Howard Named NBA Player of the Week - Page 2 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

nashtymavsfan13 · 01-03-2007, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaw-xx

It wasn't because we could aford to lose Nash but because we had some other players instead of him and they fit well. Losing any good player for nothing could be terrible. If you just let JHo go, the hole on frontcourt will be here.

We lost Nash for nothing, then had to fill the hole he left by trading for Terry and Harris. I'm not saying it was a bad thing we got Terry and Harris, but it wasn't as if we could afford to lose Nash. I'm very surprised that this team continued to be as successful as it did when Nash left. I still think that this team would be better with him.

shaw-xx · 01-03-2007, 01:35 AM

Same feelings here but since there could be the Suns fans coming around, I won't admit it.

nashtymavsfan13 · 01-03-2007, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaw-xx

Same feelings here but since there could be the Suns fans coming around, I won't admit it.

And it's not like I don't like the current Mavs team, I love the current Mavs team. I just think we'd be even better with Nash, and Nash is still my second favorite player.

chumdawg · 01-03-2007, 02:50 AM

You fail to recognize, nashty, that Dirk would still be a baby-faced player if Nash were still here.

Murphy3 · 01-03-2007, 04:19 AM

To be honest, ...it must have been a weak week in the NBA.

shaw-xx · 01-03-2007, 04:39 AM

You think so?

kriD · 01-03-2007, 05:59 AM

Mavs' Howard not into stardom

Potential All-Star says it's an honor, but always same players

10:18 PM CST on Tuesday, January 2, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

There was a time when Josh Howard didn't have much love for the All-Star Game.

That hasn't changed much, really. He still thinks that the same players make it because they are popular with the fans and that coaches generally gravitate toward the players who have proven themselves over the years.

New blood in the annual NBA midseason party is rare.

That doesn't mean Howard wouldn't like to make it to Las Vegas next month. He is keeping his name in front of the Western Conference coaches by winning the player of the week honor for the second straight week. The Mavs went 4-0 last week, and Howard averaged 21.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.50 steals and 1.25 blocks.

He's only the fifth Maverick to win player of the week more than once, joining Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Jason Kidd and Mark Aguirre.

Howard said he views the All-Star Game as a nice honor, but he's not planning on it.

"All the hard work is starting to pay off," he said. "You know how I feel about All-Star games, but just to be recognized, it would be cool to make the All-Star Game in my fourth year. Not many people get to do that.

"But it ain't no biggie to me. It's still the same players every year."

Good experience: Rookie Moe Ager was on the active roster after a two-week stint with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBDL.

Ager didn't look at the detour as a demotion. Far from it.

"I'm definitely glad I did it," Ager said. "I went down there and got a chance to play and work on a few things. It was good for me.

"It's definitely not as bad as everybody says it is. It's a perception thing. It's a developmental league. You go down there and get better. The competition was pretty good. Each team had at least three players signed to NBA teams. And everybody down there is fighting for a job. It makes everybody hungry."

Incidentally, Ager said NBA players who go to the developmental league continue to get the NBA-mandated $102 per diem when they are on the road, unlike players without NBA contracts.

Putting it in perspective: Avery Johnson's 100th win as a coach was nice, but it pales in comparison to some of the other accomplishments taking place.

Like Don Nelson's 1,200th NBA coaching win. And George Karl's 800th. And Bob Knight surpassing Dean Smith with the most wins as a college coach.

"Those guys have been doing it for a long time," Johnson said. "We always talk about guys that didn't win championships. But what about the longevity and consistency? [What those coaches did] speaks for longevity."

Briefly: The old leather ball used for Tuesday's game once was property of the Detroit Pistons. Their team name was etched into the leather. Because the new shipment of balls is not broken in enough to use in games, the best available ball was put into play. It happened to be a Pistons ball, once upon a time. ... Jerry Stackhouse (left ankle) is expected to practice today and could play Thursday against Indiana or Friday at San Antonio.

kriD · 01-03-2007, 06:01 AM

MAVERICKS PLAYBOOK

Howard goes back-to-back

By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS -- The way Mavs forward Josh Howard is viewed in the NBA changed Tuesday when he was named Western Conference player of the week for the second consecutive week.

In four games last week, Howard averaged 21.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals. That includes 28 points, a Mavericks season-high 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks during Sunday's 89-85 victory at Denver.

