Houston moves from playoff contender to legitimate NBA Title Threat
Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale plans on the Rockets competing for multiple NBA titles during Dwight Howard’s tenure with the team.
Last Friday Howard chose to sign with the Rockets for four years, but has an option to be a free agent after just three, after playing just one season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Howard will not officially become a Rocket until he signs on Thursday, after the NBA moratorium ends, but McHale already is saying that Howard will help Houston move up from a young playoff contender to a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship.
That means McHale figures Houston will be in the mix with likely headliners from the Western Conference such as Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.
McHale said he looked forward to seeing the team play together and believes they can complete with any team in the league.
On Sunday, McHale watched the summer league team for the Rockets play in Orlando, where young prospects as well as free agents looking to sign a new contract, play in a tournament for the next week.
Players and coaches are already talking about the inside out play of guard James Harden with Howard.
Howard spent much of last season completing his recovery from back surgery he had at the end of the prior season.
He also played through an injury to his shoulder. Howard told his head coach that he feels as healthy as he has in a number of years and is looking forward to a fresh start.
Despite the fact Howard was recovering from back surgery while playing and nursing a sore shoulder, he averaged over 17 points and 12.5 rebounds along with 2.4 blocks per game. He played in 76 of the Los Angeles Lakers 86 regular season and playoff games.
In signing with Houston, Howard turned down a much more lucrative contract with the Lakers. He left $30 million on the table in LA walking away from a contract worth $118 million, while agreeing to one for $88 million with Houston.
Even though Howard has dominated as a NBA player, McHale believes the defensive specialist is still developing his all around game as a player.
McHale is a Hall of Famer who was known as one of the best post players to ever play in the NBA.
McHale said Howard will work into the team well in an offense that was built around ball movement and Harden’s shooting touch.
McHale is confident that when Howard is at the top of his game he will dominate in many ways. McHale said Howard’s dominance is not just in scoring. The Rocket’s head coach said Howard could score just 10 points and be the dominant force in the game.
His ability to close the paint area defensively, block a half a dozen shots, grab 20 boards and alter players’ shots without even touching the ball, is what makes him so dominant.
