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Orlando's Dwight Howard is the 'Beast' from East
It was just the sort of aberration the Kings were hoping for.
Orlando center Dwight Howard, the latest player to earn the description of "beast" by so many who analyze his game, started his game against the Kings on Monday night with two consecutive turnovers.
But with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter at Arco Arena, Dwight Howard found a launching pad just to the left of the rim, received the alley-oop pass from Hedo Turkoglu and ripped a left-handed dunk in a way that Kevin Martin had described even before it happened.
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"He just looks like he's got something against the rim," the Kings shooting guard said of Dwight Howard.
For all of Martin's high-rise ability, his style shares few commonalities with Dwight Howard. Yet the common ground of the two players is in a general managers' survey released before the season, in which Dwight Howard was voted the player most likely to have a breakout season. Martin was second in that category, with both players making the league's GMs look smart so far.
In his third season, the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Dwight Howard entered Monday's game averaging 17.1 points and 2.1 blocks, and leading the league with 13.3 rebounds per game. His inclusion on the "breakout" list was seen as laughable by many, considering Dwight Howard averaged 15.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks during his second season. And for a player who doesn't turn 21 until Friday, he has already earned the respect from young players and veterans alike.
"He's kind of like (Phoenix center) Amare (Stoudemire) a couple years ago," Martin said. "He's so athletic. ... He moves like a guard. He's like a (small forward) sometimes with how explosive he is. It's going to be real scary when you've got to get out on him for that jump shot."
Reunion replay -- For Kings coach Eric Musselman, Monday marked the finish of the fourth leg of his reunion tour that began in mid-November. On Nov. 15, he faced the Memphis squad with which he spent the last two seasons as an assistant, one day before facing the Golden State squad with which he was a head coach for from 2002-04.
On Nov. 28, the Kings took on the Clippers. Musselman's NBA career began with the Clippers as a ticket sales representative when he was in his early 20s, segueing into a position as an account executive and, three months in, an assistant director of scouting role. As for the Magic, Musselman was an assistant in Orlando from 1998 to 2000.
Over the Hill? -- Twelve seasons later, Grant Hill may have lost a step or two. His sense of humor, however, remains intact.
After drawing two quick fouls early in the first quarter, in part, because he was trying to catch up on defense, the Magic guard left the game and muttered with a smile, "It's tough getting old." |
