Chron: Healthy Howard ready for Rockets' season

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3379339

He loves this game
A healthy Juwan Howard is looking forward to the Rockets' season for the best of reasons
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

There were many feelings that could have come to Juwan Howard that August afternoon, freed from the knee injury that had interrupted his season or the heart condition that ended it.

In the privacy of his own thoughts, he could have celebrated the significance of his successful return to the court. He could have remembered how well he and the Rockets were playing when his season was taken from him. He could have given thanks for having conquered the fear that his career could have been over but was now back in his hands.

Instead, he was just another player at Hoops, The Gym, running the court with all that Chicago-based NBA talent. The thought that came to him was the one he always has on such occasionsWith those familiar thoughts and feelings, he knew he was back.

"I just thought about how I love to play basketball," Howard said, symptom-free and cleared to return to the court in late July. "The same as always. I've always appreciated playing the game of basketball, not just because I couldn't play at the end of last season. This was always something I loved to do since I was a little kid. I always have that desire, that love for the game. Nothing changed."

Last March, everything changed. Howard had found his niche in the Rockets' rotation, going from the ignored end of the bench to the starting lineup, and was giving the Rockets exactly what they needed. The Rockets were completing a sweep of a four-game road trip when Howard went out of for the balance of the regular season with a hyperextended right knee.

Weeks later, the knee would become the least of his concerns. Howard was rushed to the hospital with what he thought was a heart attack, suffering with heart palpitations, chest pains and fever. He had developed a heart condition, viral myocarditis, and was barred from physical exertion for six months.

The Rockets finished the season well, going 13-3 without Howard, but he was desperately missed in the postseason as they lost three of four games, including two fourth-quarter breakdowns and a Game 7 collapse against the Mavericks.

"Those were some disappointing days," Howard said. "I had some good days, but I had a lot of very bad days. It was just so frustrating. Something I love to do, to play the game of basketball, was taken away from me."

As with all the Rockets, the darkest days had to be when that first-round series lead was frittered away. But Howard had to hide his own frustration, knowing that the only way he could help was to be a cheerleader. It was all he could do to encourage himself.

"He was hurting, definitely," guard Mike James said. "We just let him know that we miss him a lot. We missed him a great deal. We let him know how valuable he was. Just because he wasn't playing, he was significant. But he might have been one of the reasons we didn't go to the Western Conference Finals or a championship."

As much as Howard had proved his value when he played — and when he was missed — the Rockets' first off-season priority was to bring in another player, Stromile Swift, to play Howard's position.

This, however, is nothing new. In Washington, he had to carve out minutes on a roster that included Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber. Dallas had Dirk Nowitzki. Denver drafted Nene. Orlando traded for Drew Gooden. He began last season splittingtime with Maurice Taylor until Howard was dropped from the rotation entirely.

"I didn't play at all for three games then we played Dallas, in Dallas, a national TV game and coach called my name to start," Howard said. No matter what, you just have to stay ready.

"They brought Stromile in to help us win, to help us compete for a championship. I encourage that. He's going to help us in so many ways. He's versatile. There may be some times we're on the floor together. But this is nothing new to me with a guy coming in playing the same position I'm playing. I'm going to go out and do what I do. My role hasn't changed. I'm going to rebound, play defense, run the floor on both ends, make entry passes to Yao, set pick-and-rolls, hit the outside jumper."

Learning how he could help the Rockets last season turned around Howard's season. He was not going to get many post-up touches when playing with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Instead, he became an effective catch-and-shoot option and a more energetic rebounder.

"When he was playing well, he went to a more blue-collar game," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "His transition defense improved. He spearheaded our pick-and-roll defense. He started shooting the ball well from 18, 19 feet, became better at feeding the post. He found his niche."

When the Rockets begin practices on Tuesday, Howard expects to be able to do all those things without a thought to what was lost last season. But that day in August, when he was finally freed from those old concerns, he thought only about how good it felt to be back.

"It felt great," Howard said. "I saw the other side of things when I couldn't play basketball when we were trying to get a playoff spot, to get a good seed in the playoffs. When all that was shut down and I couldn't play, it was very depressing. To know I could go out and compete, and could play at a level to play like myself, it felt great.

"You look and there are guys that only care about what the game could do for them. They care about the money, the glory, what comes off the court. Some guys still just love to play the game. I just love playing basketball."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com