Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  74 responses

Dwight Howard: ‘I Do Want the Ball More in the Fourth Quarter’


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

You’ll never believe this, but Dwight Howard is upset about something again.

The only twist about Dwight’s latest complaint is that it came following an Orlando Magic victory. Howard was unhappy with the amount of touches he got late in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

From Fox Sports:

Howard touched the ball only six times on offense in the fourth quarter, with one of those coming from his own offensive rebound. Despite Orlando’s 99-94 win over the Bucks, Howard made it clear that this is not the role he wants. “I do want the ball more in the fourth quarter,” a frustrated Howard said. “I want to become a closer. The only way you get there is by getting the ball and have coach have the confidence in giving me the ball. That’s how Kobe (Bryant) and the rest of the great fourth-quarter players got that way. It’s trial and error. When Kobe first got in the league, it took him a while to become the killer he is in the fourth quarter now. That’s because he went through that phase where he had to learn what shots to take and just get confidence in taking shots in the fourth quarter.”

“That’s one thing that I want for myself, so I can become the guy who finishes games for my team. I want to be that guy whose team wants him to close games out for them. Coach just needs to have confidence in me … Just run plays through me, so I can be comfortable in being the guy and have confidence in getting the ball late in the game and scoring,” Howard said. “That’s what I’m worth. I want to be that guy who controls games. As a kid, that’s what you dream about in the NBA, taking that shot. I want to do that. I’m the leader of the team. Ride my back. I’ll lead. I don’t care if I miss every single shot, I’m going to continue to play hard. Just get on my back. That’s why they call me Superman.”

Despite pulling down 14 rebounds, and getting 4 blocks, Dwight Howard struggled against the Bucks, as he missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted, and only shot two free throws. Jason Richardson (31 points) and Hedo Turkoglu (19 points) carried the Magic offensively

Whether or not he has a point about not getting enough touches in the fourth quarter is beside the point; it doesn’t look good on Dwight Howard’s part that he complained to the media following a tough road win.

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  • shutup

    wow sorry for the 3x post

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    hahah all good. Wasn’t trying to be offensive, was just saying, attributing is offensive efficiency to ally oops was pretty dumb. it felt like a cop out.

  • shutup

    Dwight seems to be a sore subject for you, a magic fan? or just a Dwight fan?

  • http://leipzig-eagles.de/ Speedy

    It really seems to me as if this Magic team is no team.
    This is part of SVG’s work. Get everybody involved and a goal to strive for.
    These guys just see their own problems – especially Dwight.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Neither. I just think he’s Over scrutinized. Don’t get me wrong, he should shut up, but his complaints generally make sense (even though he comes off whiny) – and this trade hoopla magnifies everything 1,000% – so I per almost every player that us heavily disliked am usually “defending” his actions. It’s not that I necessarily agree wih him or anything

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I agree with NBK and shutup to a degree.
    I think that if i was a team with a post defender who would force Dwight to make shots, I would never double team him and only rarely front him. I don’t think dude is a shot maker in the post.
    But, against 90 percent of the big men in the League, who have no idea how to play defense against him, he dominates with more touches. It’s weird. Dude has improved his post game, but it’s still mechanical and kind of raw. But you ignore him at you’re own peril.
    It’s like Carlos Boozer. Boozer dominates inferior bigs, shrinks against the best. The difference is that there are far more decent forwards than centers.

  • shutup

    I agree with the over analyzed idea, but thats what happens when you standout at your position. I just feel his development should be faster. Theres a difference in being great right now and an all-time great, the thing that makes people legends is the time they put in, it just bugs me when people waste potential, now you can argue how can he be wasting potential if he’s the best center in the league? we’ll I would ask is he the best center he can be? I taught myself how to play by watching older dudes ball, seeing what moves work and what dont, sh!t I learned how to use a baby hook from watching bluechips, why is it so hard for him (with the best coaches money can buy) to develop a post game, with great footwork? the blueprint is out there, take a lil Shaq, mix it with Olajuwan, maybe a lil duncan, and a lil bit of Patrick Ewings fire. I would just ask him too Stop smiling all the time, wait to smile until you have that trophy, and please, just please stop sh!tting on your team through the media, you cant blame the media for publishing the stuff you say, if you keep saying stuff. The team won and he still has something negative to say, I dont understand.

