'J-Ho Yo-Yo' Plays 'Round The Suns' In Re-Debut

   With the help of Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, we’ve given a nickname to the phenomenon of the stuttering availability of Josh Howard.

   It is the “J-Ho Yo-Yo.’’ …and on Tuesday, the Yo-Yo went ‘round the Suns with a wonderful effort after 13 games in sick bay in which Howard’s unconventional style of basketball was matched by some unconventional utilization of him.

     “It's going to be sore, guys,’’ Josh told reporters after contributing 20 points 6-of-13 shooting, 6-of-6 from the line, six rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist in 26 minutes in Dallas’ 102-101 win over the visiting Suns in his in his re-return after a month of re-rehab. “ It's going to be sore the rest of the year.’’

   No, it’s never “conventional’’ with Josh Howard. In fact, Dallas is already planning on using him in “spot duty’’ during this weekend’s back-to-back challenge. But I’ve got three examples of how Carlisle called on Howard in ways that aren’t necessarily by the book. … examples that Josh certainly befit the “J-Ho Yo-Yo’’:

    This is a rule of the Care And Feeding Of Josh Howard. And there is a psychology to that and there is a physiology to that.

    To the former: Josh is a prideful guy who wears the “starter’’ label like a teenager wears his letter jacket.

    To the latter: Howard’s surgically-repaired left ankle gets loose in pregame warm-ups and in theory will stay loose if he starts … as opposed to risking that the ankle might tighten up if he sits in between.

    But sit he did, with a rather effective-to-open J.J. Barea (14 points, six assists) making his first start of the season. JJB worked well opposite Steve Nash; he actually matched the two-time MVP point-for-point throughout the first half. (Seriously! Just 24 minutes into the game, JJB had his 14, and that was often Nash trying to guard him. And ... somebody on The 75-Member Staff do some quick research for me: Hasn't JJB started before against Nash, and scored at will against him in those turns, too? But yessir, there’s a “but’’ coming. …) And when Howard did finally enter along with Jason Terry at the 5:07 mark, the Mavs had their All-All-Star, Fave Five group on the floor – and they had Josh at his most comfortable spot, small forward.

    The move was unconventional in the sense that when Howard starts, he generally explodes with first-quarter points at a LeBronesque level. Here, he managed only four first-half points. That’s not normal. But unconventional worked.

     2. JOSH NOT AT THE 2: Maybe this was a byproduct of the Suns’ smallish lineups, but Dallas’ masterplan to have Howard be a big 2 will have to wait for another night. Howard at the 3 seemed to put him in a comfort zone, and so did a series of obviously “set’’ plays designed to get him shots. An example: 41 seconds left in the third quarter, Dallas down 71-70, and  Barea penetration sets up Josh for a designed 3-point attempt which is wide-open and good.

    Dallas doesn’t usually handle Howard this way; he is frequently allowed to freelance and to attempt to create his own shot, especially early in games. It’s an honor, but the approach sometimes exposes Josh as a ballhandler and sometimes reduces him to a shot-hunter. This way worked better and landed Howard an assortment of shots inside 15 feet. Yes, J-Ho took five treys and the two he made were key, too.

    But remember Josh The Slasher? That’s what got him a full-time gig in this league, and that was on display here. Indeed, “Inside Josh’’ was even his early identity on defense.

    At the 4:45 mark, on his first touch of the game – on offense – Josh immediately shot it.

    At the 4:40 mark, on his second touch of the game – on defense – he dropped down low for a help-out block of a Grant Hill shot right at the rim.

   (The Associated Press report insists Josh opened the game “looking pretty rusty,’’ and I’m sorry, but the AP guy must’ve had a much crappier seat than I had.)

    More Inside Josh comes from Howard playing the 3. That’s unconventional as far as this year’s blueprint. But unconventional worked.

    3. JOSH SITS AT THE END: When Howard is fully right, he and Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd provide Dallas with a trio of top-notch perimeter defenders who can also survive in every variation of pick-and-roll defense (a necessity against the P-and-R-mad Suns).

    The fact that Josh wasn’t in the game at the end suggests that he’s not fully right … right?

    “He just showed a lot of guts tonight,’’ Carlisle said. “Because he was tired and you could tell he was a little sore.’’

    Rather oddly, Carlisle opted to stick JJB back in there, apparently hoping to recapture some of that early point-for-point matchup with Nash. Problem was, of course, that point-for-point made some sense when the score starts at 0 to 0 … but makes substantially less sense when Dallas is ahead, say, 89-96 with 1:16 remaining.

    It was at that point – when Steve Nash was raining 3’s – when JJB looked a wee bit overmatched. (DB.com Boards Joke of the Night: JJB should be in the All-Star Weekend 3-Point Shootout – as a guy guarding Dirk, thus guaranteeing Nowitzki a trophy!) 

   But as smooth as we think Josh looked to that point, Carlisle saw an empty tank. So while Howard had scored 16 points (and nine straight) during a 15-minute term that bridged the third and fourth quarters to propel Dallas from a 66-66 tie to an 88-79 lead, his night ended at that 1:16 mark of the final period.

    And without him, the Mavs had to really hustle to hang on.
    An overall observation: In his previous three games, he averaged 12 points per. Now that was “rusty’’ and that was “laboring.’’ This was more like “preservation’’ after having almost doubled that scoring output, all of it coming within such a good game flow … of an NBA game. Mavs bosses Carlisle and Mark Cuban talked about the “rigorous’’ workouts Josh has undergone in this last month trying to get re-ready, which of course causes us to once again pose the question: Wasn’t he undergoing “rigorous’’ workouts in preparation for training camp.

    But that – hopefully – is behind Josh Howard now.

    Now come more decisions – of the unconventional variety. Should Josh play Friday in Miami and then sit out the home game 24 hours later against the Bobcats? Or vice-versa? Or milk himself for as much as he can give in both?

    The Mavericks know two things for sure about Josh, whatever he and they decide.

     First, Carlisle's scouting report on the J-Ho Yo-Yo: "He brings a certain type of force to our game. He is the best cutter that we have. He is a great runner and he is probably our best driver. He is a dead-eye shooter from mid-range and he makes spot-up 3's. So, he is invaluable."

    Second, Dirk's evaluation of what the J-Ho Yo-Yo means to the club: ''Once he gets a good rhythm going, we'll be a really tough team to beat.’’