I've noticed that Juwan seems to be the most pro active in terms of exacting retribution for the punishment that Yao takes-- witness the very nice hard foul on Okur the last game. Perhaps it was his own personal revenge for Okur grabbing his foot the previous game. Anyways Yao is too nice to get revenge and play dirty, so I think this is a welcome development. Kinda like the NHL, where the superstars have protectors/enforcers to look out for them. You know it would not be a big surprise for Sloan to have told Okur to foul Yao hard as often as he could because the calls were not coming. Only favorable outcomes for the Jazz could occur such as Yao getting injured, or getting mad and fighting then getting thrown out. If nothing else, it would tire Yao out and make him play less aggressively. The beauty of Juwan stepping in is it is the perfect counter to this strategy as Yao is more valuable than Okur who is more valuable than Juwan.
It doesn't get talked about any, but I see Juwan not as an enforcer, but as a closet dirty player. Enforcers make other players scared of pain or retribution. Juwan doesn't do payback. He just smacks you around when you aren't expecting it (like surprise Okur incident). That allows him to maintain his "professional" fascade. But, I agree with you somewhat. He is the only Rocket who deals out any type of intentional punishment.... and I like it!
Calling him an "enforcer" is going too far, but Juwan is the only guy on the team who dishes out hard, punishing fouls that send a message. He isn't a dirty player either because what he does never comes close to hurting anyone. I like it too. The Rockets need much more of that because we are on the receiving end too often.
Bingo! Right on! As a PF, Juan has to be the enforcer in the lane. Yet this is where the opposing teams exploit him the most. No one is afraid of Juan's defense. In game 6, with few minutes remaining, we were only down 3 and needed a critical stop. Juan was right under the basket and the guy came right at him and layed it in. Not even a dunk mind you, just an easy layup in Game 6 of playoffs. Forget about fouling the guy hard and making him think twice about coming there..Juan did not even bother to step in to take a charge. This is where I prefer Chuck Hayes. He is our bull dog. He has the toughness and is not scared to mix it up in the paint. Hayes is not afraid to spend his 6 fouls and protect Yao. When was the last time you saw Juan in foul trouble? He does and I cant say I didn't like it when he landed one on Okur. But it's not out of toughness. He is a borderline cheap shot artist. But I will take it against Jazz, which is a team full of cheap shot artists.
LOL! So true.... such a fierce weapon. I'll bet he tries to kiss his elbows before bed but can't... Juwan Howard made that super stupid play in Game 6 fouling Okur. Woking up Okur and Mehmet took some crazy 3 pointers that killed the Rockets. No need for those type of plays.
remember 2 years ago against dallas. yao got a hard fouled and the next possesion bobby wrapped josh howard i think. not sure. but either way, i miss his firceness.
Tyler Hansbrough has all the tools to be an enforcer, eventhough he got enforced by Duke's Gerald Henderson.
Man have people already forgot about Juwans flagrant that separated Derek Andersons shoulder in the playoffs back when he used to be good and played for the spurs about 5 years ago. The spurs were one of the favorites that year and DAs injury pretty much took them out of contention. It sure looked intentional at the time but Juwans "proffesionalism" in his apology lead me to give him the benefit of the doubt. I've never considered Juwan a dirty player until Doctor Robert brought it up, but now that I think about it I have to agree. I also remember another incident specifically a few years back when jason terry stripped him and he tried to get to back by slapping but instead hit terry on the face which knocked him down for a bit.
