Kobe pushing Howard to be more complete offensive player

There’s still a reputation among some that “all Dwight Howard can do is dunk.”

It’s wrong. First, the basic premise that “all this guy can do is get the most efficient shot in basketball on a regular basis” and somehow that makes him a bad offensive player is flawed. But beyond that, anybody who has watched Howard play in more than highlights the past three years would know he has diversified his offensive game. He has jump hooks from the block, a running hook, he’s worked on a midrange game and more.

But for Kobe Bryant, it’s not enough.

There was an interesting note on the Bryant/Howard relationship from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports in his post on Howard’s first game as a Laker (which we covered as well).

Yet Bryant has gone out of his way to push Howard to become a far more complete offensive player, to, in his words, “challenge him to do more than just screen-and-roll and dunk. We want opposing teams to see him as a dominant force.”

Howard as the anchor in the offense is going to open up things for Bryant and Pau Gasol (and Metta World Peace, for that matter). Steve Nash has the best pick-and-roll partner he has had probably since Amare Stoudemire. There are a lot of options.

But Kobe wants to maximize that potential because… well, he’s Kobe Bryant. There is no such thing as “good enough.

And that’s the lesson Kobe wants to impart about winning a title as a Laker (or, really anywhere). However hard you think it is, however far you think you need to push yourself, there is one more step. We’ll see if it sinks in.