Dwight Howard Vows to ‘Demand the Ball’ in Game 2

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard wasn’t terribly effective (or aggressive) in the 122-120 Game 1 loss to LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers. Howard says things will be different going forward. Per the Houston Chronicle:

Dwight Howard came into the series shooting 63.3 percent against the Trail Blazers this season and 60.1 percent for his career in the playoffs, by far the best shooting percentage of any NBA player in the post-season this year.

After making just 9 of 21 shots with a 1 of 6 start on Sunday, he said he needs to demand more touches inside.

“We have to play inside out, play their bigs and make it a long night for those guys,” Howard said. “I have to demand the ball, get it and go to work.”

“We have to go right back at (Aldridge),” Howard said. “You have to make him play defense and make him use his energy on defense. Make him have to run around and guard.”

“We have to dump the ball down for him,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “He has to make plays. He’s had a lot of success against (Robin) Lopez. We have to keep feeding him the ball. That doesn’t mean we have to slow down. We want to get out in transition and run.”