Is Dwight Howard slowly returning back to his old form? His recent game against the Brooklyn Nets is good proof.
ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly reported that Howard's 32-point and 30-rebound performance is only the second player since 1982 to record a 30-30 in those two categories.
Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) becomes second player since 1982 to record a 30-point, 30-rebound game. Kevin Love did it back on November 12, 2010 with the Timberwolves (31 points, 31 rebounds). #Hornets https://t.co/7yv2IqdbYX
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 22, 2018
In addition to the record mentioned above, Howard also climbed to 16th place in the All-Time Rebounds list. Howard passed Jerry Lucas after he snagged his 12,943rd rebound.
Grabbing every rebound possible has always been a part of Howard's arsenal. This is what's expected of him. And his teammate Kemba Walker is, unsurprisingly, impressed by Howard's rebounding abilities. As reported by Ashley Mahoney of The Charlotte Post:
“He gets every rebound. He dominates the paint—24, that’s unbelievable. We’re going to need that from him every night. If we want to make a push, we need that Dwight Howard to be there every night.”
For the Hornets, he’s averaging a double-double, logging in 16.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per contest. These numbers are close to his career averages of 17.4 points and 12.6 rebounds.
Is Howard back? One could make a strong case for the affirmative. He's slowly fallen off the radar after leaving Orlando back in 2012. Some have accused Howard of being lazy and not working as hard as he should. But Hornets coach Steve Clifford said that Howard works as hard as anybody else.
“He doesn’t take practice off, and he never asks out of practice. He didn’t when he was young, and he hasn’t here. He really has done a terrific job of taking care of his himself and understanding his body, and what he has to do to keep at a level of fitness, strength, or whatever he has to do to play well.”
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