It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a disastrous playoff perfomance by Superman. While other students of the game have decided to dwell on Kobe Bryant's play, I thought a key story of the night was Dwight Howard's shortcoming. Although the big man grabbed 15 rebounds, he had very little impact on the game. He only scored 12 points, successful on a meager 1 our of 6 field goal attempts. He wasn't much better at the free throw line, connecting on 10 out of 16 FTs, equivalent to 62.5%. A performance of such low caliber is simply unacceptable in the NBA Finals. In any other round, his contributions wouldn't matter as much. But on such a large stage, every move could potentially change the outcome of the series. Plus, if he wants to become among the game's elite, he has to step it up. If he truly wants to prove himself as a leader in this league, he will have to match, if not, exceed his own hype. Or else suffer the same fate as Lebron and conclude his playoff run as the famed young player who couldn't win when it mattered most.
These playoffs have really belonged to young rebels in the league. Throughout the course of the first round of this year's playoffs, fans were exposed to the youth in Atlanta. In the Western Conference semifinals, Aaron Brooks proved his ability by running circles around Lakers point guard, Derek Fisher. In the West, we saw Chris "Birdman" Anderson blocking opposing guards. Remember the Mavericks? Not really, but I do remember Brandon Bass' hustle. On the East, Derrick Rose elevated himself to superstar status by doing everything in his power in an attempt to help the Bulls advance - unfortunately, though, that didn't happen. Representing the rebellion, or rather, resiliency, from Beantown was Rajon Rondo. These young guns basically proved our theories to be true: showmanship can sell tickets, but it's experience and camaraderie that give you a shot at winning a title. Even though that sounds awfully similar to the mantra of the San Antonio Spurs for so many years, it hasn't been proven inaccurate this postseason.
And it's not just lackluster performances that are hurting Howard. It's the little extra things, that prove to be detrimental in the long run. His constant acquisition of technical fouls in this postseason, questionable remarks about his coach, and although this was a long time ago, his decision to forgo college. All these have been factors in his failure. A couple more T's, and he'll face suspension. Imagine how the Magic would play with Superman not showing up? Well, now that I think about it, a game without the Defensive Player of the Year would probably resemble last night's laugher. The comments about Stan Van Gundy also stirred up chemistry a bit. If you don't agree with your coach, that's one thing. But to publicly accuse him of screwing up (the game) by not playing you - that's ridiculous. You're more than welcome to talk to him in private, but there's no need to embarrass him on a national level.
I also believe that some of his lack of discipline can be attributed to his high school-to-NBA transition. As a scholar of the game and a fan, I've noticed that it takes several more years for players to develop if they skipped at least a year of education. My conclusion, except in the case of Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett, is that the more years of college missed equal to the number of years it takes to develop in the NBA. Examples include Jordan Farmar, who came into the NBA after his sophomore season at UCLA. Those two years of college he missed became years he needed professionally to mature. His own teammate and fellow point guard, Derek Fisher, who went to all four years of college at Little Rock, gave him experience and allowed him to contribute immediately - scoring 12 points and five assists in his rookie debut.
And even though the Lakers defense deserves plenty of praise, Howard usually finds his way to the rim - again and again on a nightly basis. He may have just been having one bad game. Nevertheless, if he becomes a non-factor, even just one more time in this series, he should not be afraid to accredit himself with shame. If Superman falls for the kryptonite, he is no longer super; he's just a regular man. In the end, though, this series will be instrumental in developing Dwight's skills by presenting him with obstacles of adversity, which he will have to counter with spectacular play and leadership.
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