Howard Leads Lakers Past Magic 106-97
Dwight Howard made his much anticipated return to Orlando on Wednesday to a packed house full of hostile fans. The Los Angeles Lakers in the midst of a playoff race had to endure the side show that is Dwight vs the City of Orlando. The Orlando Magic is in the throes of an awful season and any other night only the die-hards are in the house not making a lot of noise. But they all showed up on Wednesday to jeer and harass the greatest player in franchise history who spurned them to go “ring chasing” in L.A.
Howard has spent this season in Los Angeles playing second fiddle to Kobe Bryant as he has battled through injuries and at times differences with the Lakers superstar. But on Tuesday, Bryant seemed more than happy to give Howard the spotlight as he ended the night with 39 points. The Magic repeatedly sent Howard to the free throw line and after getting off to a shaky 2 for nine start end the night with 25 of 39 from the line.
The Magic hung tough for most of the night, even taking a brief lead at 57-56 in the third quarter before the Lakers answered with an 8-0 run. By the end of the third quarter the Lakers held an eight point lead. They broke it open by starting the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to go up 84-68.
But the crowd in Orlando had their say. Win or lose, they let Howard, who seems to want to be liked by everyone, know exactly how they felt. They detest him. Dwight may well win a ring someday in Los Angeles, but he will have done so at a cost. The bridge in Orlando has been burned. If it was his hope to someday have his number in the rafters of the Amway Center, he may want to forget about that. His numbers say he deserves it, but the ill will the fans have for him in Orlando will prevent it. You can’t have a jersey retiring ceremony with the home crowd booing.
It is too bad players don’t consider their legacy while they are playing. Dwight Howard had a great career in Orlando, and he basically flushed it. His only hope for post career accolades now is to have them in Los Angeles or some other city. He will never be welcomed home in Orlando.
Howard’s departure from Orlando could have been handled so much better on his end. In reality, trading Howard for younger players makes a lot of sense for the Magic. Howard couldn’t carry the team to a title by himself. He knew it. And he wasn’t wrong. Had he kept his feelings to himself, instead of taking shots at the team in the media, he could have gotten out of town with the city still in his corner. But that’s not what he did. And now that he is gone, he is still taking shots in the media.
Perhaps he should have gone to the Magic and said he was going to pursue a new team when his contract was up so trading him may be in their best interest and left it at that. The Magic could have dealt him for the younger players. The fans would have been upset with the team at first, but Dwight comes off much better. Fans will forgive the team eventually, especially if the young players show some promise.
But as he found out on Tuesday, no matter how many points he scores, rings he wins, or smiles he cracks, Dwight Howard as burned the bridge to Orlando permanently. A #12 jersey hanging in the rafters of the Amway Center someday will more likely to be for Tobias Harris than Howard.
