Well, that one’s easy. Everyone is. And everyone has been for the past two seasons, as the Orlando Magic big man has led the NBA in rebounds and blocks while taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors.
When you plan to take on the Magic in the postseason, you’ve got to have the big man on your mind at all times. With his ability to dominate the paint and alter shots, drives and passing lanes, he changes the way opposing teams run their offenses.
“You’ve got to understand, he’s the Defensive Player of the Year for a reason,” Paul Pierce said Saturday. “That’s what he does. He blocks a lot of shots. And then when he’s not blocking shots, a lot of guys are skeptical of going inside because of his presence. So we’re going to have to try to speed up the game, get out on the break, try to get some layups that way. He can’t defend every shot at the rim, and he can’t defend the paint all the time if we’re running.”
But it’s not just the defense. Howard has also been Orlando’s leading scorer in each of the last five seasons, and he led the NBA in field goal percentage this season at 61.2 percent. He also got to the line 816 times this season, second-most in the league.
For Howard individually, basically all of his offense comes off of dunks. Either he gets them uncontested, or he goes to the basket and gets fouled.
And then around him, he’s got an army of capable 3-point shooters that can knock down any open look they’re given. Between Howard and the countless gunners around him — Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick, Jameer Nelson and more — the Magic have a dangerous thing going.
“That’s the way they’re built,” Pierce said. “They’re built around the inside play of Dwight Howard, and they surround him with plenty of shooters, so you can’t help as much, because there’s going be a lot of guys spotting up on the perimeter. It just seems like everybody that comes into the game for them is able to shoot the 3-point shot. So they really have a nicely built team with inside play and outside perimeter shooting.”
“It’s no secret what they do,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers added. “They use Howard as a great post guy and a guy to suck in everybody, and then Jameer Nelson tries to take you off the dribble and go draw and kick, and then they look for 3s. That’s what they do.”
And that’s exactly what makes Howard so dangerous. You can’t afford to double-team him — every time you devote an extra defender to helping out against Howard, that’s a defender that’s not getting out to the 3-point line and keeping an Orlando at bay. Swish.
You can’t beat the Magic without having a strong big man to play him one-on-one. That’s where Kendrick Perkins comes in.
“We think Perk has done a great job on him,” Ray Allen said. “But again, after Game 1, the tape will determine how we adjust. And it’s a tough situation because whether you win or lose, there are going to be some plays that you don’t cover well, and some new stuff that they throw into the mix. So we’ll see.”
In other words, the Celtics can make minor tweaks here and there, but the bottom line is you’ve got to play Howard straight up. Said Rivers:
“It’s vital.”
End of story.
Beat Superman, or go home. It’s that simple.
