PASSING A SIGN OF GROWTH FOR DWIGHT

With all-star center Dwight Howard, the dunks, rebounds and blocked shots are going to come every night. But it’s a new aspect of Dwight’s game – his ability to pass the ball out of double teams – that has made him an even more dangerous offensive threat.
As teams have had to double-team Dwight more and more to stop his steadily expanding offensive game, Dwight has become more adept at finding open shooters. His wife shoulders, long reach and ability see above the traps has made him a good passer out of double-team defenses.
Three times in the past two weeks Dwight has totaled at least five assists in a game. He burned Washington for what was a career-best seven assists on March 13. Then, five days later he had seven more assists against Milwaukee, a game in which he also scored 29 points and showed off his all-around game.
And when Milwaukee’s double-teams came one after another last Friday night in Orlando, Dwight contributed five assists to go with his 18 points and eight rebounds.
More and more, he’s making teams pay for trying to trap him along the baseline. It is a sign of his growth and maturity as an offensive threat that he’s able to see the traps coming and find the open player. But Dwight stressed that his passing abilities are still a work in progress as he works to fully learn the trapping tendencies of defenses.
``I’m trying now to make the easy pass instead of the home run pass,’’ Dwight said. ``It’s been working instead of me looking all the way across the court to pass. The touch pass back out to someone close to me is a better pass for our team. If they20double, they leave guys like Hedo (Turkoglu) and Rashard (Lewis) and J.J. (Redick) open for shots. And if they don’t double I have a chance to use the wide variety of shots that I have now.’’
In his fifth year in the NBA, Dwight admits that the game has ``slowed down’’ for him somewhat, making his ability to read defenses easier. Also, doing his homework on teams before games has helped the process. It’s not uncommon for Dwight to study an opposing team’s defensive tendencies for hours before a game.
``I try to slow the game down in my mind. Before the defense comes I try to think about where I can pass the ball,’’ Dwight said. ``Before the game there’s a lot of things you can do to get your mind right. Knowing where the double teams come from, the top or the baseline, that helps a lot.’’
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy preaches to Dwight to remain patience in the post. By analyzing the defense first before making his move, Dwight can make the proper read and then go to work. And when Dwight is passing out of double teams as well a s he has been doing lately, it makes it easier for the Magic to run their offense through him during games.
``He’s had some very good nights passing out of the post lately,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He’s playing with very good patience right now. Teams will be coming at him harder and harder and he just has to keep making good decisions.’’
Dwight’s improved passing skills could have a big benefit on him offensively as well. If he continues to find open shooters for 3-pointers, teams likely will be able to double-team him less and less in the future.
``Even when teams are doubling Dwight, he’s done an outstanding job of passing the ball,’’ Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing said. ``That hurts them. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they don’t double, he’s going to destroy them. If they do double and he does a good job passing out they’re going to be in trouble that way too.’’