Juwan Howard: "I'm going to get plenty of playing time"

Juwan better not be getting muchf playing time

 

The sad part is he might be right.

 

JVG is a hard guy to read. Sometimes it seems like he plays favorites and has pet players, but then I end up thinking of Jim Jackson who got shipped out when he wasn't what we needed. Now it's improbable to think that Juwan's going to get traded anytime soon (that contract isn't going anywhere for a couple of years), but I'm hoping Juwan gets his minutes curtailed at least.

 

It will be interesting if JVG sticks with the "Juwan's more effective as a starter than off the bench" line or if he thinks Howard can even be effective at all playing 10-12 mins. off the bench.

 

I hear ya.

I don't know if anyone else heard it, but Feigen was on 610 last week when word got out about Bonzi and he spoke on a lot of Rockets topics, including Sura (who he gave a surprisingly high 60-70% chance of returning) and the PF situation. He said the last time he spoke with JVG, he brought up how the minutes would get split and asked "Battier is probably going to spend most of his time at PF, isn't he..." and apparently JVG's response was "(chuckle)...yeah, you're probably right". Almost gives me the feeling that he may not WANT to play him there so much, but that when it comes down to it, he's really the best option.

Take that for what it's worth.

 

i have no clue why there are so many juwan haters in here especially he is not our starter now...let's face it, he IS our 6th or 7th man of this team. Even at the age of 35, he is still our best bench player and 2nd best big man (or 3rd if u count shane as a big man)
if u had watch rockets games from last year, teams DO double-team Juwan Howard when yao is not in the line-up

 

At this point I really believe that Juwon's role on the team is going to depend heavily on where Battier fits in. I'll be shocked if it turns out that Battier wasn't acquired primarily to play power forward. I think I'm not alone in expecting that there's very little chance that Battier doesn't start.

That said, I'm pretty certain that Van Gundy won't simply dismiss Juwon out of hand. I believe he's definitely open to Juwon's starting. However, one of the things that clearly frustrated the coach last season, and to a lesser extent two years ago, is that the team would notoriously get off to slow, lethargic starts. Battier's energy, I believe, is a big reason he was brought in. Juwon brings a couple of things to the table as a starter, but energy ain't in danger of being confused as one of them. One of the reasons JVG took to inserting Rybo early in games in the first half of last season was that he wanted Bowen to help inject some intensity. Well, that will now be Battier's job... and I don't think he'll be doing it from the small forward spot.

Hopefully we'll get an idea of where they want Battier one week from today at the open practice!

 

ok i'm going to split some of your post.

especially he is not our starter now...let's face it, he IS our 6th or 7th man of this team. Even at the age of 35, he is still our best bench player and 2nd best big man (or 3rd if u count shane as a big man)


first off, he might be our starter and bonzi or battier could be our 6th man. If hes our 2nd best big man, we need serious help.SERIOUS HELP. i'm not even kidding. like people earlier, jvg is hard to read. last year ppl thought swift was gonna start but who started? juan. we can't be sure about battier or bonzi or can we?


if u had watch rockets games from last year, teams DO double-team Juwan Howard when yao is not in the line-up

you gott to be kidding. double teaming juan? i'm not sure what you are talking about. if you are saying just yao is out in the line up, teams woiuld double team t-mac not juan. if they are both out, i would have just play man to man defense since no one could create their own shot.

 

yep

a mediocre starter
but a nice bench player thats juwan!!!!!!

 

son of a b*tch. On the main forums page under "Last Post" all that was visible was " Juwan Howard: "I'm going to"

A smile came across my face as one word came to mind. My prayer wasn't answered.

 

I think he was misquoted. I think it actually went like this:

Oh yeah, almost forgot:

 

Talking about Juwan, I didn't follow closely on the sunglass thingy. Was he fined? Charged with misdemeanor? Or was it a joke/rumor? Anybody knows?

 

i dont value the label of 'starter' too much. Yes i think juwan should and will start, but i also dont think that he has to play 30 min a night. it all depends on matchups and what works.

we should all expect howard to get at least 25 min a night ,and i dont think thats a bad thing. Remember the rockets went on a heck of a run 2 years ago when howard was getting 30+ min a night. Howard is still servicable and despite his lack of athletic ability still know how to play the game of basketball

 

Only Jeff Van Dummy would start the theif of in front of the starting power forward on the US olympic team. I am telling you, him and Rybo have pictures of Van Dummy naked with 2 lesbian circus midgets and a donkey and Les is riding the donkey.

 

I was thinking about Mo Taylor... he had a big long contract, too. One season, he got plenty of playing time, then with 3 years left on the deal, with Juwan coming in and essentially taking his minutes, he was put on IR and gone in an instant.

Well, Juwan's got 3 years left on his deal now, too... I would not be suprised if he gets Mo-Taylored elsewhere. A lot can happen once the games starts to get rolling and teams figure out what they need and don't need.

As of now, though, I'm guessing he gets about 20 mpg split between C and PF.

 

Howard's a guy who can still be good in stretches. But he's most effective when getting consistent minutes.

I dont think of him as a guy that give us 10 minutes off the bench - he needs to get loose and into the flow before he gives his best.

We, of course, can't really afford him the time to get in and get comfortable.

Mutombo is a guy that will still help in 5-10 minutes per. Howard however may struggle if his minutes are limited to say, 12-15. With Battier in tow, these are the amount I would say we'll see him.

 

For the past two years, Howard was usually effective in 1st quarter, then he disappeared completely.
So I'm OK with Juwan starting. But closing and total minutes are different stories.

 

that probably had more to with the ordinary performances from both jho and mot at the time. none of them deserved to start but mot was and was sucking a little more.

 

He's 33, not 35, and getting payed as though he is not only a starter, but a key contributer. Any Juwan love is misguided, especially yours: you count Juwan as a bench player under Battier, then say that Juwan is our second best big man unless you count Battier.

Bottom line: You're a Mavs fan. Take that ridiculous sig back to Dallas.