  • http://www.twitter.com/_dfrance dfrance21

    I just don’t think you can be considered the “go to” guy and only be able to get the ball consistently for the first 10 minutes of the 4th like NBK is suggesting. I don’t think he made that comment meaning “get me the ball up until the last 2 minutes then go away from me.” He wants to be the guy that you give the ball to down 1 with 10 seconds left in the game and with his low free throw percentage raw post moves and limited passing ability, he’ll never be that. IMO.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    if that’s what he meant dfrance, then he’s dead wrong. He in no way deserves the ball at that juncture.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    shutup, I am in no way shape or form arguing for Dwight’s work ethic or all-time status. I am referring to people calling him a whiny b*tch and all the other things they are saying. He still has heaps of unrealized potential, but I am not going to hold a grudge with him for not living up to that. Getting better is his prerogative. – I feel like people (you included) dislike him for how he isn’t living up to their expectations, not for what he’s actually saying or doing.

  • shutup

    I admit I prefer my sports icons to be more determined to hone their craft, I respect nothing more in life then the ambition to become the best that one can be, second to that is loyalty. so its like a double negative with him, he has so much potential, couple that with the fact that the center position is barren in todays NBA, the fact that he seems to care about himself first and has no respect for the team aspect of this game. Maybe I’m spoiled from growing up on watching great centers play follow that up with the emergence of legendary pivots -Shaq and Duncan. and having great expectations from Dwight because of all the natural gifts that he has; i dont think its a bad thing. I want him to succeed but theres something to be said about doing it the right way.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I understand that POV

  • golakeshow

    a kobe reference. Just get him to LA

  • Lz – Cphfinest3

    This f’ing guy… Every single day itching and moaning… Am I the only one who really hope a couple of great young center’s suddenly gets to the L and starts obliterating Dwight’s hiney on the regular… The 2012 Most Annoying Player award should go to Howard by unanimous decision…

  • flipnoyce

    I’ve never did like Dwight from the getgo and it is because of his constant whining for such a big guy. The man is useless if cover the by the right person. Without a decent post moves like Shaq or Dream he will never be that 4th quarter man on any team. And, he refers to himself as Superman, pathetic.

  • http://anyoldthing Ugh

    Quit throwing your freebies off the top of the backboard and SVG might tell the PG to throw you the ball every once in a while.
    Quit throwing your PG under the bus and maybe they’ll listen to the coach.

  • jpm34

    “I want I want” Im seriously gettin tired of hearing what Howard wants. He shoots 49% from the line, and he wants to close games? REDICULOUS!!!!!

  • shutup

    Just waiting to hear something else from him after the win tonight, I think he had 11-7.

  • Justin G.

    @nbk…Is it his perogative to get better though? Or does he owe it to his teammates, organization, and fans that pay his salary to get better? I’d say it’s the latter

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Depends if you think he is paid to get better or if he is paid for what he has done.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Well too keep up what he has done*

  • Justin G.

    @shutup…It will be the refs’ fault for bad calls leading to foul trouble or his teammates fault for putting him in a position to foul someone. lol
    @nbk…Well, what do you think? In any job aren’t you paid to do your job as well as you can? Whether it’s working in the kitchen at McDonalds, running an online business, or being a professional athlete aren’t you expected to work hard and do your best at all times. For an athlete, this should include keeping in shape in the offseason and working on your game. Do you think he’s paid to get better or for what he’s already done?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I think he’s paid for both. And he has improved. Steadily. He also stays in shape. So I don’t understand what people are griping about. He’s not improving fast enough for you? Who sounds like they really have the problem there? Does it make sense for someone you don’t know to criticize how you do your job because you haven’t improved rapidly in a year, if at all?

  • Terrell

    I have a way to help Dwight Howard shoot a much higher free throw percentage..
    There are two “guaranteed techniques” I was taught in highschool and it absolutely works..I shot 39 out of 45 consecutive free throws once using this technique even after highschool, just on the fly.

    IT WILL WORK FOR HIM I AM 100% SURE
    SOMEONE PLEASE CONTACT ME AND GET ME IN TOUCH W/DWIGHT HOWARD’S AGENT..
    THANK YOU

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