Charles Barkley downgraded Dwight Howard's condition to "good" Thursday night.
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win posted a video segment from TNT's "Inside the NBA" in which Howard, the Houston Rockets' first-year center who is recognized as one of the top big men in game, is the topic of discussion.
The Rockets had just finished scoring 19 points in the entire second half in a 104-92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Houston. Howard was in foul trouble and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Barkley actually was criticizing the Rockets' defense when he started talking about Howard. Barkley paused, and then said Howard is not the player Barkley thought he was.
"Listen, I like Dwight Howard as a person," Barkley said. "He's a good player. He's not a great player. I used to think he was."
Howard has won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and was a Most Valuable Player candidate for the Orlando Magic in 2011. He led the Magic to the NBA finals in 2009, where Orlando lost to the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one.
Howard had back surgery in 2012 before joining the Lakers to underachieving results in 2012-13. He then left L.A. for Houston last summer.
"That was a perfect situation for him in Orlando," Barkley said. "They built the entire team around him.
"But when you become a really good player, the expectations change. We talk about whether he could handle the heat in L.A. ... I think he's a very good player. I don't think he's ever going to be a great, great player where you can build your team around him. He's got to be a complementary player."
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