Dwight Howard May Have Flaws, but Critics Unfairly Finding He Can Do No Right

Whatever territory exists between the cliches "Beating a dead horse" and "Shooting fish in a barrel" now appears to be occupied by "Crapping all over Dwight Howard."   

No NBA player has been more uniformly disparaged over the last three years than Howard, and a case can be made that over most of that time, no player did more to deserve it. He didn't mean to make more of a mess leaving Orlando than LeBron James did leaving Cleveland—who would?—and yet he did. He didn't mean to get sideways with Kobe Bryant during their short stretch as teammates—who would?—and yet he did.   

There were extenuating circumstances in both situations that would suggest Howard was hardly the sole architect, but he nevertheless took the biggest hit in both cases. Now, though, the bashing of Howard has taken a decided turn. He doesn't actually have to do or say something wrong to get taken to task; suspicion that he may have done or said something wrong is enough.   

The worst part of it, for him, is that the shots are less about his game—although he's continued to take hits there despite vast improvement in several areas—and more about his character. Anything he says or does, therefore, can be held up as further evidence that he's just not a good person.

This may sound strange coming from someone who has the history that I do with Dwight, but here it is: Enough. The slant on everything he does now has gone from keeping an unsparing eye on a league star who has made his share of PR blunders to taking shots at a 6'11" punching bag because, well, what's another welt on someone already black and blue?

Case In Point I: the report last month, initially provided by TMZ, that his driver's license had been suspended for running 10 red lights over a two-and-a-half-year period in Florida. TMZ updated the report the next day by saying Howard blamed his brother for them. Technically, TMZ spoke to someone representing Howard, rather than Howard himself, but that's not what the headline said. The correction, rather than exonerate him, made him out to be a rat who'd sell out his brother while still leaving open the possibility he was a serial scofflaw. The usual piling on by other outlets went unabated, and if anyone reported he was portrayed unfairly in this case, I missed it.

Alexandra Wyman/Associated Press

A quick review of the time and place of the infractions would've proved relatively quickly that Howard couldn't have been behind the wheel for nine out of the 10 lights and was unlikely to have incurred the 10th. Nine out of the 10 also were electronically ticketed to someone driving a Dodge, not exactly the make of car Howard is known to drive; the 10th was issued for a Cadillac, also not known to be part of his stable. One occurred while he was appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and there's public evidence that he was in Los Angeles when five others occurred. A seventh took place while he was in San Antonio with the Houston Rockets for a game against the San Antonio Spurs. In any case, one red light run doesn't carry quite the same import as 10 or further the image of a young superstar who thinks he can do whatever he wants.

The infractions apparently were attributed to Howard because he holds the title of the car, which he bought for a friend or relative; that is hardly an uncommon gesture among professional athletes, although most, at some point, have the title transferred to the friend or relative's name. Call it a bookkeeping error or negligence more severe, it wouldn't have sparked the kind of outrage and attention 10-run red lights did.

"It didn't make any sense because the timing didn't work," says Rockets general manager Daryl Morey of the tickets. "He shouldn't have someone else driving a car that's in his name, but that's him. He's very generous, including with teammates." Speaking of teammates...

Case In Point II: comments by James Harden and Howard after the Rockets elected not to match an offer sheet by the Dallas Mavericks to restricted free agent Chandler Parsons. Howard and Parsons share the same agent (Dan Fegan) and have been friends since Howard starred with the Orlando Magic at the same time Parsons did for the University of Florida. Howard, in a lengthy interview in which he supposedly praised Parsons more than anything else, said that his absence wouldn't affect the Rockets because they still had him and Harden. "It's on us," he told The Associated Press (via ESPN).

Parsons' response, on the Jim Rome Show: "He's one of my closest friends. He's got to be confident with the Rockets moving forward with or without me there, so I understand where he's coming from. I think it's a ridiculous statement, but at the end of the day, he has to stick up for the Rockets and I don't think he meant it in a bad way and didn't try to bash me at all."

Bill Baptist/Getty Images

Harden was far more dismissive of Parsons' importance, and Parsons took far greater exception to his remarks. "Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets," Harden said at a charity event in the Philippines, per The Philippine Star. "The rest of the guys are role players or pieces that complete our team. We've lost some pieces and added some pieces. I think we'll be fine next season."

