Despite a 54-28 record and a fourth place finish in the deep Western Conference, the Houston Rockets were not happy with the end result of their season last year. A first-round exit, their second in as many years, at the hands of the lower seeded Portland Trail Blazers wiped away any remaining good vibes the team had from signing Dwight Howard in free agency during the offseason. The team's botched attempt at signing Chris Bosh, loss of Chandler Parsons and trading of Jeremy Lin and Omar Asik this summer, only continued this letdown.
However, Howard doesn't think any of these moves have lessened the Rockets chances of competing for an NBA championship this year.
"We know how good we can be," Howard told Yahoo Sports. "We work extremely hard on a daily basis to make sure that we make it to that [championship-caliber] level. We want to contend for the title and we feel we have the same opportunity as every other team in the NBA."
Howard admitted to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski that he spent much of last season trying to figure out his role on this Houston team. The prospect of playing alongside James Harden was one of the attractions that landed Howard in Houston as a free agent. Actually playing with him took a little more time to figure out, though. But now Howard is confident and comfortable with his place on the team and ready to assume a larger leadership role this season.
After dealing with minor nagging injuries during a lackluster regular season, Howard exploded for 26 points, 13 rebounds and almost three blocks per game in the playoffs.
"I just have to go play and control the paint, control what I can control," Howard said. "Last year's playoffs was great for me, I had a great playoff run, I tried to do whatever I can to get ready for the season this summer. Hopefully I have another great year. The main thing I want to do is help all of the young guys on our team grow as players and continue to grow myself and try and get better every day."
Howard's public image took a massive hit after he forced a trade from the Orlando Magic before the 2012 season. The detractors only grew louder during a tumultuous season with the Los Angeles Lakers, with Kobe Bryant reportedly viewing Howard's departure in free agency as "a positive."
But Howard holds no ill will towards L.A. and isn't fretting the regular season opener against them tomorrow night.
"People make big deals about playing against your former team and stuff like that, but there are 82 games and we want to make sure that we get better every day, we want to start the season off on a good note," Howard said. "It doesn't matter who we play, my mindset is always going to be the same and that is to dominate."
Howard, through all of his own trials and tribulations, knows what Harden is going through now as the Rockets shooting guard deals with criticism for his effort level and defense.
"Not everybody is going to like you," Howard said. "They're going to assume they know things about you as a player and a person depending on what they read or what they might hear on T.V. We both know who we are as players and who we are as men, so it doesn't matter what is said about us."
Howard said he's no longer concerned with how other people perceive him. Instead, he's taking a more mature approach to public opinion.
"I always try to find the positive in every situation," Howard said. "If anybody says something negative about me, I always listen to what they're saying, see if there's any truth to it and if there isn't any, I let it go in one ear and out the other. If there may be some truth, I do some soul-searching. Things happen, people say stuff but it's not a concern at all."
Rockets fans are surely hoping that Howard's new attitude and outlook will translate to on-court success this year.
