Dwight Howard recalled the feeling that came when things went right, but he was more interested in how those moments obscured what was going wrong. He thought about the little things that made a big difference. He thought about how the Rockets might have been seduced by the success along the way.

Then he stopped and thought about what could come of it. A day after Hakeem Olajuwon was taken by a "maturity' he had seen in him, Howard described the growth that usually can come only with time.

"They always say basketball is like life," Howard said. "It really is. When you fail in sports, people only see that failure but not knowing that it takes those bumps and takes learning how to fail to win. If you are always in a position where you win and everything is given to you, you never know how to take it when you fall.

"I think it was good for us to have something like that happen … losing in the playoffs. Sometimes in order to win, you have to be able to lose. Last year was really tough for all of us, and I think we learned a big lesson."

The difference between success and failure, Howard said, can be found in the details, the small mistakes that led to the Rockets' first-round playoff loss to Portland. Sometimes those lessons are learned the hard way.

The "little things" the Rockets let slide eventually cost them their season, Howard said. But after Thursday's first of two training camp practices, he said greater attention has been paid to those vital details.

Looking in the mirror

"I think a lot of things were probably swept under the rug because we won a lot of games," Howard said. "I think some of that stuff was exposed during the playoffs. So now everybody is really focused on the details and doing all those little things that are going to make us better.

"I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus. All of us did things last season that were swept under the rug, like me not getting back on defense and me complaining to the ref about a call. Little things like that make a big difference. I've got to start with myself. Each one of us has to look in the mirror and see what we did last year that even though we won, we swept it under the rug. I know there are some things I did that I could have done better."

When Howard joined the Rockets, he was their most experienced player. In his second season with the club and Kevin McHale's fourth as coach, the Rockets have a more veteran understanding of how things are run in the NBA. With the additions of Trevor Ariza, Josh Powell and Jason Terry (who's out with a tight hamstring) along with young veterans Ish Smith, Jeff Adrien and Joey Dorsey, McHale can give instructions and know much of his team has heard them before.

"Whatever scheme we're doing, believe me, someone has done it before," McHale said. "And if you're a veteran, you've done it with somebody before. They're like, 'OK, no middle.' Vets are saying, 'I've done that. We're trapping here. We're trapping on this dribble.' All the different things … they pick it up easy."

Asked if that allows him to move more quickly in camp, McHale said he still has to slow down for the younger players.

The future is now

But Howard said the veterans can set a tone.

"This is my 11th season," Howard said. "Each year not winning the championship and being in the Finals before (with Orlando in 2009), it hurts. I understand it. We have to make sure everyone understands it. A lot of these young guys don't understand it. It takes time. It takes years.

"That's where myself, Jason, Trevor and James (Harden), we come in and talk to the guys and help them understand how important this season is. We can never take anything for granted, because you never know when you will have that opportunity again."