Why Dwight Howard Will Win an NBA Championship in Houston

What's up everyone! Hope everyone is having a great Monday so far! Unless you have been under a rock recently, you know about Dwight Howard going from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets in a seemingly season-long debate about what would make Dwight happy? Is he happy being in LA knowing that its Kobe Bryant's team and having to live up to the expectations of the Laker mystique from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and other great Lakers? Can he survive in a major media market where he is expected to be one of the top guys and to have a franchise around him? On, and on, and on. Had it gone much longer, it was going to be on LeBron James Decision 2010 level for sure. Be that as it may, Howard has choosen his new destination, which will be Texas, to play for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets, to their credit, brought out all of the big hitters for the actual pitch to Dwight, to having Yao Ming Skype in from China, to having Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin McHale and James Harden all go to Los Angeles to sell Dwight on this endeavor. And I think this will be a match made in heaven for Dwight, as long as he wants it to be, and here are the reasons why: 1) Houston is a market that can definitely support who Dwight Howard is as a person. Houston is a major media market, but its not overwhelming and pressure-laden as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago can be. With Dwight being in Houston, the people are instantly going to give him the benefit of any doubts they may have had about him in terms of his work ethic, characters, personality, etc. He has already begun to endear himself to the people of Houston by recently buying breakfast for an entire restaurant of people. No one can deny that Howard is a people person, and being in Houston will truly be able to give him that opportunity to let his personality shine without the added external pressures from media and fans. 2) He has WILLING mentors around him to help. Many people don't always realize it, but the Rockets have had a variety of bonafide Hall-of-Famers come through their franchise over the last 25 years, and they have showed that they are truly willing to help Dwight Howard become a better player, a person and a winner. It is widely noted that Hakeem Olajuwon worked with LeBron James last summer to help him work on his post up game and it was clearly evident during the season and into the Miami Heat championship run. Its clear that Howard needs mentors in order to help improve his game and to truly be a dominant center in the 4th quarter of games, and by doing that, not only will his game improve but his overall image will improve as well. Fans, players and management want to see that "killer instinct" that many of the greats have, and I do believe that between Clyde Drexler, Olajuwon, Yao and others that will help him, Dwight Howard will eventually develop some form of it. In Los Angeles, there didn't seem (at least from the outside) as though many of the legends were willing to help him develop, they were hoping for a finished product already. I think that Kareem, Magic, Worthy and even Kobe should have helped Howard a bit more with the adjustment process to the city of Los Angeles as a whole. It may not be the most popular opinion in the world, but everyone knew what they were getting when Howard showed up, especially after the situation that happened in Orlando when he had wanted to leave. The Lakers and their fans believe that the minute that any player shows up, they should instantly understand the idea of winning championships and nothing else is acceptable, and I do get that as a sports fan. However, Howard is not built like that. Any championship that he will win it will organically happen and not really through force, which Howard is very okay with, or so it seems. 3. He has the best nucleus of players he has ever played with. In Orlando, Howard didn't have much to work with at all. Im sorry but Jameer Nelson is not going to be the key to anyone winning an NBA Championship, nor will he be the cog and the missing piece of the puzzle for that. I can understand Howard wanting, and maybe even needing to leave that situation. In Los Angeles, yes he had Kobe Bryant, but he was with Pau Gasol, and I don't care what anyone says, Gasol is not the same player he was back in 09 and 10. Metta World Peace, who is not the fierce defender he used to be, an aging Steve Nash, and a bunch of role players. Had Dwight stuck around, there is the possibility that a strong nucleus could have been put around him in the summer of 2014, but there is no guarantee. Now with Houston, Howard instantly goes into a situation with James Harden, a bonafide superstar already, and possibly Jeremy Lin, who is improving as a PG each day. To go along with a sharpshooter like Chandler Parsons, the Rockets have a deep, youthful squad that can run with teams such as Denver, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and can grind it out with teams like the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks in the West. I think they are one piece away to deal with Miami but the pieces are perfectly in place to have a major growth spurt that will challenge any team in the league this season. Howard has to get the job done in Houston. No question about it, but at least he does have help around him to make it happen, and all of the pressure will be evenly distributed each night. At the end of the day, smaller pressure and a championship will bring the biggest smile to his face, as well as his fans' faces.
Source:http://sportsfan1984.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-dwight-howard-will-win-nba.html

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