Howard will surprise people because unlike Mo Taylor he actually remembers to grab a rebound occasionally. Aside from that, there's really nothing special about his game. As I posted earlier he's OK but as for being a deciding factor on countering the anticipated defenses against Yao & T-Mac, no, he's just not skilled enough. He's solid but solid in such a way that he doesn't really have much impact on a game. Also something else to consider is that the Rocket front line is now at a height disadvantage with Howard & Taylor both playing at 6' 9". One of Howard's problems is that his shot is easily blocked because of its flat trajectory. I just don't see him making us all the more competative against the likes of KG, Dirk, Tim, Ben, Rasheed and the like and these are the caliber of guys he'll be starting against. This situation will be a lot like the one the Mavs faced last season when they tried to plug Danny Fortson in at the 4 only to see him eaten alive by the top PFs in the league.
I was looking at the stats for last year when we played Orlando, and in the 1st game, Howard lit us up for 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Lue had 18 points that game. Of course, Houston won that game, but it does show that they can play. Howard has an ugly shot, but you have to guard him just like Mo.
