There's lots of room for Gooden, Howard By KEN HORNACK Staff Writer Last update: 03 August 2003 In the opinion of Drew Gooden, there's enough room for him and Juwan Howard in the low post. When the Orlando Magic signed Howard last month, one of the first questions to surface was whether the 30-year-old veteran of nine NBA seasons could co-exist with a player whose rookie season was capped by a 20-point, 17-rebound performance in Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons. But Gooden doesn't believe the two will be stepping on each other's toes, literally or figuratively. "I think we're going to play well together," said Gooden, who saw Howard in Los Angeles earlier this summer before the signing period for free agents began. "I always looked up at Juwan when I was a younger kid growing up. And I'm going to learn a lot from him." Both the 6-foot-9 Howard and the 6-10 Gooden are capable jump shooters, although Gooden's shot tends to be of the fall-away variety. The Memphis Grizzlies had used the fourth overall pick in last year's draft on Gooden and played him out of position at small forward before the Magic acquired Gooden and installed him at power forward. And with the addition of Howard, Gooden anticipates getting more playing time at center, where most teams in the East are undersized. "That was the question over my head last year -- whether I was big enough to play power forward. And I think I proved that," Gooden said. "So hopefully this year, I might be big enough to play center." Gooden grabbed at least 11 rebounds in all but one game of the Magic's first-round playoff series with the Pistons.
damn, i love gooden. he seems to have a good attitude about almost everything. i agree with him though, i think that him and howard will be able to coexist with each other, and gooden is looking at this season as a challenge to prove that he shoulda been picked higher last year, so i think he will come out strong.
this is what it's expected to be pg-lue sg-tmac sf-howard pf-gooden c-declerq which hopefully will turn into .... pg-gaines sg-tmac sf-howard pf-gooden c-hunter/zaza ....because of good play by our young guys, to earn them starting spots. i personally don't like the idea of starting declerq. i think he would be a better addition off of the bench with all of his energy. i would rather have a 7 footer start.
i wouldn't call last season a bust, because he was injured and missed the 1st 2 months of it, and never fully recovered, until the end of the season. he's really only had his rookie year. i think that he will improve, but i think he will still be considered a bust.
