Lakers Season Ends with Dwight Howard Getting Tossed – Perhaps a Sign?

It’s been an Odd Season and Now it’s Finally over – paraphrasing John Barry, commentating on the end of the Lakers 2012-2013 Season.

Dwight Howard went out with a bang too. Getting himself ejected from the critical Game 4 to stave off elimination by the San Antonio Spurs. Here in Los Angeles a winning effort is always expected from Laker Fans – but not always given by Laker players. That cannot be said about Kobe Bryant, who personally willed L.A. into the Playoffs – as he said they would. (Lakers in 7th Seed)

They just didn’t get out of the 2nd round.

Dwight Howard, the big man signed to help bring number 17 to the Los Angeles Lakers Franchise, instead painted a case for why the purple and gold need to just let the big man walk.

His final game for the season epitomized his entire season. He takes absolutely no responsibility for his faults on the basketball court and is endlessly pointing fingers at teammates, or referees. Let’s take Game 4, where Dwight gets himself a technical foul after, unnecessarily elbowing a Spur in the Head, after a foul, that he should expect since teams have been fouling him all year long due to his poor free throw shooting.

Of course, he argued against the call, as if the foul some how justifies elbowing an opponent.  Getting one technical foul in a game means, you cannot get another, or else – that’s it for you. So what does this guy do? He decides to turn and Yell at a referee – pointing fingers at him and saying who knows what – but it was certainly enough to have another technical called. Naturally after being ejected and walking to the lockeroom, he passes General Manager Mitch Kupchak, and seems to Say “that was a bitch ass call” …

In case you don’t know what a bitch ass call is, it means it’s a call that should not have been called – naturally blaming the referee for calling it rather than taking responsibility for causing the referee to call it.

What is Dwight’s problem? He has no post game, whatsoever.  Dwight Howard has no idea how to get position on the block by using his lower body.

He clearly has made it this far in the NBA based on his natural athletic ability. The vast majority of fouls that he commits come from shoving people out of the way, with is upper body. If you cannot tell, I know a thing or two about playing in the post – there are things that big men are taught at an early age, that all good big men have mastered.

Keep the ball Up, Never bring it Down, when you do, guards will take it away.  A year of having Dwight Howard on my Fantasy team, tracking his stats, showed me that he turns the ball over at a unsatisfactorly high level. A year of watching him play on the court explains why. He brings the ball down on just about every single play – constantly exposing the ball to the hands of often much quicker guards.

The other is about using your lower body to get position, rather than your upper body. Referees call that every single time when using your upper body. They rarely call anything on players who properly use their lower body to get into a position, in the post.

This is primarily what playing in the post is all about. A good post player gets a position, and then holds it, creates a target to receive a pass. Then because of his position, a bevy of post ‘moves’ will be made after he catches that pass – which Dwight Howard has none of.

That’s right, he has no post moves.

He does not know how to Drop Step.

He does not know the Turn, Swing Through, Face up, bank shot….

… or the Turn, Swing Through, Face up, Pump Fake (get the defender in the air) step through, DUNK/Layup move …

He does not know these post moves at all, because he did not use them at any point in the year. There are several more post moves, which I will not take the time to explain here – I will however, hope that Dwight Howard some how see’s this commentary on his Game, and Decides to spend the Entire Summer at Hakeem Olajuwon’s ranch.

That being said, I do not believe he is Mature enough to realize he isn’t really that good of a basketball player.

That being said, I DO hope someone in the Laker Organization will be Mature enough to tell him.

If I had a Vote on what the Lakers do this summer – as far as resigning Dwight Howard – I say, let the guy walk.

Being able to throw down occasional monsterous dunks is not a good enough reason to keep a player in the Purple and Gold. (*update – The Lakers and Dwight, parted ways after this season!)