwight needs to be apart of a championship caliber team that's ready to win now. Not later, not next season, not three years from now but RIGHT NOW! The new way teams are forming their franchise are built to dethroned the Miami Heat's big three trio. Meaning superstars are teaming up with each other to win championships right away. Superstars are sacrificing pay cuts and their statistics to achieve that ultimate goal. I know that is something Howard does not want to do but it will be something that must be done. I could be over analyzing this mans decision because maybe he's planning to attract some company behind his arrival. Its very possible but I just hope that Howard has made his final decision to stay committed with a team to finally win his first title.
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