Howard’s vanishing act inexplicable
Dwight Howard sat at his locker, as supine as his chair would allow, looking like a knockout victim.
Sports wrap held huge bags of ice against his knees, his standard postgame recovery ritual, but he also held one against his upper lip to limit the swelling.
Somewhat fitting, since the Rockets had taken it on the chin in a 121-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
With the embarrassing defeat — the game was tied at the end of the first and second quarters, but the Warriors blew it open with a 41-point third period — the Rockets are one loss from the end of their season.
A first-round playoff exit would be a disappointing finish for a team that began the year with championship wishes and caviar dreams.
The next defeat — presumably on Wednesday in Oakland — will likely mark the end of the Dwight Howard Era.
Actually, should he opt out of his contract and leave this offseason, as so many predict, there will be no such thing as the Dwight Howard Era with the Rockets.
It would have taken significantly more time or accomplishment for Howard to leave the Rockets with ownership of an era.
Granted, it was a mar-
keting thing, but Howard’s installation into the Rockets’ “Legacy of Bigs” when he arrived as a freeagent signee before the 2013-14 season has almost turned into an insult to those who came before.
Elvin Hayes (seven seasons), Moses Malone (six), Ralph Sampson (five), Hakeem Olajuwon (17) and Yao Ming (seven) all spent more of their Hall of Fame careers in Houston than Howard will have on Wednesday night when the Warriors pull the plug on the Rockets.
To be fair, Dwight could elect to return, but don’t bet on it. He doesn’t seem to be particularly happy being a Rocket, and the Rockets aren’t especially excited about the possibility of having to pay him $23.2 million to be one next season.
The frustration on both sides was on full display in Game 4 against the Warriors, who exited their locker room at the half as the most vulnerable 73-win team in the history of the NBA.
OK, Golden State is the only 73-win team in league history, but Sunday it was a team whose best player, soon to be a two-time MVP, limped off at the start of the third quarter because of a knee injury.
Steph Curry’s absence should have opened the door for the Rockets to burst through and tie up the series at two games apiece.
The Rockets’ leaders set the tone in a first half that ended with the score 56-56.
James Harden had 13 points, six assists and four steals. Yes, steals.
And Howard was a big man Houston could be proud of, with a gamehigh 14 points and 10 rebounds. He had a doubledouble — his 11th in the last 12 Rockets playoff games — before the late arrivals at Toyota Center had collected their Red Nation “rally” T-Shirts.
The Rockets still hadn’t gone out of their way to get Howard the ball, but he had not missed any of the six shots he did take and appeared to be on his way to a monster game. Then it all changed. Disappearing Dwight returned in the third quarter, during which he had more technical fouls (one) than points, shot attempts, assists or blocked shots. He didn’t necessarily make up for it underneath, grabbing just one rebound and committing a turnover that turned into a Golden State 3-pointer.
Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the Rockets failed to match Golden State’s intensity in that quarter.
Lack of intensity is regularly included in critiques of Howard’s game, unfairly at times. This isn’t one of them.
It is inexplicable how a player of his importance could be so easily erased from this game, one Howard said he would play like it was a Game 7, “do or die.”
Howard’s play often leaves much to the imagination. He is a walking (and running and jumping) “what if ?” who provides much ammunition to critics.
Howard told them to “shut up” in regard to his relatively calm body language after Harden hit a game-winning shot in Game 3, so as expected, he came out Sunday to keep them quiet. He did. For a half. Then he gave them something altogether different to talk about.
Howard said the Rockets “stopped running the offense the way we needed to” and that helped jump-start the Warriors.
Was he following the Rockets’ “Legacy of Bigs” and telling his teammates he needed the ball more?
I mean, the guy was 6-for-6 in the first half but didn’t get a single shot in the third quarter, during which the Warriors outscored Houston 41-20.
Could you imagine what Big E, Moses or Dream would say in such a situation?
Not this: “I’m not going to say that I should have gotten the ball more.”
Does Howard not want the ball? Does he care?
“I shoulda went harder to the glass; I shoulda set more screens …”
Sometimes Howard, as likable as he can be, can’t win.
Because the Rockets lost, people would take shots at him whether or not he complained about not taking shots.
But for me, it isn’t that Howard made only one field goal in the second half as the Rockets fell apart.
It is that as the Rockets fell apart, he didn’t do anything about.
The biggest, wanna-be baddest man on the team let it all unfold.
Those who earned spots in the Rockets’ true “Legacy of Bigs” didn’t always win, but they always tried to do something about it.