Howard seemed taken aback by the back-to-back honors.

"I wasn't expecting that," he said. "I just thought that was a one-time thing." Howard becomes the first Mavs player to win player of the week honors in consecutive weeks. He joins Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Aguirre, Michael Finley and Jason Kidd as the only Mavs players to win the award more than once.

"Josh is really unselfish," coach Avery Johnson said. "You can tell by the way he took those four charges [against Denver]. You're going to see more and more of that because he's really elevating his game and playing with more of a level of consistency."

Since Howard likely won't get voted by the fans to the All-Star team as a starter, capturing player of the week honors two weeks in a row should help his case when the coaches vote for the team's seven reserves.

"Just to be recognized, it'll be cool," Howard said. "And to make it to the All-Star game my fourth year, not too many players can do that."

Howard, though, doesn't know if he'll get an honest chance to make the squad.

"They pick the same people every year," Howard said. "It ain't no biggie to me, just as long as I can keep helping my team win. Not to take anything away from them, but a lot of players in the league deserve that chance."

Despite winning player of the week twice in December, Howard wasn't the Western Conference player of the month. That award went to the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

Keep your guard up

Before Tuesday's game against Seattle, Mavs players were discussing the shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.

The shooting occurred early Monday morning, a few hours after the Mavs left Denver after defeating the Nuggets. Williams, who graduated from O.D. Wyatt, was shot and killed while riding in a Hummer stretch limo.

Without knowing or talking about the specifics of the case, Mavs players said pro athletes must be on-guard when they're out on the town.

"If you're one of those guys that wants to play tough and still wants to live like you used to when you were growing up, it's going to be hard on you in the club," Mavs guard Greg Buckner said. "But if you're the type of person who understands that you've got something to live for, there's no use in you trying to be tough."

Mavs forward Devean George said sometimes they go out and listen to frustrated athletes who think they should be playing in the NBA.

"Guys want to test you and guys want to heckle you and say, 'Aw, man, you can't play, I can play, I should be out there, you lost the game,'" George said. "You've just got to tune it out and take it for what it is and take it as part of the job and just let people have their opinions."

Johnson's 100

Avery Johnson received a few congratulatory calls from close friends after winning his 100th game Sunday at Denver. Johnson needed only 131 games to reach the century mark, the best coaching start in NBA history.

Johnson's latest accomplishment also puts in perspective the success of several coaches who've reached landmark wins lately, including former Mavs coach Don Nelson claiming his 1,200th win with Golden State.

"We always want to talk about guys who didn't win championships, but what about the longevity and the consistency?" Johnson asked. "You know, Nellie's milestone, Coach George Karl won his 800th, and we saw what was going on over there in West Texas with Coach [Bob] Knight winning his game.

"That really speaks for longevity. They've been doing it for a long time and they've been good at what they've done."

Staff writer Art Garcia contributed to this report

u2sarajevo · 01-03-2007, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

We lost Nash for nothing, then had to fill the hole he left by trading for Terry and Harris. I'm not saying it was a bad thing we got Terry and Harris, but it wasn't as if we could afford to lose Nash. I'm very surprised that this team continued to be as successful as it did when Nash left. I still think that this team would be better with him.

Not that this changes your argument dramatically but Harris was already a Maverick when the Nash debacle took place. When we acquired Jason Terry I was ecstatic only because it meant the exit of the team cancer #8. I think the end result of that trade is quite dramatic for us. I often wonder if Cuban sent jars of Vaseline to the Hawks fans to ease the pain.

dude1394 · 01-03-2007, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kriD

[B]Mavs' Howard not into stardom
Howard said he views the All-Star Game as a nice honor, but he's not planning on it.

"All the hard work is starting to pay off," he said. "You know how I feel about All-Star games, but just to be recognized, it would be cool to make the All-Star Game in my fourth year. Not many people get to do that.

"But it ain't no biggie to me. It's still the same players every year."

Typical josh. It's sort of a defense mechanism with him. He'll downplay it completely but bust his rear-end to make it happen. Kinda like it.

dude1394 · 01-03-2007, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kriD

Incidentally, Ager said NBA players who go to the developmental league continue to get the NBA-mandated $102 per diem when they are on the road, unlike players without NBA contracts..

