Dwight Howard needed some home cooking and a fresh start

There have not been many surprises so far this season. The bad have been bad and the good have been good. The Los Angeles Lakers seem a ahead in the rebuilding process but the biggest surprise of the league is Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks took a few gambles in the offseason as they traded Jeff Teague and cashed in on Dennis Schroder.  They also signed the polarizing hometown kid in Dwight Howard who was pushed out of the door from Houston. Many around the league didn’t understand why they would bring in Howard when they have had such a successful run the past two years.

With Al Horford’s departure to Boston, the Hawks were desperate to fill their center position and Howard was looking for a different situation but there were not as many suitors on the free agent market as he thought.  Howard ended up signing a 3 year $70 million dollar deal with Atlanta.

So far Howard has been a key reason why the Hawks are 9-2 and own the 6th best defense in the league. The 6’11 Atlanta native is averaging 14.8 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game according to ESPN.

Mike Budenholzer is one of the most underrated coaches in the league and he has figured out how to use Howard in an efficient way.  The Rockets tried to emulate what Howard was around in Orlando but they didn’t have capable shooters to open up the floor.

The Hawks on the other hand run a free-flowing offense with their offensive pillars of Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver. Korver is a shooter who creates opportunities for his teammates because he requires so much attention coming off screens.

Howard’s success has and always will be in direct correlation to his team’s outside shooting. There is not a better big man at setting a ball screen and rolling to the basket.  He has a gravitational pull whenever he rolls to the basket which opens up shots for Kent Bazemore, Korver, and Millsap. So far the Hawks are averaging 107.8 points per game which is tied for seventh best in the NBA according to ESPN.

The Hawks have been looking for size for years which is why they consistently played Horford out of positon.  Howard has declined slightly on the defensive end but he is still a game changer when opponents are slashing to the basket.  Howard’s paint protection combined with Millsap’s defensive versatility has created issues for opponents. According to ESPN, the Hawks are allowing 98.2 points per game which ranks sixth best in the league.

Now that Howard is beginning the downslope of his career, it was important that he found an organization that would allow him to be elite at what he does, which is diving to the rim, rebounding, and protecting the rim.  The Atlanta Hawks and Howard have found the perfect marriage and it is paying dividends so far this season.