Magic: A welcome worry By Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted October 4, 2003 LAKE BUENA VISTA -- The Orlando Magic should have stopped the scrimmage to commemorate the historic occasion. Tracy McGrady finally had reason to look into the post and passed the ball to Juwan Howard. "Now go to work!" bellowed McGrady. Amazingly enough, the ball did not come back out to T-Mac. McGrady watched. Howard worked. Howard scored. And Elvis appeared wearing Mickey Mouse ears. No, it really did happen. McGrady not only has found a big teammate who can score without instruction or prompting, but he now has two sizable options. Who said it's a small world? Even McGrady has to do a double-take when he sees Howard, 6-9, 260 pounds, and Drew Gooden, 6-10, 242, calling for the ball with no intention of returning it. One of the biggest questions in camp has been how two power forwards -- the odd couple that is the stately Howard and the free-spirited Gooden -- can exist playing on the same floor. Even McGrady is curious, saying, "I wonder how Doc [Coach Rivers] is going to make that work." Surely, they must be kidding. The Magic have been waiting since the days of Shaquille O'Neal and Horace Grant to build a semblance of a front line, and now there's concern whether Howard and Gooden can play together? Please. Bring on the angst. It's a welcome worry. Magic fans at last have big men worthy of creating a big-man controversy, such as it is. "Put it like this: I'm not worried at all. It's going to work out because I played with a lot of great players who played the same position I do," said Howard, who played with Chris Webber in Washington and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. "I'm a player. You put me on the court and you don't have to say, 'Hey, Juwan, you're just a small forward, you're just a power forward.' One thing about me, I'm a versatile player, and I feel that's one of the things that Drew has in his game." Howard, who has averaged 17.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in his nine-year career, has played all three front-court positions. He likely will play center if Gordan Giricek plays small forward or will be the small forward if the Magic use Andrew DeClercq, Steven Hunter or Zaza Pachulia at center. "I think Juwan is pretty much used to being the guy thrown into different spots," Rivers said, "But amazingly, he keeps coming up with great numbers somehow." Gooden, who averaged 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Magic after arriving in a midseason trade from Memphis, struggled at the small forward spot when he was with the Grizzlies. He will stay in the power-forward slot or play center at times. "We're kind of mirror images," Gooden said of Howard. "It will be tough to stop both of us." How Rivers mixes and matches his two power forwards will often depend on the opponent. He has options he never had before. Rivers knows Howard and Gooden can prosper offensively, causing matchup problems. "They were great," Rivers said after seeing them play together for the first time. "They got in each other's way a couple of times. But there were some minutes where you could see how good we could be offensively." The question is whether the combination of Howard and Gooden -- call 'em HowGood -- can hold their ground defensively against quicker, smaller players or bigger centers. No matter. Howard's position on playing the same position as Gooden is clear: "It will work out great." If it does, then the Magic can see HowGood they can be.
