Understand Your Role and Stick to It
Self-awareness is a characteristic that many lacks, none more so than athletes especially athletes that used to be superstars. Howard is no exception. In Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta he thought the offense should run through him in the low post and in all three situations, he was wrong.
As stated earlier, prior to the injuries piling on his body he was never a polished player in the post and in all three situations after high volume post touches would have more than likely hurt the team’s offense and flow than helped. When you take into account that the NBA has changed into a more fast-paced, uptempo, guard heavy, three-point shooting, analytical basketball, the odds stack even higher against Dwight.
Strangely enough, it’s Howard’s former back up center Clint Capela that teams like to have on their basketball team and that teams value more. Especially when you take into consideration that Houston’s best player(s) are some of the most elite pick and roll guards in NBA history.
The Wizards have the same type of playstyle. John Wall is one of the elite guards in the NBA, he’s special in the pick-and-roll, and Dwight (if he buys in) can be a great pick and roll big that can do what Capela does if not better. It all comes down to a straightforward thing. Dwight being self-aware, knowing and understanding his role not disengaging on both sides of the ball when he feels he isn’t getting the post touches he “deserves” is key.
Next Up: Goal 1
