NBA

NBA has a new monster in the middle

Magic’s Howard, 22, already the best center in the league

Morry Gash / AP

At the age of 22, Dwight Howard is already an unstoppable force in the paint.

Dunking — and more
How do you spot a go-to move? When it’s so good, so perfected, that it doesn’t need to be practiced anymore.

Jent said he outlawed dunking in his 1-on-1 games with Howard. And a report last week indicated that Ewing doesn’t want Howard dunking in practice at all.

Suns coach Mike D’Antoni summed up what might me the scariest aspect of Howard’s abilities.

“Who cares if he supposedly doesn’t have a true offensive move,” D’Antoni told The Indianapolis Star earlier this month. “That’s what cracks me up about people. It doesn’t really matter. He can get to the basket. He’s good enough to keep you honest. He’ll improve in time. If it never comes, he’s still really, really good. He’s the best out there.”

A typical Howard sequence involves a blocked shot and/or big rebound in traffic, an outlet pass, sprinting to the other end of the floor, catching a pass at the rim, and dunking with enough force to break limbs, if any happened to be in the way.

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP

No go-to move? When you can get to the rim and dunk practically whenever you want, that is a go-to move.

“He is outrunning everybody down the floor, beating centers down the floor, getting easy dunks and lobs,” Adubato said. “Any time you have that kind of speed, you utilize it. That makes him such a tough assignment.”

In half-court sets, Howard has added a short jump hook and spin move. But don’t bet against him getting even better. Most people close to Howard believe the improvement is inevitable, simply as he gains more experience and develops more range on his shot. The focus areas include facing the basket, on-ball and help defense, and making decisions as a facilitator of the offense.

“The nice thing is that the things he has to improve on are one, learnable, and two, teachable,” Twardzik said. “The things that he’s good at, rebounding and rebounding out of his area, if you don’t have that by this point, it’s hard to learn. Same thing with challenging shots.”

And at the same time, no matter how well-rounded his game becomes, don’t expect Howard to venture far from his comfort zone.

“There aren’t too many guys who dominate the paint right now,” Jent said. “It’s great to see a guy just own that area on the floor and that’s the most crucial part of a basketball court, right around the basket. It’s awfully hard to stop him. If he plants himself down low and gets prime real estate near the hoop, there’s not much you can do.”

CONTINUED : A look into the future

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