Then he and pops may be picking up a bunch of checks. Wonder what the coaches get who are "assigned" there.

shaw-xx · 01-03-2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

Typical josh. It's sort of a defense mechanism with him. He'll downplay it completely but bust his rear-end to make it happen. Kinda like it.

Yep, he and Arenas are both defensive but Arenas wants more.

sike · 01-03-2007, 12:42 PM

Josh is on the record as saying he hopes to make the All Star team...he said as much live with Laura Green after the Sonics game...

Five-ofan · 01-03-2007, 03:04 PM

Despite what im sure some of you think i really do love josh howard but since when did 21 and 11 become good enough to win consecutive player of the week awards? Im thrilled josh won the award but this is a case of a guy having a lower individual standard than other great players and people giving him an award because while he is playing great for him it wouldnt be considered anything special for any of the guys that are clearly better than he is... I know it seems like i rag on josh alot and i do but to put it into context how often has dirk had 21 and 11 with nothing special in any of the other cats and not won player of the week? Ive been spending alot of time with my family/friends over the break which is also why i havent been around here much BUT there had to be someone that did more than 21 and 11 right? That said he was flat out amazing in the Nuggets game... Congrats JHO.

The Crippler · 01-03-2007, 03:44 PM

it's humorous that we still have people on here taking shots at Josh Howard...

I would say that overall Howard was the most important player last week in meaningful games in the NBA, therefore it is only correct that he win the POW award.

Five-ofan · 01-03-2007, 03:50 PM

I just find it funny that he won consecutive potw awards while avg 21 and 11 when marion averaged 22 and 12 for the SEASON last year and all i heard was that nash had no help. Im glad for josh but i already know this will come up at the end of the year when the dirk isnt the mvp because he has too much help argument is used.

I do think josh has been great the past couple of weeks. He has basically become what most of you have claimed he has been for 2 years. Congrats to him for working his butt off.

FINtastic · 01-03-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

I just find it funny that he won consecutive potw awards while avg 21 and 11 when marion averaged 22 and 12 for the SEASON last year and all i heard was that nash had no help. Im glad for josh but i already know this will come up at the end of the year when the dirk isnt the mvp because he has too much help argument is used.

I do think josh has been great the past couple of weeks. He has basically become what most of you have claimed he has been for 2 years. Congrats to him for working his butt off.

While I understand what you are saying and think it has some validity, I wouldn't be too quick to reduce Howard's stats as just being able to get 20 and 10. Josh has been putting up some really impressive stats as of late. According to Yahoo! Fantasy, Josh is the 3rd ranked player over the last month of the season. Why is that? Well in addition to being healthy (there have been some injuries to some good fantasy players lately), he's putting up some good stats across the board. He's making 3s at fairly high clip and hitting FTs at an 85%+ clip. Oh, and he's averaging about 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks a game. I think the impressive thing about Josh's game is that he's making contributions in a lot of places. Now mind you, these are just stats which sometimes can skew the actual contribution a player makes, but since you were talking aobut Josh's stats I figured I would throw this out there. Did he really deserve NBA Player of the Week two weeks in a row? Probably not, there might have been other players that were a little more deserving in either week. But the point is, Josh is playing some impressive ball for a team that's amassing a huge winning streak. That will catch some people's eyes. I'm just glad that Josh is getting some attention for the obvious improvement he has made in the last year.

P.S. Despite the post above, I'm still with you on the whole Dirk has a ton help while Nash has made a bunch YMCA scrubs into a championship contender point that you are trying to make.

nashtymavsfan13 · 01-03-2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

I just find it funny that he won consecutive potw awards while avg 21 and 11 when marion averaged 22 and 12 for the SEASON last year and all i heard was that nash had no help. Im glad for josh but i already know this will come up at the end of the year when the dirk isnt the mvp because he has too much help argument is used.

I do think josh has been great the past couple of weeks. He has basically become what most of you have claimed he has been for 2 years. Congrats to him for working his butt off.

Yeah, I hate how that is. At the end of the season people will be saying that Dirk doesn't deserve MVP because he's playing with JT and Jho when Nash is playing with Amare and Marion.