To which Parsons responded (via ESPN): "That's part of the reason I wanted to go to Dallas, because I'm ready for that next step. If anybody should understand that, it's James, because he was in the same situation in Oklahoma City and then he got his chance to come to Houston and shine. I'm not real sure what that means."

Yet, when the Mavericks and Rockets met for an exhibition game two weeks ago, the focus was strictly on Howard and Parsons. Howard bear-hugged Parsons from behind and they demonstrated that there was no animosity between them, but the exchange was labeled as "awkward" because Howard didn't immediately let go. The coverage of Parsons and Harden meeting, if there was any, apparently didn't merit video or analysis.

Howard declined to answer specific questions about either situation, believing that whatever he said could be used to disparage him.

"All I can do is play basketball and win games," he said. "The rest will take care of itself."

Rockets teammate Francisco Garcia, however, stood up for him.

"I just don't think it's fair," Garcia said. "He's a great teammate and he's a winner. He's playful on the outside, but every game we lose he stays late in the locker room because he wants to win so badly. He takes the game real serious. People [outside the team] don't really know him, but the guys in the locker room know."

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Morey concedes that his star center brought a lot of the criticism in Orlando and Los Angeles upon himself, but takes issue with the latest salvos. "You know what it reminded me of? Ron Artest," Morey said, referring to the volatile former Rockets small forward now known as Metta World Peace. "When he came out with an album, everyone immediately assumed it was rap and took shots at him for it. It was an R&B album. Some of the critics hadn't even listened to it. Once the narrative is out there, they don't seem willing to take the three seconds to find out if the latest thing fits it. People are ready to jump to any narrative that they want."

That applies to Howard on the court as well. A discussion by TNT's panel of former players about who they might add to the league's list of Greatest 50 Players of All Time gave serious consideration to both Grant Hill and Chris Webber. Howard was summarily dismissed even though the panel largely agreed that how much winning a player inspired carried more weight than statistical benchmarks. How, then, is Howard, who has led teams to the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons (didn't play in 2011-12 postseason due to surgery), including a run to the NBA Finals, not a candidate but Hill, Webber and Steve Nash are?

His performance last spring also suggests he's not done adding to his list of achievements. He led all postseason performers in blocked shots and rebounds per game while averaging 26 points and finishing second only to James in player efficiency rating. He dominated in a way that he hadn't since his back surgery nearly two-and-a-half years ago. Yet the storyline coming out of their first-round upset by the Portland Trail Blazers was a blanket questioning of Harden—who had a disappointing series—and Howard as a duo capable of bringing a championship to Houston.

"He was the best center in the playoffs," said Morey, "and he carried us. We should've won it for him. I know that he took our losing to heart more than anyone. He knows the opportunities we have are rare. He's still got many good years ahead of him, but they're not unlimited. I feel like I've let Dwight down, too."

Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images

Howard, however, is not second-guessing his decision to go to Houston. I know, this isn't the first time he's pledged allegiance to a certain locale. Orlando and L.A., at various times, were the perfect place for him. I doubted his sincerity in both cases because of what I was hearing elsewhere. That said, his case for Houston being the right place for him had a different ring to it. It had—dare I say it—a more mature tone.

"To have a teammate like James Harden and a coach like Kevin McHale and the chance to work with someone like Hakeem Olajuwon on a daily basis, it was the best decision for me as a basketball player, despite what anybody else thinks," he said. "But no matter what I do, not everybody is going to like it. I can't control that."

No talk about championships, even though that's undoubtedly on his list of goals. No talk about brands or marketing opportunities or creative projects, even though he assuredly still cares about all that as well. He's strictly addressing what is right in front of him: improving as a basketball player. That, in truth, is all he can really control.

There is always the chance that Howard will tire of Houston or McHale or Harden and make those feelings known, stirring another cauldron of resentment and accusations of shirking responsibility. I have a hard time imagining that, but plenty has happened in the NBA over the last few years that stretches the imagination.

For now, though, let's wait until he actually does or says something that merits questioning his character. To do otherwise would suggest his character isn't the only one that merits questioning.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.