When Philadelphia 76ers veteran Dwight Howard first entered the league way back in 2004, the big men stayed inside. They did not drift out for jumpers too often except for the occasional midrange jumper and they dominated the paint.
Fast forward to 2021 and big men are now more versatile. The biggest examples are Howard’s teammate Joel Embiid as well as Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic who are the leading MVP candidates for the season. The two of them are able to score at all three levels and they can put the ball on the floor as well as being able to dominate down low.
Howard has begun to join the 3-point party a bit as he has taken a career-high 20 triples so far with Philadelphia, making five of them. He knocked down a corner 3-pointer on Saturday in their win over the Detroit Pistons as it is something he has begun to add to his game.
“I’ve been practicing, but my role on a lot of teams, they would like me to roll to the basket and go for offensive rebounds and I’ve been very efficient at that my whole career,” said Howard. “Even though I have practiced 3s and I believe I can knock those shots down for our team, what we need for us to win, they need me in the paint causing havoc. Every now and then, if coach gives me an opportunity to step out and hit a 3, I’m gonna make sure I knock it down.”
The 3-point shot has continued to evolve sometimes in the NBA as it has been a tool used to grow the game. There are some who have mastered the art of the shot, but there are also guys like Howard who are looking to add it to his game late in his career.
It’s not like Howard is going to all of a sudden turn into Dirk Nowitzki, but it is something that could be used to Philadelphia’s advantage in the playoffs.
“Me and Paul Reed have actually been in the gym a lot shooting,” he added. “He was like ‘Dwight, why are you shooting so slow?’ and I said well in the game, guys are not going to rush out and treat me as a 3-point threat so if I get a chance to shoot a 3, I’m going to really take my time, get my feet set, and knock down a shot.”
As the playoffs get set to begin on May 22, the Sixers could definitely use another offensive weapon to add to their already versatile offense.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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