"Sometimes it feels good, sometimes it doesn't feel good."
That's concise and matches up with observation. Sometimes, Dwight is Dwight. He's patrolling the paint, racing up and down the half court on high screens and snatching alley oops from just under the jumbotron.
On those nights, the Lakers are awesome. They have some other problems to be sure, but a healthy Dwight Howard is one of the best players in basketball. And the Lakers, for all their issues, have some talent to flank him with.
Those healthy Dwight nights are few and far between, though. Instead, we see a confusing Dwight Lite, a useful player whose production isn't quite at the superstar level we're used to.
On offense, Dwight's numbers look good—compared to your average center. He's converting .563 from the field and claiming a 57.0 true shooting mark (TS). What's concerning, though, is that this efficiency is far from his old habits. In his near MVP campaign two seasons ago, Dwight had a .593 mark from the field and a 61.6 percent TS. The year before, he was at .612 from the field, with a 63 percent TS.
It'd be one thing if Dwight's lower efficiency came with fewer shots at the rim, but the opposite is true. Howard seems only comfortable taking attempts at point-blank range. Here's his shot distribution chart on the season so far:
Over 90 percent of Howard's attempts are coming at rim this year. If you look at his shot-performance chart for the season, you can see why he rarely strays from the paint:
In attempts away from the at-rim zone, Dwight Howard has shot 29 percent so far this season. This won't be a shock to those who watched him. Here's a fairly typical...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
