Dwight Howard is a Giant Child

You see what he did there?

“Don’t believe the hype.”

Orlando has been screaming this line since probably 20 minutes after they bumped off Boston in reference to league MVP LeBron James, led by Orlando Sentinel ‘writer’ Mike “My 15 minute egg timer is down to four” Bianchi.

Well I’m here to tell you right now that you shouldn’t believe the hype… about Dwight Howard.

Somehow lost in the Howard lovefest from Charles Barkley and certain Floridian “journalists” is a glaring fact: Dwight Howard is a huge cheap-shot with a reactionary nature that could–at best–be described as wholly childish.

Yeah, I said it.

How many times this series have we seen Howard get fouled this series only to throw an elbow at whoever had wronged him? I can think of at least five, including two last night (against Z and Wally, the latter being considerably more egregious).

It is quickly becoming the 800 pound gorilla in the corner of the room that the media is flat-out refusing to discuss. Does Howard have to actually connect with one of his post-foul ‘bows before the sports media gets upset? People really glossed over it when he rearranged Sam Dalembert’s face in the first round with an accurate elbow flail, and noone is talking about it despite the fact that Howard is averaging at least one maliciously thrown elbow per game this series.

Does the league have to wait until someone else gets a face full of 12’s forearm before they react again? Is the clear and obvious intent somehow not good enough for Stu Jackson and company? This boggles my mind.

It’s a cheap, cheap way to go through the playoffs and noone is calling him out for it. Well I am. The league needs to do something about this and the media needs to start holding their newest darling accountable before he crushes someone’s noggin again.

Either way, though, I get the feeling that karma is gonna find Howard soon enough and throw him a couple bows of its own.