Healthy and more mature, Dwight Howard is ready to carry Houston to NBA’s elite
It seems as if everyone in and around the league has an opinion about Dwight Howard and the Rockets.
Some would describe Howard’s first year in Houston as a success, with the Rockets finishing fourth in the Western Conference and with a 54-28 record in the regular season, which was the third-highest win total in team history and most since 2007-08.
Others would say a roster that was loaded with young talent including Howard, James Harden and Chandler Parsons should have made it further than the Western Conference Quarterfinals, where they lost in seven games to the Portland Trailblazers.
This summer, looking to take the next step toward a championship, Houston nearly signed Chris Bosh in the aftermath of LeBron James return to Cleveland. The Rockets seemed to be on the verge of creating a Big Three of their own, but instead, when Bosh re-signed with Miami, Houston was not only left empty-handed, but it also lost Parsons to cross-state rival Dallas and traded Jeremy Lin to the Lakers.
With those departures, and the June trade of Omer Asik, Houston’s roster may not look as flashy and talented as it did this time last year, but Howard seems confident in the Rockets’ ability to contend for a title now.
“We know how good we can be,” Howard told Yahoo Sports while promoting the upcoming Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare video game. “We work extremely hard on a daily basis to make sure that we make it to that [championship-caliber] level. We want to contend for the title and we feel we have the same opportunity as every other team in the NBA.”
In an earlier interview with Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Howard admitted that he spent a portion of last season easing into his role with Houston and playing alongside James Harden. This year, his confidence level could not be any higher and he is ready to step into a bigger leadership position, knowing that a good portion of the team’s successes and failures will fall on his massive shoulders.
The NBA started to see Howard’s transformation into a team leader – and maybe into his old, dominant self – last season when he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game against Portland in the playoffs.
“I just have to go play and control the paint, control what I can control,” Howard said. “Last year’s playoffs was great for me, I had a great playoff run, I tried to do whatever I can to get ready for the season this summer. Hopefully I have another great year. The main thing I want to do is help all of the young guys on our team grow as players and continue to grow myself and try and get better every day.”
After forcing his way out of Orlando and spending a tumultuous year in Los Angeles, Howard became an easy target for writers and media members to pick on, an incredible talent whose personality and off-court issues loomed as large as his 6-foot-11 frame does in the post.
The criticism and barbs have continued to follow him, with former teammate Kobe Bryant calling Howard’s departure in free agency following the 2012-13 season “a positive,” according to a report from CBS Sports.
But Howard isn’t out for blood when it comes to the Lakers, who Houston opens the season against on Oct. 27.
“People make big deals about playing against your former team and stuff like that but there are 82 games and we want to make sure that we get better every day, we want to start the season off on a good note,” Howard said. “It doesn’t matter who we play, my mindset is always going to be the same and that is to dominate.”
Howard isn’t the only Rockets player targeted by basketball pundits, however. Harden, the team’s leading scorer in each of the past two seasons, has dealt with heavy criticism of his defensive play during his time with Houston.
“Not everybody is going to like you,” Howard said. “They’re going to assume they know things about you as a player and a person depending on what they read or what they might hear on T.V. We both know who we are as players and who we are as men, so it doesn’t matter what is said about us.”
Howard’s responses to questions about how he is portrayed show a new maturity for the 28-year-old star. While he once searched for the spotlight and attempted to become one of the game’s media darlings – similar to LeBron James and Kevin Durant – Howard now let’s everything roll off his back.
“I always try to find the positive in every situation,” Howard said. “If anybody says something negative about me, I always listen to what they’re saying, see if there’s any truth to it and if there isn’t any, I let it go in one ear and out the other. If there may be some truth, I do some soul-searching. Things happen, people say stuff but it’s not a concern at all.”
Having a more mature approach to life doesn’t mean Howard doesn’t have his fun though. Howard touts himself as an avid gamer in the offseason and in his downtime, admitting that he has his own personal Xbox and can sit for hours playing Call of Duty with his friends and fans.
“I have my own clan that I play with. I talk to them and I play with them a lot. I’m pretty good, it was something that I play with a lot of people online,” Howard said. “Once you start playing, it’s the best thing in life; I can sit down and play for hours.”
And in a weird way, while his main focus is always on basketball, playing Call of Duty is something that keeps him grounded and not thinking about what others have to say about him or the Rockets.
“It’s something that’s fun, it keeps me motivated and something that’s amazing to do,” Howard said.
“Coming home, eating, watching film and then playing the game, it’s just something that clears my head, it’s good for me.”
