Dwight Howard will be a monster

[Fenix]

Guys are talking about how Amare is the future of the NBA, but how about Dwight Howard? He is longer and taller than Phoenix' big and explosive like hell. His perimeter skills are way ahead Amare's when he came into the league, and it's the same thing with his footwork, rebounding tehnique and overall D. Plus, he's a good, hardworking fella. He could be like rich man's Duncan.

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/55878596.jpg?x=x&dasite=GettyImages&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=FB916B867A0335FC597BC9AA551D99BC781CF461BB6606AD

[Doobie]

I know Dwight Howard is going to be huge . He's still very young and hes already a good player . Everyone is saying Emeka shouldve been the first overall pick, but I am starting to notice that Dwight is worth more.

[Matt]

he'll be a monster no doubt....but lets not get ahead of ourselves and say better than Amare just yet.

[galvatron3000]

I expect big things from Howard, even better than Amare(who is offense but that's all) Howard will do more and perhaps maybe even Amare will develop as a rebounder and defender too. That could be a new rivalry Howard, Stoudemire, Okafor, hmm?

[Its_asdf]

Dwight Howard just never got the touches in Orlando. I think that if he was in Okafor's position as the go-to guy on offence, then I would seriously think that Howard could have better numbers than Okafor.

[Jona]

I like him a lot, his future in the L is very bright.
Incredible picture, BTW.

[Abctest123]

what if you had them on the same team, meka and howard? who would you start a c and pf?

[Riot]

Probably Okafor at center.

[Drex]

Dwight as C and Emeka @PF

[Riot]

You don't really have to set a "center" and "power forward". Kind of what the Pistons do with Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. Okafor would guard the best post player on the other team, kind of like what Ben Wallace does.

[cyanide]

Dwight has huge potential, but I've seen him play a bit last season, and there's no way he's quicker than Amare, that's for sure.

[YoG!]

dunno about that but I would have to guess that amare is quicker

[EGarrett]

Scary photo. He's getting about 39-40" up there.

We still don't know what's going on in Dwight's head. Kwame Brown is just as gifted, and well...we've seen what happened to him.

Plus, Amare has Steve Nash. One of the best set-up men in the league. Dwight has Steve Francis. One of the worst.

[galvatron3000]

Howard seems pretty leveled headed with good values and people around him. Has lots of respect for those in authority and seems to have a humble personality, rare for a young NBA player, star or not.

[Fenix]

In fact, I believe Kwame is even more gifted psychicaly than Howard. He's probably taller (7 foot with his shoes on) and although Howard is better in the length department with his freakishly long arms, he doesn't have Kwame's quickness or jumping ability. Too bad Kwame doesn't uses them.

[Andrew]

The path Amare and Dwight are on reminds me a lot of Shawn Kemp's early years, though both have gotten more of an opportunity to shine earlier in their careers than the Reignman, who had to play behind Xavier McDaniel for a couple of years.

Howard put up really solid numbers in his rookie campaign but he's still a bit raw and not in a position to be the focal point of the team as Amare is quickly becoming in Phoenix. The promising thing about a player like Dwight Howard is that while he's got so much potential left, he's given everyone a glimpse of what he might become while at the same time backing it up with some consistent performances.

I'd have to agree we're a few years away from seeing him really entering his dominant prime, but it seems unlikely that he'll let all that potential and the tools at his disposal go to waste.

[Kemp]

I am sure Howard will be a superstar in the coming years as he will get better year after year. Last season, he played PF and if he play C this season, then his numbers should significantly increase. If only Howard can get the opportunity to play with a better PG like Nash, Kidd, and Marbury, Howard could be as good as Amare even though he is a bit slower.

[gifted]

Hard to say that Howard will be a rich-man's Duncan, as Duncan is probably one of the top 3 PF's of all time, maybe even the best. Time will tell if Howard becomes better than Stoudemire, as he has all the tools to become a better overall player than him. Both in my mind are a part of the new wave of NBA superstars, along with Bron and Wade.

[tsherkin]

Dwight Howard's coaches need to let him face up and use his explosive first step before he can stand next to Amare as an offensive force. He won't ever be as physically dominant as Shaq is, so he'll have to rely on a combination of finesse and power, sort of like Tim Duncan with more balls, or maybe David Robinson with a post game.

That and he needs volume of shots taken before his offensive numbers can rise, he needs to be involved in the offense. At this point, there's no reason to predict that he'll be big soon because Steve Francis and Grant Hill are still the primary offensive weapons on the Magic. He's at least 2 years away unless there are major roster changes.

[Laxation]

Hard to say that Howard will be a rich-man's Duncan, as Duncan is probably one of the top 3 PF's of all time, maybe even the best. Time will tell if Howard becomes better than Stoudemire, as he has all the tools to become a better overall player than him. Both in my mind are a part of the new wave of NBA superstars, along with Bron and Wade.

forgetting KG?

[Jugs]

Do we have to remember KG

[Nel]

Dwight Howard is the saving grace for the magic franchise. I predict a 17pts/10rbs/2blk season for this guy.

[tsherkin]

I don't think Howard will explode offensively.

Francis will still be taking 15+ shots, as will Hill. Howard's offensive game is still somewhat raw and he isn't a major feature of the offense. He's also a big, which means he relies on others to get him the ball and nothing has appreciably changed since last year. Theoretically, the Magic will be using more of Jameer Nelson on the ball and more of Steve Francis off it but they'll get away from that pretty quickly once they realize (again) how useless Francis is without the ball.

And they'll go back to "Iso Steve Francis, lose the game" ball.

[Fenix]

Why do guys like Francis get 10+ millions per year? Sure, they're athletic and their skill set is off the charts, but they don't really help you win games. He should be coming off the bench for a title conteder, backing up SG and PG position.

[iG®]

No, I think he's worth of starting lineup, but he needs someone to controll his game and to teach him how to play like a real playmaker.