Center of the universe

SEATTLE – Carlos Arroyo's off-balance shot banged hard off the rim, hung in the air for a moment then … disappeared. In the half-second it took the ball to carom, Dwight Howard had pogo-sticked through a pack of Seattle SuperSonics, snatched the rebound with his giant right paw and, in the same swift, violent motion, mercilessly flushed it back through the rim.

The fans sprinkled throughout KeyArena gasped. The Sonics' shoulders slumped. They weren't going to win this battle with Howard, and they knew it.

The Orlando Magic's hulking center would go on to score a career-best 39 points, collect 16 rebounds and swat five shots in the 110-94 victory Wednesday night. The Sonics played hard, as they have for much of their luckless season, pushing the Magic to the final few minutes. Howard, however, simply pushed back, spinning past Kurt Thomas to throw down a two-handed dunk, tomahawking a lob pass from Arroyo, snuffing out a drive by the Sonics' talented young rookie, Kevin Durant.

And when Seattle, having exhausted most of its defensive options, finally threw a box-and-one on Howard to choke off the Magic's entry passes? Orlando's shooters bombed away, burying four three-pointers in less than three minutes to ride out Seattle's comeback attempt.

Twenty minutes later, with his feet plunged into an ice bucket in front of his locker, Thomas could only lean back in his chair and acknowledge what the rest of the NBA is fast realizing about Howard.

"He's a beast," Thomas said. "The sky's the limit for him."

Fortunately for the Magic, Howard now believes the same. His career goal, he says, is simple: "I want to be one of the greatest players to play basketball."

After nights like Wednesday, it's hard to argue Howard isn't already striding down that path. He's averaging 23.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 61.2 percent. More importantly, he has led Orlando to a 14-3 record. A victory over Phoenix on Friday would allow the Magic to match the franchise's best start ever.

And here's what really should frighten the rest of NBA: Howard still has more than a week to go before his 22nd birthday, and he never has missed a single game because of injury. How much of his potential does Howard believe he has tapped?

"Ten percent," Howard said. "I'm serious. There's a lot more of my game I can get to. The biggest thing for me is just confidence in myself and my teammates."

Howard should have a lot more faith in his current supporting cast. Swept in the first round of last season's playoffs by Detroit – "They beat us in every area of the game in four games," Howard said – the Magic fired Brian Hill as coach, then hired Stan Van Gundy after the University of Florida's Billy Donovan reneged on an agreement to guide them. Orlando then handed Seattle free-agent forward Rashard Lewis a $118 million contract and later signed Howard's good friend, point guard Jameer Nelson, to an extension.

"Everything we did this summer," Orlando general manager Otis Smith said, "we did for Dwight."

Van Gundy's hiring has been especially beneficial. In addition to significantly upgrading the Magic's defense – "They're defending way better than in the past," said one scout – Van Gundy made the decision essentially to use Lewis as a power forward, allowing Orlando also to get Hedo Turkoglu, another 6-foot-10 playmaker, on the floor at the same time. Much like the successful offensive system the San Antonio Spurs built around Tim Duncan, the Magic now have Howard surrounded by four shooters who can spread the floor.

"A dominant big man makes the game so much easier," said Lewis, who never played with one during his stay in Seattle. "Defense-wise, rebounding-wise. And he's a scorer. He demands so much attention down low (that) I get a lot of wide-open shots."

That was the case Wednesday. Howard said he never had an NBA team use a box-and-one against him the way the Sonics did in the final six minutes. Aside from Earl Watson guarding Arroyo, Seattle's other four defenders swarmed Howard.

Howard finished with six turnovers, a reminder of his struggles last season when he averaged a league-high 3.9 per game. For much of this season, however, his decision-making has been noticeably better than a year ago. He's reacting more patiently to double-teams instead of always trying to bull his way through defenders.

"He seems to be playing more poised," said Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo.

Howard has benefited from Van Gundy's decision to add Patrick Ewing to the coaching staff, and Magic observers say Howard has stayed after practice longer than ever to work out.

"His biggest thing is he's always challenging me to do more stuff," Howard said of Ewing. "I want to be a great player, and he's pushing me every day. If I do something good, he'll say I'm not doing it good enough."

Howard also worked with a shooting coach during the summer, evidenced, perhaps, by his 15-for-20 performance at the free-throw line Wednesday. His body, too, has continued to grow. He has packed on more than 30 pounds since joining the NBA and now weighs close to 270. His 6-11 frame resembles that of a wasp: narrow waist, remarkably broad shoulders and biceps that look almost cartoonish. It's little wonder adidas has tabbed Howard to market its sleeveless undershirts.

"He's got the whole package in terms of athleticism," Carlesimo said. "He's a younger Shaq. The biggest problem is you can't deal with his strength. You can't deal with his size, the wingspan, the whole thing.

"On top of that, he can get up and down the floor and get off the ground. He's really a problem."

The Sonics would have been hard-pressed to keep Howard from the rim even if their top two centers, Nick Collison and Robert Swift, weren't sidelined with injuries. Nine of Howard's 12 baskets were dunks, increasing his league-leading season count to 74, more than the totals of all but five teams.

"They want to keep saying he's the best big man in the league," Carlesimo said. "He's not the best big man; he's the best young big man, and he may be the best center in the league.

"Until they bury Tim Duncan, (Howard) isn't going to be the best big man in the league."

Still, even the Spurs marveled just one week earlier when Howard, in the words of one team official, "kicked Tim's ass" for much of the first half of Orlando's loss in San Antonio. One Western Conference scout said Howard reminds him of Karl Malone "in terms of sheer strength and dominance."

Of course, Howard also still resembles a 21-year-old kid off the court. He became a YouTube hit for his dance-off with Shaquille O'Neal at least season's All-Star game and still was shimmying to music shortly before Wednesday's tipoff. When Arroyo emerged from his locker after the game wearing a trench coat, Howard promptly labeled him "Inspector Carlos."

Then there's Howard's goofy, toothy grin. With one flash of his 1,000-watt smile, he can bust up his teammates, melt the hearts of girls from Kissimmee to Beijing and sell your company's $100 sneakers.

But while Howard takes pride in being Orlando's team jester, Van Gundy also gave him a much more important title this season, naming him a co-captain along with Nelson.

"I think he showed that kind of leadership potential and maturity in the preseason, so part of that is a reward," Van Gundy said. "But that also was a statement to him that that's the role he needs to assume. He needs to understand he's a leader."

And for right now, at least, the Magic are all too happy to follow Howard wherever he takes them.