http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3176652 For Howard, stunning end to season even worse Injured Rocket regrets being out, vows strong return By MICHAEL MURPHY Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle The Rockets milled about their locker room, absently gathering their belongings as the team closed up shop for the 2004-05 season. It was a season that had begun with so much fanfare with the stunning acquisition of Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic. And the ending was a stunner as well, with the Rockets blowing a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Dallas Mavericks and losing Game 7 by an NBA-record 40 points. It was the worst possible way to end the season, but compared to how Juwan Howard ended his season, it was downright idyllic. And now Howard stood in the locker room, a part of the team but at the same time disconnected. Howard had been on the injured list for over a month, first because of a knee injury, then because of a viral infection in his heart, so his season ended long before the 116-76 loss to the Mavericks. "My mouth is watering for some basketball," Howard said this week. "I haven't played since March, and basketball is still being played right now. I'm upset and frustrated about that." Howard was dealing with the emotions that course through every competitor who gets injured — frustration, helplessness and perhaps even a touch of guilt. Idle times "It was very frustrating," said Howard, who had missed a combined eight games in the previous five seasons with the Wizards, Mavericks, Nuggets and Magic. "It was something that was tough to swallow, having to sit there and watch game after game knowing that if I was out there on the court I could help the team, while sitting on the bench hurts the team. "I think that the guys who played in my position — Scott Padgett, Ryan Bowen and Clarence Weatherspoon — played very well, though. It's unfortunate we had to lose a seven-game series that way. Hopefully, we can come back and have a better year, but I miss playing with Yao (Ming). We complement each other very well." Extremely well. Howard's ability to hit the mid-range jumper helps keep defenses from collapsing on Yao underneath, and his passing is a key element in the Rockets' halfcourt game. In 61 games, Howard averaged 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds, numbers that were missed in the Rockets' seven-game Western Conference opening-round series against the Mavericks. And Howard can't wait to get going again. The sprained ligament in his right knee is fully rehabilitated, but Howard's cardiac infection — myocarditis, an inflammation of the muscular walls of the heart that is marked by heart palpitations, chest pains and fever — has kept him from working out as strenuously as he would like. "With his knee, he is pretty close to 100 percent," said Rockets trainer Keith Jones. "He could probably play right now on the knee. With the cardiac stuff, we are going to keep monitoring that. He'll see a doctor again in two weeks, and he'll see a doctor pretty much every month." Activity is limited Jones said "the hardest part for him is not feeling good right now and not being able to do everything he wants to do." "He can't get his heart rate above 110 right now, so he'll go shoot some jump shots and after 30 seconds his heart rate will go up, and he has to stop," Jones said. "Then he just has to take set shots, which gets pretty frustrating. I think that mentally that wears on you because you want to do so much more, but you can't." Howard, 32, insists that by the time training camp rolls around, he will be completely recovered from the injury and the illness — both physically and mentally. "That (fear) will not creep into my mind, whatsoever," he said. "This is my livelihood. This (basketball) is something that I enjoy, something that I love. "No injury, and no fear of injury, will prohibit me from playing the game of basketball. I will always stay mentally strong in this game. No matter what happens, I feel very confident that I will be back healthy. "I'm looking forward to October training camp. For me, I wish October could come tomorrow. But I know that the guys, my teammates, are looking forward to some rest — resting their injuries and their bodies. "But more importantly, we all are disappointed because our season's over, but there's still basketball being played. But right now, we just have to look back on it and say that we have a lot to be proud of and not put our heads down. We need to hold our heads up high and know that next year we're going to come back stronger." If there's a next year. Labor questions Howard is also the union vice president, so questions about collective bargaining were flying in his direction, especially because the NHL imploded over labor issues. "We'll see (how it plays out)," said Howard, who endured the 1998 lockout. "A lockout isn't good for either side, but we're not at that point right now. There's still time to strike a deal, and hopefully we will."
Hopefully the dude either gets shipped out or we get someone in the offseason that can steal the starting role from him. For the o and so-so rebounding he brings to the table, his lack of d really irks me.
Damn right. If we expect to make a run next year, I'd like someone with the athleticism and foot speed to hang with the Dirk's, Amare's, and Duncan's of the West. Juwan is a good backup, but I don't want to count on him in the playoffs.
Too bad his making the mid range jumper consitantly that we didn't have in the playoffs would have saved us during the playoffs in some of those games.... That's one thing we didn't have and it let Dirk sit there and collapse in the paint.
While ideally we bring in someone who is better to start (SAR), if the best we can do is someone about equal (DM--who you will have many of the same issues with) or complimentry (Swift/Evans) we do that. JH was good player for us and will be on the Rockets, we just need another PF who isn't a league minimum value guy as an alternative/reinforcement.
Howard vows a strong return! Well, that's great news...I was fearing he would only vow a medicocre return....so now I can sleep better.
Nice article. What I like about hearing the things Juwan Howard said in the article is that he doesn't have to say them. If a free agent says something like this you can say "Oh, he's just paying lip service so that he can get a big contract", but at Juwan's age, with the contract he has, he's done worrying about that. If he ever signs another deal it'll be a one or two year deal at the vet minimum or near it. That being the case, you can easily conclude that everything he said in that article is true. I like hearing it.
Yeah, JH gets a lot of crap over his career due to his large contract. But overall people forget he is a fairly stand up guy who has done the best with the talent he has. I don't know if he will still be our PF next year, but I wish him the best.
There's a lot of Juwan haters around here. I'm not the happiest with Howard's rebounding and D either, but it's not like he's Baker or Mooch just eating up payroll for nothing. At the least, Juwan is a low-mistake player who's unselfish, well-prepared, and a good influence on Yao. His outside shot, post-up game, passing and ballhandling fundamentals, and interior D are more than adequate for a backup 4. And his current contract is reasonable. It's not his fault we didn't have a better 4 to start ahead of him this past season. Hopefully we will next season. He's telling people how much he loves this team and can't wait to get back on the court to contribute and Rocket fans go ahead and clown him
For all his flaws, as long as he's a Rocket, I want the best for Juwon Howard. He played better than I expected this season (granted, my expectations were low), and hopefully his heart condition isn't causing muscle damage, which can happen.
It could be worse. We could have the PF rotation of New Jersey. I think Juwon is solid at the 4. Obviously I'd like more but who wouldn't. Our chemistry with howard was phenomenal. Whoever we get has to be able to hit that mid-range shot. THAT IS A MUST!! The importance of that shot is so overlooked. Can we find a young Horace Grant
He still can't get his heart rate above 110?!? Well, JHow definately won't get traded this summer. No team would take a chance on a player with heart problems!!!