On a side note, it was good to see Josh still play well, and actually step up his game during the Nuggets game without Dirk. A lot of people who rag on Josh do so for the reason that he plays with Dirk and wouldn't be nearly as good without him. I still feel that Josh certainly benefits from playing with Dirk and sometimes it makes him look better than he's really playing without Dirk getting any of the credit, but during the Nuggets game Josh played one of his best games of the year without Dirk. He has certainly come a long way.

nashtymavsfan13 · 01-03-2007, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Not that this changes your argument dramatically but Harris was already a Maverick when the Nash debacle took place. When we acquired Jason Terry I was ecstatic only because it meant the exit of the team cancer #8. I think the end result of that trade is quite dramatic for us. I often wonder if Cuban sent jars of Vaseline to the Hawks fans to ease the pain.

Yeah, it doesn't really change my point because there is no way Devin was ready to run the point every game as a rookie, but thanks for pointing that out.

shaw-xx · 01-03-2007, 08:15 PM

Interesting... but a little harsh on JHo. Does it mean you have a higher standard for Mavs players? Call me a homer but I just don't doubt it when people give credit to the Mavs. If Jet won it though he had a 4 pts game last week, I'd be also happy and won't mind the 4 pts didn't deserve it.

BTW, I guess Dirk's illness helped his teammate win it again.

wmbwinn · 01-03-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

We lost Nash for nothing, then had to fill the hole he left by trading for Terry and Harris. I'm not saying it was a bad thing we got Terry and Harris, but it wasn't as if we could afford to lose Nash. I'm very surprised that this team continued to be as successful as it did when Nash left. I still think that this team would be better with him.

Dallas would have an awesome offfense if we had Nash and Devin playing together. Nash is definitely better than Terry and I really like Terry.

But, Dallas picked up Dampier essentially by letting Nash go. So, it's not quite like we got nothing. Now, most teams would take Nash over Dampier. I'm not arguing that at all.

The TEAM got better by devoting resources to developing and obtaining centers over time (Dampier/Diop/Mbenga).

The team got better with JHo.

Josh provides the following:
1)defense. He has to be regarded as the team's best man against most other team's best guard or small forward. Picking up Devean George and Buckner is nice.
2)rebounds. After Dirk and the centers, Josh is the most reliable rebounder
3)three point shooting
4)penetration
5)hustle

Nash provides:
1)the best offensive point guard in the NBA at causing his team mates to score and shine
2)among the best 3 point shooters in the NBA
3)among the best penetrators in the NBA
4)arguable THE best passer in the NBA (at least top 5).
5)personal offense. He can score without his team mates when he wants to or needs to.

Nash has been the MVP for two years straight and joined impressive company in the history of NBA by accomplishing that. Josh is no where near that sort of honor and likely will never win a NBA MVP award.

But, which player would hurt the team by leaving? Josh. We can't replace his incredible combination of premier defense and all star grade offense. The Mavs' defense would be significantly weaker without Josh.

Josh is averaging nearly 20 points per game. Nash is averaging just over 20 points per game. Nash is averaging 11 assists which means that he directly causes another 22 points. JHo is averaging 2 assists and about 7 rebounds per game. So, with assists, JHo is up to 24 points to Nash's 42. Now, consider that probably 4 of the rebounds are defensive which prevents possibly 8 points from being scored. I know that that is an overstatement of what might happen if Josh didn't get a rebound, so add 4 points more. It is now 28 to 42 in Nash's advantage.

The problem with losing JHo is that the defense falls apart. Devean George can probably guard a SF as well as JHo can if the SF plays near the basket. George can probably guard Kobe Bryant better than JHo due to George's knowledge and experience playing with him and practicing against him. But, George can't shut down Ginobli or Parker or 3 dozen other players like JHo can. Open a hole in our defense like that and the successes of Damp/Diop and our other prime defenders will disappear. It is my opinion that Josh's defense is worth 14 points to close the gap with Nash's value. I think that the Mavs' defensive success (we have been incredible this year on defense) is based on:

1)incredible team defense plan preached by AJ and drilled into the team constantly by Del Harris with a screaming AJ there to add emotion.
2)Very solid centers for defense and rebounds.
3)improvements in Dirk with a lot more energy and fight (he is no all star defender but he is under rated as he has improved).
4)key role players
5)we can play five man team of: AJ, Buckner/George, JHo, Dirk, Damp/Diop/Mbenga - that is a tremendous defense. We can play the ones we need to play to deal with a particular team's offense. We can mix in our offensive players.

Anyway, I think JHo is too key to all that we do to replace or lose. We survived losing Nash. I don't miss his defensive liability.