Is that a hole on the court? No, it’s just Dwight Howard setting an NBA record for most free throw attempts. Howard took 39 attempts at the free throw line, toppling Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 34 in 1952.
Dwight Howard must have heard the Golden State Warriors are trying to trade for him because he put up an impressive 45 point, 23 rebound performance. If his goal was to impress the Warriors, he succeeded; albeit, not in the way he intended. You see, the only thing the Warriors were impressed by was that Dwight cannot make a free throw to save his team (or the game).
It’s strange that the Warriors want to acquire Howard when they intentionally fouled him down the stretch time and time again, knowing it would result in 0 points and a change of possession. This strategy eventually backfired against the Warriors when players all reached foul trouble in the 4th.
Dwight can blame his teammates all he wants for their inability to prevent Monta Ellis (30 points) and Nate Robinson (14 points) from penetrating the defense, but at the end of the game those free points are essential.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Warriors continuously got to the line at will. Upon realizing they were paid professionals that earn money for making baskets, the Warriors made their free points. Go figure, right?
In a nutshell, in a battle of free throws, the Magic will lose always… always.
Don’t worry, I’m aware the Magic actually managed to pull a win out of their–well, you know.
It’s pitiful when you consider the Golden State Warriors have no defense to speak of. In fact, their only real defense was intentionally fouling Howard. David Lee may have scored 26 points on the night for Golden State, but he certainly couldn’t contain Howard, fouling out late in the 4th quarter.
The stat sheet registers this game as a win but there are a lot of things to be concerned about regarding the Magic. Let’s do this as a quick a montage:
Jason Richardson has a sprained left knee, the Magic can’t guard fast, non-athletic players, Dwight can’t make free throws, the Magic barely beat an injury-ridden team… should I stop or keep going?
The only diamond in the rough for the Magic is Hedo Turkoglu, who has had a revival this season. He scored 20 points on the night and registered 9 assists–the only other ‘real’ player to help Dwight shoulder the scoring load.
“His shooting percentages are high, he has a lot of assists, he’s been very efficient and he’s made a lot of big plays,” said Magic coach, Stan Van Gundy of Howard.
The Magic may have moved up to an 8-3 record for the moment but long-term problems keep surfacing on a game-by-game basis. Maybe it’s the condensed schedule that’s hurting the nonathletic Magic… or maybe they’re not the elite team they claim to be. Only time will tell.
Written by Brandon Hayhurst
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