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Philippines, 26 Nov 2024 |
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Time to let Dwight Howard go! By Anthony 'Duljoman' Andales PhilBoxing.com Sat, 24 Dec 2011  It was unsightly. A 33-point blowout that turned a supposed inter-state rivalry into a bit of a joke as LeBron James and the Heat annihilated the Orlando Magic, 118-85, Sunday night at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Horrific as it was, the good news is that the pre-season beating didn't count in the standings. The bad news is that the losing team's main cog, superstar Dwight Howard, who has publicly and quite repeatedly requested a trade, played with little purpose and desire. Howard, 26, is a behemoth at center -- 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds. Yet, his production in that the Miami massacre was so small. Howard tallied only five points and six rebounds. He had three assists, three blocked shots, and three turnovers. Timid on the offense -- making just 2-of-9 filed goals -- he was characteristically awful from the free throw line, missing 3 of 4. In fairness to Howard, his fellow Magic men were just as awful, especially on the defensive side of the ball. As a unit, they helplessly watched the Heat convert 58.7 percent of their shots, highlighted by 22 fastbreak points late in the opening half. J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson pumped 22 points apiece to sustain Orlando's flickering attack. Sadly, there wasn't much firepower behind them as the Magic shot just 35.4 percent from the field. But let's go back to Howard, the fulcrum of Orlando's might and the center of all the preseason attention. During the postgame media session, one sportswriter suggested that Howard was "disengaged." But Magic coach Stan Van Gundy vehemently disagreed, saying that his stalwart simply "did not play well." The observant sportswriter could have been right. He was at the scene of the blowout and saw how the one-sided affair transpired. By the same token, coach Van Gundy was probably right, too. After all, he knows his ward's demeanor better than all of us. The way I see it, though, is that Howard played like a man who didn't want to be in an Orlando Magic uniform. Howard had just recently requested a trade, naming Dallas, New Jersey and Los Angeles as coveted destinations. And until such desire to move is satisfied, maybe the likeable big man wouldn't feel like performing at his All-Star best. Just maybe. It's easy to understand why Orlando wants to keep Howard. After all, we're talking of a future Hall-of-Famer who is averaging 18.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in his 7 NBA seasons. I don't see any team not wanting Howard, 4-time All-Star who is reliable night-in and night-out, missing just seven regular season games his entire career thus far. But for the Magic, the better path to take would be to sever ties with Howard now and get some measure of talent in return, while they can. It would be a nightmare to watch such a talent walk away for nothing the moment his contract expires. In the end, it's best for the Magic to have a good player who gives his 100 percent effort than to keep a reluctant superstar who might only give 50 percent. (http://www.facebook.com/anthonylanandales) Click here to view a list of other articles written by Anthony 'Duljoman' Andales.  |
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