All I know is that last season was much worse than this season in shocking injuries and sudden suspensions, forcing our remaining roster to play like heroes. Signed to sub at forward, one of the heroes had to start at center. Juwan Howard should have been the weak point, but he was just as competent as the other starters. When we traded for Camby, our record with Juwan starting was 32-24 (.571). Tonight 13 months later, it is 43-32 (.573).
Imagine how much better it would be if Aldridge could concentrate on playing forward. Juwan Howard was the 5th pick in his draft, and the guy is CHEAP. Veteran's minimum.
Even after drafting a bunch of players, we had a vacant spot in our front line (one too few up front, one too many guards) because Howard was gone, creating a roster imbalance that survives to this day and causes every loss we have. In posts, I tried to fill the opening with the best player from our Summer League team. I just couldn't understand why we got rid of him when he had successfully started for us. It wasn't because of a roster crush up front. We had too few there, even after the new guys drafted.
Look at the last week. Lost to the Lakers because Camby got hurt with a minute left, lost to OKC because Aldridge sucks at center, lost to whomever because we have Wallace trying to play center...same story every loss. Juwan Howard.
