Dwight Howard of Los Angeles Lakers wants to tackle the free throws issue his own way – NBA Update
Dwight Howard has been having a nightmare on the free throw line this season. At 46.9 percent, he has become a major weak link for the Lakers in games going right down to the wire, and is one of the main reasons why Lakers are
at present the worst closing teams in the league.
Off course, the Hack-a-Howard or Hack-a-Dwight strategy hasn’t helped, but the centre is a pro and the only way he is getting out of this quagmire is by taking this issue head on. And he has been trying to do so in the last couple
of weeks.
The problem is that there is just too much in-pour of suggestions from everywhere, be it from his free-throw coach Chuck Person or iconic point guard and team-mate Steve Nash.
In Friday’s morning shoot around, the guard who is one of the best free throw shooters in the league gestured with a free throw pose towards Howard urging him to follow through. Howard later talked about that to the media, but
insisted he will do things his own way;
“He was just suggesting some things,” Howard said. “It’s not something we already talked about or anybody else has suggested, but my mind cannot get clouded with everybody telling me how to shoot a free throw. I just have to go
up there and shoot it my way and not get caught up with what everybody else is saying because that’s when I miss.”
Dwight had two terrible nights from the foul line against the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets last week, and his misses down the stretch became the major reason behind consecutive Lakers’ losses. It is not Howard’s free throws
which are the real issue for the Lakers’ down the stretch, but actually the loss in momentum and cheap possession returns that affect them the most. The centre managed to overcome the issue somewhat in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night,
going 5 of 7, but this is something which he needs to perfect, and very quickly, if the Lakers want to come back into the season and actually pose some kind of threat for the championship title.
Tags: