Leave Dwight alone and let him do what he does best which is dominate!

##SUPERMAN RETURNS?##

I will admit that like many NBA critics that Dwight Howard is a bit of a goofball.  I like the fact that he is all about having fun but he doesn’t have the same charisma as his arch-nemesis Shaquille O'Neal aka "Superman!"  Dwight at times does indeed come off as very improvident with some of the things he says. He also has the reputation that he doesn’t take the game  seriously because of his “goofball" personality  and thus doesn’t play up to his perceived gargantuan ability. This is despite the fact he’s really only about 6’9 ½ feet tall and weighs about 265 pounds! There’s so much that has been said about him during this past off-season  because of  his brief tenure with the Lakers that I’m not going to rehash all of that crap. What I will say is  that I was very disappointed in the way NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attacked him in the media because in essence Dwight truly just wants to be liked and I think he came to LA with the right intention and essentially Kobe, D'Antoni and Jim Buss drove him away. 

Whether or not Kareem was being sincere during his ESPN's First Take tirade  is the question because why didn’t he offer the critique of Dwight prior to him coming to LA or while he was a Laker? Like Howard said before he was a Laker he was the NBA’s best center and now all of a sudden after he decided to leave he’s the worst! That’s a bit of exaggeration but in reality so are the claims and false allegations made against him regarding his basketball IQ, scoring ability and lack of post moves. Kareem said that Dwight basically doesn’t have what it takes to dominate or be a superstar. In reality Dwight is already a superstar and has been dominating for the last several years.  Many of his critics contend that he doesn’t have any post moves but this is simply not true. The summer in which Dwight worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon  was successful in that it elevated his game and the following season (his last season in Orlando) he averaged a career high 22.9 ppg while displaying a revamped post game complete with jump hooks, better footwork  and a few counter moves.

 The following season he injured his back which plagued him for most of last season. But if one actually checks the stats (numbers never lie) Dwight averages 18.3 ppg for his career while shooting 57.7% from the field off  while taking only a measly 11.3 shots per game.  He also is a 3 time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has led the NBA in blocked shots 2X, rebounds 5X  and once led the NBA in field goal %. So to say Dwight isn’t a superstar or lacks a high b-ball IQ is asinine. In reality his true achilles heel isn’t his post game it’s his dismal FT% which has plagued him ever since his rookie year. He sucks worst than Shaq from the free-throw line but isn’t as dominate offensively which tremendously limits his game in the 4th quarter. The bottom-line is not every big can have footwork like the Dream or McHale but guess what? Dwight has access to the Dream and McHale and will continue to develop his game by having their coaching and mentorship readily available. And how does he respond to his haters who felt he made a mistake leaving LA or that he wouldn’t ever return to his “Superman” form? He destroys the competition in his debut by notching 17 points and 26 boards!  Dwight Howard is still the NBA’s best center because of his defensive intensity, ability to protect the rim,  his herculean power and his accuracy from the field.