duncan228
04-19-2009, 10:05 PM
Mavs' Howard not buying redemption talk (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Mavs_Howard_not_buying_redemption_talk.html)
Mike Finger
Watching Josh Howard torch the Spurs in the first game of the Dallas Mavericks' postseason Saturday, a few onlookers might have thought they were seeing a story involving renewed dedication, or healing, or obstacles overcome, or even redemption.
The problem is Howard thinks all of that is baloney.
Told Sunday that teammate Jason Terry complimented the way he's been able to focus recently, Howard said, “Same focus I've had since I've been in the NBA.”
Asked if his 25-point performance in the Mavericks' Game 1 victory was a sign that his injured ankle is finally feeling better, Howard said, “No, it's the same.”
When someone mentions the turbulence of his past year — one in which trouble popped up everywhere from talk radio to YouTube — Howard asked, “What have I been through?”
And as for the idea that he's somehow using this postseason as a way to show how determined he is?
“I was determined last year,” Howard said, “and (expletive) got blown out of proportion.”
In the old days, the only thing in danger of being blown out of proportion regarding Howard was the idea that the Spurs blew it by passing on him. They used the 28th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft to take Leandro Barbosa (whom they traded to Phoenix) and then the Mavs took Howard with the 29th pick. When Howard starred in Dallas' seven-game victory over the Spurs in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals, he was known in San Antonio as the one who got away.
Those grumbles mostly quieted down over the next few years, especially when Howard missed 30 games this season with ankle and wrist injuries. Then came Saturday, when during a crucial 9-minute span to open the second half, Howard scored 13 points.
“In the third quarter,” Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said, “he came out smoking.”
“Smoking,” of course, isn't the word Howard would have preferred his teammate to use. During the Mavs' first-round playoff series loss to New Orleans last spring, Howard caused a stir by talking about marijuana use in a radio interview. Then in September he found controversy again when a YouTube clip of him criticizing the national anthem surfaced.
Combine all of that with the fact that Howard was terrible in the playoffs last season — he shot just 29.2 percent from the field in the New Orleans series — and it wasn't exactly an easy period for the sixth-year small forward from Wake Forest.
“Last year might have been a distraction for him, but he's matured so much over a one-year period of time,” Terry said. “Coming into this year, nothing is going to detour him from his goal.”
Now, Howard is looking like a difference-maker again, despite an ankle that he says “won't be 100 percent until next year.” But even though Nowitzki said Howard is the “X-factor” of the series, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle disagrees.
“Generally, you don't refer to your best players as X-factors,” Carlisle said. “The X-factor is his health.”
Mike Finger
Watching Josh Howard torch the Spurs in the first game of the Dallas Mavericks' postseason Saturday, a few onlookers might have thought they were seeing a story involving renewed dedication, or healing, or obstacles overcome, or even redemption.
The problem is Howard thinks all of that is baloney.
Told Sunday that teammate Jason Terry complimented the way he's been able to focus recently, Howard said, “Same focus I've had since I've been in the NBA.”
Asked if his 25-point performance in the Mavericks' Game 1 victory was a sign that his injured ankle is finally feeling better, Howard said, “No, it's the same.”
When someone mentions the turbulence of his past year — one in which trouble popped up everywhere from talk radio to YouTube — Howard asked, “What have I been through?”
And as for the idea that he's somehow using this postseason as a way to show how determined he is?
“I was determined last year,” Howard said, “and (expletive) got blown out of proportion.”
In the old days, the only thing in danger of being blown out of proportion regarding Howard was the idea that the Spurs blew it by passing on him. They used the 28th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft to take Leandro Barbosa (whom they traded to Phoenix) and then the Mavs took Howard with the 29th pick. When Howard starred in Dallas' seven-game victory over the Spurs in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals, he was known in San Antonio as the one who got away.
Those grumbles mostly quieted down over the next few years, especially when Howard missed 30 games this season with ankle and wrist injuries. Then came Saturday, when during a crucial 9-minute span to open the second half, Howard scored 13 points.
“In the third quarter,” Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said, “he came out smoking.”
“Smoking,” of course, isn't the word Howard would have preferred his teammate to use. During the Mavs' first-round playoff series loss to New Orleans last spring, Howard caused a stir by talking about marijuana use in a radio interview. Then in September he found controversy again when a YouTube clip of him criticizing the national anthem surfaced.
Combine all of that with the fact that Howard was terrible in the playoffs last season — he shot just 29.2 percent from the field in the New Orleans series — and it wasn't exactly an easy period for the sixth-year small forward from Wake Forest.
“Last year might have been a distraction for him, but he's matured so much over a one-year period of time,” Terry said. “Coming into this year, nothing is going to detour him from his goal.”
Now, Howard is looking like a difference-maker again, despite an ankle that he says “won't be 100 percent until next year.” But even though Nowitzki said Howard is the “X-factor” of the series, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle disagrees.
“Generally, you don't refer to your best players as X-factors,” Carlisle said. “The X-factor is his health.”