Under The Microscope Part II: Dwight Howard, Under the Lights

Each week, Under The Microscope looks at a different player and examines him in the context of a game that week. On Thursday, the Magic toppled the Cavaliers, and we focused on Dwight Howard. Here's a look at how Howard fared. This is part two; you can read part one of this week's UtM here.

The Phrase Is: Drop The Hammer.

The Story of One: It's good to have friends. This Orlando team has kind of developed into the basketball equivalent of Bob Dylan and The Band. The dynamic superpower in the spotlight, and a subtle, deep, artistic backup group capable of bringing down the house on his own. Thursday was the perfect symphony of the two, and it led to a beatdown of the Cavs in the second half.

Howard came out fighting, immediately attacking Ben Wallace and picking up the foul. From early on, Howard set the tone as an eraser down low. Not an enforcer, as Howard doesn't have to resort to unnecessary fouls to protect the paint. He drifts in and out, and the Magic system allows him to freelance. Combine this with his impeccable timing, and you have an eraser capable of blocking anything that comes down low. When the Cavs used the wing pick and roll, Williams found himself constantly running into a 7-foot wall at the baseline. Howard wasn't faced with an elite center to constantly post against Thursday, and it allowed him to play to his strengths.

And certainly one of his strengths is rebounding. Howard is the opposite of Tim Duncan style-wise. Where Duncan extends entirely from his waist, constantly reaching up from his heightened position and clutching at the ball, Howard gathers his energy low, and detonates upwards in a burst of power and strength. This is particularly interesting considering the issues the Pistons have created for him with taking his center of gravity out. I'd always considered it an attack of Howard's weak point, but it may in fact be the simple prevention of the athletic explosion that grants him the advantage. Howard's hustle is also rarely absent on the rebounding edge. While his focus flutters, he keeps it in rebounding situations.

On offense, the contrast to Duncan continues. While Duncan will catch the ball in the post and prefers to measure you, deciphering your weaknesses and daring you into a mistake, Howard prefers to catch it in motion, carry through with his move and finish. The objective for Howard is to be a blur so that when you overreact in anticipation, he hesitates and then you're dead before your feet even hit the ground. This causes him problems with the double comes immediately, as he'll roll into the double, which causes turnovers and blocks. But when the spacing is open and he gets that big step, his combination of speed and size is near ungaurdable. His three step mini-hook was off tonight, but his spinning bank shot was well oiled and that's more important against the Cavs' man-help.

In the block he doesn't necessarily play back to the basket that much, playing deep but parallel to the goal, using his hip as the wedge versus (again) Tim Duncan's backparts. He's very much partial to the two-step-motion-hesitation-finish sequence, suckering the opponent into anticipating his follow through, and then actually delivering it. He also stops mid-way through his pivot often, surprising his defender, who is trying to factor for his entire step. Howard's passing out of the paint is mostly propelled from the elbow, which wouldn't be as effective if he wasn't rocking the gunshow. Seriously. Someone check out the gun laws in Florida, because Howard is packing cannons.

Howard's notorious foul call whining was in play Thursday, and while I usually rest on Howard's side, tonight he actually got away with more than he should have. On one put-back dunk he clearly shoved J.J. Hickson out of the way, and yet when called for the same infraction later, he did his usual frustrated strut downcourt. There's a certain degree of posturing I can understand. Tim Duncan (again the comparisons) has proven that if you complain enough, the influence will stick in with the officials. But Howard could have backed off a bit against the Cavs.

His lateral movement is ridiculous. There's no other word for it. He's able to slide so far, so easily, that often times opponents are driving with an open lane, only to find Howard sprinting over to block their layup, as James discovered in the second quarter off the pick and roll. Speaking of pick and roll, Howard has an interesting style in running it. He creates a momentary impediment before bursting out, instead of following through with the contact. It works well in the Magic's system, because there's not meant to be any hesitation once the play is actualized.

Howard's demeanor is the same as it is off the court: jovial, light-hearted, and liked by everyone. Anderson Varejao, who plays with contempt for every opponent, rubbed Howard's head after accidentally slapping it. He laughs often, both with teammates and opponents. Howard doesn't get angry and buckle down, he lets the game come to him and flourishes in it. At no point does he seem like he's forcing the issue, nor perturbed at any turn of events

He cannot hit free throws.

Howard is the best center in the league, and it's not close. His improvement in using the glass, rebounding prowess, shot-blocking ability, and inherent athleticism combined with size makes the question academic. When his backup band is pounding out hits, it's hard to say that this Magic team isn't a legitimate contender in the East, and if you want to see a true joy for play in the paint, look no further than Dwight Howard.