Was Dwight's Defensive Player of the Year Award a One Shot Deal?

by blue-blood on Nov 26, 2009 1:19 PM EST

It's no secret that Dwight's numbers (particularly his rebounding & blocks) have fallen from last season and this could probably be attributed to a number of factors such as foul trouble, new teammates etc. But what if it's actually something much worse?

What if Dwight feels he's already achieved his goal of leading the NBA in rebounds and blocks so he's content to average much more pedestrain numbers for the rest of his career?

It may sound a bit far-fetched but he's obviously a very goal-oriented person and this could be one of those things that he's satisfied with having already accomplished once. IF this proved to be true it'd obviously bode very bad for the Magic as he's the anchor of their defense. I pray that this doesn't prove to be the case but it's a real concern I have that's been growing with each game he records sub par #s.

Anyone else concerned about this?

Thoughts?

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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I spoke with a team source about that and he told me that Howard wants to repeat as DPOY.

Take it for what’s it worth, but it’s surely a goal of Dwight’s.

I write for Third Quarter Collapse and have a Twitter account.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 26, 2009 2:32 PM EST reply actions

The way he talks about it,,,

I don’t think numbers matter to him, simply impact and winning. If it takes a Defensive Player of the Year performance to help his team rise to the occasion (maybe later in the season), he’ll do it. If the ultimate goal for him and the Magic is winning a title, some award shouldn’t matter unless it’s supplemental to winning it.

by bh_ on Nov 26, 2009 4:45 PM EST reply actions

Not concerned ...

Dwight Howard’s rebounding rate

2007/08 — 21.7%
2008/09 — 21.8%
2009/10 — 21.2%

So his rebounding is fairly constant. It’s just less minutes.

The shot blocking numbers have fallen since last year (more like 07/08) but Dwight is still having an excellent impact defensively so that doesn’t concern me at all.

nbaroundtable

by NBR on Nov 26, 2009 6:14 PM EST reply actions

The block totals fall more in line with his career numbers.

Still, it’s hard to amass blocks when Howard has been in foul trouble almost every game this year.

I write for Third Quarter Collapse and have a Twitter account.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 26, 2009 10:48 PM EST up reply actions

Interesting

I’m not sure how valid it is but for what it’s worth, Cav bloggers are bringing up the same possibility with Lebron. I forgot which blog it was exactly but the author brought up the point that while it is extremely difficult to obtain a reputation as an elite defender, once obtained it’s just as hard to lose said status.

Not saying that this is what’s happening with Dwight or even Lebron but it’s an interesting concept. I wonder if the stats would back it up.

by Worthy J. on Nov 26, 2009 7:22 PM EST reply actions

It's the foul trouble.

His rebounding’s been the same — but obviously you don’t go for nearly as many blocks if you’re always in foul trouble.

(Also, is it possible teams are more hesitant to shoot the ball around Dwight these days? I remember his blocks totals steadily declining as the season wore on last year… not sure if that’s accurate, but I do remember it.)

He's currently two-thirds man, one-third amazing. Which, let's face it, is still a pretty good ratio.

by 3.3seconds on Nov 26, 2009 8:04 PM EST reply actions

That's all it's really been.

Howard’s per-minute statistics are the same this year as they were last year. As for Dwight’s block totals, they did steadily decline as the season wore on and more teams start to respect his presence more.

I write for Third Quarter Collapse and have a Twitter account.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Nov 26, 2009 10:47 PM EST up reply actions