Schroder: Dwight plays well vs. former teams, 'but that's like 4 games'

Dwight Howard went for a season-high 33 points, along with 12 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and a plus-21 rating Thursday, to lead his Charlotte Hornets past the Atlanta Hawks.

Even though it came against a tanking team locked in a fierce race to the bottom, it was a nice revenge game for Howard, who was traded by the Hawks last summer, just a season into a three-year contract. After the game, he thanked the Hawks, and head coach Mike Budenholzer, for the trade that stoked his motivation.

"It motivated me to just come back this season with a different mindset," Howard told reporters, according to George Henry of The Charlotte Observer. "Play with more confidence and stuff like that. So thank you, Bud."

Howard's former teammate Dennis Schroder wasn't particularly surprised or impressed by the performance.

"He plays always great against his former team," Schroder said, according to Hawks team writer KL Chouinard. "Credit to him too, but that's like four games each year, you know? Houston, L.A., us. I think he's always giving his best there but the other games he ... (shrugs)."

Schroder, who said he and Howard made up the league's best pick-and-roll duo when they played together, does have a bit of a point - at least about Howard upping his game against former teams. The more recently he played for that team, the better his numbers against them have been.

In four games against the Hawks this season, he's averaged 22.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks, with 67.5 percent true shooting and a plus-21.8 net rating. In two games against the Houston Rockets, he's averaged 22.5 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks, with a plus-4.5 net rating (which is nothing to sneeze at considering how good Houston's been). Against the Lakers: 18 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, plus-6.2. Against the Orlando Magic: 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, two assists, a block, plus-20.1.

For the season as a whole, Howard's averaging 16.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and a plus-1.5 net rating.