The Good
Howard brought some unique skills to the Hawks this season.
The most obvious one was rebounding. With Horford in the middle, the Hawks were getting beaten up on the boards. The center position is one that teams rely on to end the opponents’ offensive possessions and get extra possessions for their own offense.
And Howard did that with the best in the league this season. He averaged 12.7 rebounds per game, including 4.0 offensive rebounds per game which is tied for the second-highest mark of his career. Howard is still an elite rebounder in the NBA and brings value in that area. The Hawks went from being a bottom-10 rebounding team to a top-10 rebounding team in the league this season.
Dwight also had an efficient season from a shooting standpoint. He put up a career-high shooting percentage with 63.3 percent. Howard did not command a ton of shots this season and was smart with his shot selection. All of his attempts seemed to come from within five feet of the basket and that is how it should have gone.
His 13.5 points per game are not going to jump off of the page. That was Howard’s worst scoring average since his rookie season. But he took good shots and was a double-double machine this season for a team that needed a bruiser on the inside. He even posted a career-best 115 offensive rating with his efficient performance.