Tug on Superman's Cape?

May 29, 2009
By Gregg Doyel
CBSSports.com National Columnist

CLEVELAND -- Dwight Howard is about to go national, and if you're Dwight Howard, that's not nearly as good as it sounds. Reaching the NBA Finals, which Howard and the Orlando Magic would do if they finish off Cleveland on Saturday night, would be great for Howard, the basketball player.

But Howard, the person? Going national? Not good. Because he's not ready.

And by saying that, I'm not being cruel. I'm being kind. Giving him credit. Because one day, he will be ready for this stage. But that day isn't now, and that's almost understandable. He's only 23 years old. He'll get there.

But he's not there now, and honestly, that's a shock. Dwight Howard's entire persona, when seen in person for the first time, is a shock. He's not what I was led to believe as a basketball player or as a person, and some of that is a compliment.

Howard is a better basketball player, a more polished offensive player, than I had been led to believe. When the Magic advanced in the playoffs to play Cleveland, a sportswriter whose judgment I trust told me to take note of how limited Howard's offensive game was, how he could score only on dunks. Well, I've been noting, and Howard has been scoring with a lot more than dunks. He has scored with both hands, and done that over the size of 7-foot-3 Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Howard isn't the second coming of fundamentally flawless Tim Duncan, but he's not a one-dimensional dunker, either.

So that was a revelation, and a good one.

Howard's personality? A revelation. And a bad one.

Rest of story here.