Hakeem tutoring Dwight Howard

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

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It'd be interesting to see how good Orlando could be if Howard actually ever developed a back to the basket game, and if Van Gundy would ever use him as anything more than a superstar screener for his three-point shooters.

Why didn't the Jazz sign Hakeem out of retirement instead of Fransisco Elson? Next I want to see the version of Hakeem tutoring Fess. I'd set the over/under at 1.5 hours before The Dream would kick Fess out of his house.

[TripletDaddy]

that guy is pretty accessible. He worked with Kobe last summer.

[Donuthole]

that guy is pretty accessible. He worked with Kobe last summer.

He also appeared on Pros vs. Joes this summer, teaming up with Isaiah Rider and Brent Barry to narrowly defeat three former Juco players.

[TripletDaddy]

He also appeared on Pros vs. Joes this summer, teaming up with Isaiah Rider and Brent Barry to narrowly defeat three former Juco players.

JR Rider? ha, I forgot about that guy. He coined the name "Phillip" as a reference to JAX.

Those are some old dudes on that team. Phi Slamma Grandpa

[Flystripper]

He also appeared on Pros vs. Joes this summer, teaming up with Isaiah Rider and Brent Barry to narrowly defeat three former Juco players.

Big deal. Hakeem still has a wealth of knowledge to pass down to any player that receives a post entry pass. I don't think Dwight will all of a sudden become Hakeem on offense next year but he will be improved if he picks up just 25% of what Hakeem was trying to teach him.

[Donuthole]

Big deal. Hakeem still has a wealth of knowledge to pass down to any player that receives a post entry pass. I don't think Dwight will all of a sudden become Hakeem on offense next year but he will be improved if he picks up just 25% of what Hakeem was trying to teach him.

I was commenting more on his accessibility than his ability to help. I certainly think he could help any young big who wanted to work toward developing his post game.

[Flystripper]

I was commenting more on his accessibility than his ability to help. I certainly think he could help any young big who wanted to work toward developing his post game.

ah my bad...

[Color Me Badd Fan]

This is great news for the Magic. They've had Patrick Ewing on the payroll for years and look how much Howard's offensive game has improved over that time.

[Surfah]

Man, I know Howard is mostly working on footwork here, but he's so stiff. I'd be surprised that any of this makes much difference in his game.

[Flystripper]

Man, I know Howard is mostly working on footwork here, but he's so stiff. I'd be surprised that any of this makes much difference in his game.

Yeah he is stiff. I thought Howard's jump hook looked terrible. Hakeem still looks incredibly fluid despite being challenged by some retired juco players.

[TripletDaddy]

are there many examples of bigs that were able to significantly improve their fundamentals over the course of their careers? It reminds me of Shaq with all those FT tactics.....if you can't do it by the time you get into the league, you probably can't do it, at least if you are a center.

These 5s have relied on their size/strength their entire career. Much like a pitcher's ability to bat, do centers display an ability to improve significantly in fundamental areas such as outside shooting or footwork? I can't think of many examples of centers that have adapted their game to a noticeable degree.

I guess Kareem developed the sky hook, which proved to be lethal.

[cougjunkie]

are there many examples of bigs that were able to significantly improve their fundamentals over the course of their careers? It reminds me of Shaq with all those FT tactics.....if you can't do it by the time you get into the league, you probably can't do it, at least if you are a center.

These 5s have relied on their size/strength their entire career. Much like a pitcher's ability to bat, do centers display an ability to improve significantly in fundamental areas such as outside shooting or footwork? I can't think of many examples of centers that have adapted their game to a noticeable degree.

I guess Kareem developed the sky hook, which proved to be lethal.

I think you can evolve a bit. Look at a guy like Karl Malone who was a power player inside early in his career. As he got older he developed a great mid-range jumper and hovered just outside the paint.

[Surfah]

I think you can evolve a bit. Look at a guy like Karl Malone who was a power player inside early in his career. As he got older he developed a great mid-range jumper and hovered just outside the paint.

This is true, but not everyone develops into such a consistent shooter. I think once the physical dominating skills diminish the greats find ways to score outside the paint. I don't ever see Dwight Howard developing any such skills. I think the easiest barometer of judgment is his FT shooting.

[TripletDaddy]

I think you can evolve a bit. Look at a guy like Karl Malone who was a power player inside early in his career. As he got older he developed a great mid-range jumper and hovered just outside the paint.

This is true, but I am wondering about centers specifically.

I liken them to pitchers. Pitchers focus on pitching, which is why they are generally horrible hitters. They aren't incredibly great base runners and rarely have speed, so you don't see them steal many bases if they do get on. They never really were expected to develop fundamentals in other aspects of the game.

Likewise, a center is generally asked to anchor the paint. These kids are bigger than everyone else their entire lives and are used to playing in a small designated area on both offense and defense. They aren't expected to do much else. As a result, centers are generally terrible ball handlers, they generally can't shoot consistently from more than 5 feet from the basket, they are fairly slow in the open court, they are not good at moving without the ball, etc. There are exceptions, of course, but even guys like Duncan that defy much of what I listed....they aren't really true centers, but power forwards playing center.

I don't know, maybe Im up in the night on this.

[Flystripper]

Ewing developed his fade away once he got into the league. Like you said there are exceptions, but generally you are right when it comes to the rule about centers.