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Dwight Howard's Confidence Growing
That is key as 2004's No. 1 pick and the Magic face No. 2 Emeka Okafor and the Bobcats.
By Brian Schmitz |
His Orlando Magic teammates play a little game within the game on second-year power forward Dwight Howard.
They keep reminding Dwight Howard about Emeka Okafor, providing progress reports on the Charlotte Bobcats power forward.
They hope the unsolicited updates -- among other good-natured jabs -- will keep pushing Howard to improve.
"We've always teased him about Emeka, and he would get real defensive," Magic guard DeShawn Stevenson said. "But you've got to do that to make Dwight understand he was the number one pick. It's always going to be like that.
"We're just like, 'You see that Emeka had 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds] last night?' It's just little jokes like that. We stick by him, but we're looking to give him that edge and bring the best out of him."
Dwight Howard and Okafor meet tonight for the fifth time since they were picked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the 2004 NBA draft.
Their rivalry is in its infancy. They will be linked forever by a debate surrounding the pair -- and a decision the Magic finally made to select the 6-foot-11, 262-pound Dwight Howard.
Orlando saw Okafor, 6-10 and 255 pounds, as more of a finished product -- solid and steady, but not spectacular.
The Magic, in drafting their first high school player, bet on Dwight Howard 's freakish athleticism and potential.
It just so happens they face each other during a period in which that scenario seems to be playing itself out.
Dwight Howard 's last outing might be the start of something bigger. Okafor's trademark is dependability, and maybe his recent lull is nothing more than that.
Okafor has shot poorly his past four games after putting up 24 points and 11 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 4. He is averaging 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Bobcats (2-5) after averaging 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds last season as the league's rookie of the year.
On Sunday, Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Magic (2-4) in an overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is averaging 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, ahead of his rookie numbers of 12 points and 10 rebounds per game.
It just wasn't Dwight Howard 's numbers that were eye-catching Sunday; it was the confident way he moved around the paint.
"It's starting to come together," Magic assistant coach Mark Bryant said. "But he's 19 and still learning. He has a ways to go before he knows the tricks of the game."
Last season Dwight Howard gave the team glimpses of his ability. Now he gives it a focus into the future.
"He's finally getting comfortable," Stevenson said.
Dwight Howard said, "Every night I learn something new. Last year I was doing a lot of things on the fly. Now I just play through everything, not worry about not getting the ball."
Dwight Howard shrugs off the comparisons to Okafor, realizing it's not a boxing match. He does realize that Okafor's team leads the series 3-1 over his team.
While the 'Cats might not own the Magic, they have to like their lease arrangement. They beat the Magic to win their first game as an expansion team last season. They then defeated the Magic in a back-to-back that wounded Orlando 's playoff hopes last season.
"We're not underestimating them. They don't have a lot of big names -- they have no big names and that's not disrespecting them -- but they play hard," Stevenson said. "We do owe them. . . .
"To get whupped on like that by the Bobcats -- they really got into us one game, by like 15 [actually a 14-point loss]. . . . So we have to play hard against them."
No doubt Dwight Howard will play hard. If not, he'll hear about it.
"The guys tell me, 'You're sorry.' 'You can't jump.' They want me to play hard," Dwight Howard said. He then adds with a smile, "It works."
Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.
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