Smack / Jul 25, 2011 / 12:00 am

Dwight Howard Wants To Meet Up With Hakeem Olajuwon Again

Dwight Howard

After a season that saw him take his game to another level while everyone else around the Orlando organization dropped about four levels, Dwight Howard wants to meet up with Hakeem again. The Magic center says he plans to meet up with Olajuwon again at some point this summer because if he wants to continue to meet his goals and get better, meeting up with the Dream is necessary. Last year, Howard officially tapped into some of the incredible potential he has. And while it’s hard to expect guys who’ve been in the league for as long as he has to drastically improve, watching Howard all last year surely felt like he had turned a corner. Dwight said he thought Olajuwon could still play in the league now, and he was dead serious. We wouldn’t be all that surprised. The NBA should make it mandatory for every player in the league to see and learn from the Dream at some point. It’s like guys can spend one afternoon with him and they instantly become better, have more complete games and are lighter and more confident on their feet. Howard is a perfect example; He was an athlete and now he’s the most unstoppable big man in the game (even offensively…no one can keep him from getting 25+ when he wants to) … Brandon Roy is hyped. After bowing out of the Seattle Super Bowl of basketball this weekend to avoid injury, Roy is adamant he’s feeling good, and not feeling any pain. At this point, no one knows what to think. He has chronic knee issues, so to assume it’ll just all mysteriously go away isn’t smart. It’s the summer. No one is grinding like they are during the season. There’s a great chance he’s pain free right now. But what happens during the season when he’s flying at 2 in the morning after a long overtime game, has to get to the shootaround the next afternoon before Portland plays again the next night? Whether he can handle the in-season grind is the REAL test for those knees. Hopefully he passes … Another very good player struggling to come back from injury is Utah’s Mehmet Okur. The big man is dealing with a double whammy, an Achilles injury and back problems. Apparently, he’s doing pretty well. But if you’re the Jazz, a squad that has built up a decent stable of young inside talent, do you make room for Okur? Is he worth it at this point? … Out of all of this year’s second rounders, we really believed Boston’s E’Twaun Moore could surprise and make an impact. But he may not be playing in Boston at all. The guard might soon be signing with Cimberio Varese. There should be an out clause involved, but for a second-round pick (with no guaranteed deal), would you be jumping back and forth across oceans? … The group of NBA players out in Manila this weekend ended it all with a 98-89 win over Smart Gilas Pilipinas. It was a different game than the one on Saturday night, when the NBA guys might as well have been the Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals. In this one, their dunks were cut in half. But Kobe (17 points), Kevin Durant (16) and JaVale McGee (16) did enough to leave on a high note … We’re out like justice in the Lorenzen Wright case.

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  • Mandirigma

    Enough of this BS.

    Shaq Prime would make Dwight Howard look like a younger Kevin Willis.

    Jacked as hell but no post game.

  • http://twitter.com/#!/Quiznakes K Dizzle

    @ First n Foremost

    Sorry. 1st matchup 89-75 Magic. Dwight had 31, 13 3 blks 6 turnovers.
    Bynum led the Lakers with 17 and 9, 1 blk, 0 turnovers.
    Feel better?

    @ Dag – Basic math here. If player 1 hits 66% of his freebies n player 2 hits 44% of his freebies, what’s the percentage difference?

    And what kinda dumbass argument is Shaq n Wilt didn’t hit free throws, so it’s not a center stat? How about Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Kareem and Moses all over 70%? You pull out 3 centers who couldn’t hit free throws so that’s some kinda point?

    And what are you talkin about the top defender guards Gasol? Have you ever watched a Laker game? The center guards Bynum and the 4 guards Gasol. When LA plays Orlando, Dwight guards AB. When they play Milwukee, Bogut guards him. When LA plays OKC, it’s Perkins. So what r u talkin about?
    My fave observation tho is that Bynum “only scores on putbacks n bunnies” Now I know you ain’t seen the kid’s progress in 6 seasons. Bogut plays almost 10 mins more a game and yet their numbers are damn near even.
    U all over the place. Let’s review. You want Bynum to grab every board when he shares the glass with Bryant, Gasol, Odom, Artest. You think it’s actually easier for him to get buckets as the 5th option, in the triangle where Kobe, Gasol, LO and Artest all post up instead of the only lowpost option Milwaukee has in Bogut. And finally, free throw shooting doesn’t matter cuz they’re centers…
    Wow. I hope you were drinkin. Take the hater glasses off and realize that if Bynum played in Minnesota, you’d be proppin him crazy, but he’s in LA so he’s overrated…
    U strugglin today. I’ll let you off the hook easy.
    Do better next time.

  • Bear

    I think all the haters are now saying…….Nuff said

  • sh!tfaced

    Bullshit Bynum pushed himself to be better? Yeah, that’s why Kareem gave up on him…

  • http://deleted dagwaller

    @ K Diz – FT%, I was talking career numbers. Unless you think that Bogut will continue to struggle 2 years after his injury.

    Bynum, over his career, hasn’t hit over 70 percent of his free throws. IT IS NOT A STRENGTH. He’s in the middle of the pack. EVEN AFTER HORRIFICALLY INJURING HIS ARM, Bogut’s career number is also middle of the pack.

    I didn’t mean to imply that ALL Bynum hits are bunnies. I don’t want to make it seem like I think he’s trash. He’s not. In fact, I think I said that some nights, he looks like a top 3 Center in the League, and other nights, top 10. Top 10 at your position is not bad.

    I know he’s your boy, but I noticed that you still didn’t write that you’d rather take the guy that’s worse in just about every single way than Bogut.

    Does your work know that you drink on the job? Yeesh, hopefully we can stick to topics you’re not biased about next time you try to pick an argument.

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