5 Hot Questions: Houston Rockets Playoff Preview Edition #1

Oct 7, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) gets the ball in the post against Dallas Mavericks center

(6) at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

5.) Do you think Howard will abandon post ups since it’s detrimental to the offense as proved by stats?

Salman’s (@rednation_hoops):

I think he’s already starting to do that.

He’s receiving 5 less touches per game than last year, the emergence of Motiejunas has taken away a lof of post touches from Howard – he’s now the secondary post threat, and he’s doing all this willingly since we’ve seen him feed Motiejunas in the post himself.

This might sound odd, but I don’t think he’s as bad of a post-player as people make him out to be. His footwork is fantastic, but his touch around the basket just isn’t polished. I think Dwight’s actually an effective post-player once he’s deep enough to make a lay-up, dunk, or mini-hook shot as opposed to the more finesse high/sky hooks he often attempts.

I think McHale is starting to realize that Howard plays better in a system offense/pick-and-roll as opposed to isolation post-ups as we’re seeing him run less post-ups through Howard this year. It’s more of a “last resort” now.

Alykhan (@Rockets_Insider):

Salman articulated my thoughts exactly. However I’d like to remind everyone that Dwight post-ups can bring instant offense, especially against certain match-ups. In the beginning of the season, McHale liked to use Howard with the second unit to begin the second and fourth quarters. He took advantage of the opposing team’s back-up center, getting his post-touches and dominating the game offensively. Will be interesting to see whether he can come back and have a similar impact to the Portland playoff series.

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