Will Dwight Howard improve this Season?

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After an offseason that saw the Atlanta Hawks lose Al Horford to Boston it was time to shake things up. The Hawks continued with their roster changes by trading Jeff Teague to Indiana and signing Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard had a down season last year. He averaged his lowest points per game and shots per game since his rookie year. He averaged 13.7 points per game on 8.5 field goal attempts per game. Clearly Howard was not a focal point on offense last year. This was a big reason why he opted out with Huston and another reason why he signed with Atlanta. By signing with Atlanta he has the chance to become the number one scoring option for the Hawks. He also would fit very well in a pick and roll with Dennis Schroder. What people should know is that Dwight Howard will see an improvement in numbers this season.

Dwight Howard is averaging 15.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game during the preseason. He is also averaging these numbers playing only 23 minutes per game. When he starts to play more than 30 minutes a night it is safe to say his numbers will go up more. In fact I'll go out on a limb and say Howard will average 18 points and 12 rebounds this season. From what has been seen in preseason so far Howard will get more touches this season. As a result he will score more points per game.

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Going off of those predictions Howard should be able to get the Hawks into the playoffs and may even have a shot at making the all-star game. A big man duo of Howard and Paul Millsap should work great for Atlanta. Having an athletic big man like Howard would fit well with a stretch four like Millsap. The Hawks will not be title contenders, but they should end up as the 5th or 6th seed at the end of the season. It is hard to see the Hawk getting past the Raptors, Pacers, or Cavaliers. If they face the Celtics there is a slim chance the Hawks could make it to the second round.

In the end Howard was a good pick up for the Hawks. He should have a bounce back season, but he will not be able to lead this Hawks team to a deep playoff run. The Hawks are the wild card for the east. Depending on how well this new roster meshes the Hawks can either end up in the lottery or finish as high as 5th. It should be interesting to see how Howard fits on his new team.