Yesterday against the Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard had two very different helps. In the first half, Howard put up 22 points on 9 for 14 shooting from the field. However, in the second half, Howard went just 1-6 from the field (the one make came after the game was decided), scoring 6 points. The big difference between the two halves is the way that Dwight Howard performed in the post:
Why He Was Successful In The First Half?
In the first half, Dwight Howard had 11 post-up opportunities, as described by Synergy Sports Technology. He scored on 6 of them for 12 points. Here’s why:
Variety of Moves
Going into the season (and even early this season) Dwight Howard seemed to have one post move that he would go to time after time. That move is a face up, take it to the middle, and finish it with a hook shot going away from the basket:
This is a very good move from Dwight, but when he starts to do it over and over, it becomes much more predictable, and defenses are able to defend it better. However, against the Celtics, Howard used this move just once.
Here, Howard has a move that is a counter off of his middle hook. He starts going towards the middle, and when the defenses commits to trying to stop that hook, he quickly spins baseline, getting the easy bucket.
Here, Howard makes the catch in really deep position (the only time all game this happens) then he quickly fakes towards the middle and hits a nice little hook as he turns towards the baseline.
And finally here, Dwight once again faces up. However, instead of going towards the middle, he fakes there and then goes baseline. The defender is unprepared for this and he picks up a foul trying to keep him from going baseline.
Patience During Moves
In the post, Dwight Howard tends to rush things, and I think that this is one of his biggest flaws. He is so much bigger than most defenders that if he goes a little slower and takes his time, he always seems to come away with makes. Against Boston, Howard was very patient in the first half:
Here, instead of facing up and quickly making his move, he holds the ball a bit and gives a pump fake. He then goes into his move. This seems simple, but with the defense expecting him to go quickly, even a little bit of a hesitation seems to throw everything off for the defender.
And finally here, Dwight makes his move and instead of going straight up with it (which is what he seems to do more often than not), he pump fakes with a smaller defender covering him. Nate Robinson goes flying and Howard is able to pick up the And-1.
Why Did He Struggle In The Second Half
Lack of Touches
After scoring 12 points on 11 post touches, Howard got just 5 post touches in the second half (and none in the fourth quarter). Maybe more importantly, after a strong first half Howard’s first touch came almost three minutes into the third quarter (compared to getting a touch on the Magic’s first possession of the game). Instead of working it in to Howard and allowing him to try and get into the same rhythm in that he had in the first half, Howard got limited touches and it bothered him. He made some good moves in the second half, but simply missed. That could be a result of lack of touches:
On both of these plays, Dwight Howard makes a strong and very good move getting a shot attempt in close on the basket. He simply misses it, and while that might have to do with Howard, I think that if he would have gotten the ball a little earlier in the half and a little more often, he would have had a good feel of everything, making it more likely that he would hit these shots.
I understand that you can’t give Dwight the basketball late in the game because of his poor foul shooting, but after scoring 22 points in the 1st half, he needs to get more than five touches in the post in the 2nd half.
Poor Shooting Allows Celtics To Send A Double
When the Celtics defend Dwight Howard in the post, they do something that most teams don’t do, they single cover him. The main reason they do this is so they don’t give up open three point shots when Howard passes out of double teams. However, because the Magic shot so poorly from the three point line yesterday (3-24 from the three point line yesterday), the Celtics were able to send a double team a few times in the second half. They weren’t the hardest doubles, but you can tell they threw off Howard a bit, mainly because he wasn’t expecting it.
Here, Dwight Howard makes the catch and immediately Paul Pierce comes down and has his hand on Howard’s hip. It is only a quick show, but that is enough to throw Howard off and put him in a position where he settles for a jumper.
On this play, Howard gets the ball and as Pierce’s man goes through, he digs down, forcing Howard to go baseline (he misses).
And here, Rajon Rondo sinks down after the pass into Howard and he swipes at the ball as Howard makes his move to the middle. Again, it isn’t much but it forces Howard to pick up his dribble early and it throws everything off.
If the Magic are shooting well, I don’t think the Celtics start to play off the shooters, and that would help Howard who was making good moves and getting good position on single coverage all night.
My biggest issue is with the Magic’s inability to get Howard post touches in the second half. Howard is starting to prove that he can make good moves and get good looks if teams single cover him. This is definitely new, but the Magic need to be able to recognize when Dwight has it going in the post and continue to feed him until the defense can stop him. I honestly don’t think the Celtics stopped Howard yesterday. The Magic stopped Howard with their inability to feed him the basketball in the second half.
Categories:Orlando Magic, Post UpTags:
- Robert ASome coaches are able to make adjustments at half time which the team implements. Some teams play worse during the third quarter because the coach has no adjustments to make and/or the players have turned off the coaches shouting. I will let others decide for themselves into which category the Magic falls.
- Master_of_MagicMy problems with this break down are two things…1. I think when Dwight is patient in the post, teams are able to come down to double him easier, or just “swipe” at him like Rondo. IMO I think Dwight needs to know which moves work best at each position on the court, and he should know what he wants to do as soon as he catches the ball. Hakeem worked on the jump catch with him, and I have yet to really see D12 implement this technique. It catches defenders off guard because you catch and go, and they don’t have time to be physical on the block…and 2. The only reason they don’t go to Dwight in the 4th is because of his free throws. Plain and simple. If he hit free throws at a 75% rate, he would have the ball in his hands on every possession. but he can’t, so SVG prefers the ball to go to his shooters. Either way, this Magic team won’t be great again until Dwight matures a little bit more. When he’s 28/29 the kid will be so dominant. Let’s just hope he’s still wearing the blue and silver.
- Sebastian PruitiI have to disagree with your first point. If Dwight is patient, he’s actually more prepared to kick out of the double team. It is different when playing the Celtics because they never send doubles. The only reason they did it this past game was because the outside shooters were so cold. Dwight was never expecting the doubles because it is not their gameplan.I understand why Dwight doesn’t get the ball in the 4th quarter. He should still get more than 5 touches in the post in the third though…
- Master_of_Magicwhat are your thoughts on the catch and go?
