Josh Howard took it easy and shot free throws by the dozen Monday.
You could almost see the energy levels return to his body.
After all, nobody leaves it on the court quite like the Mavs' second-year forward.
In Sunday's Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, he scored a postseason career-high 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and helped force Suns point guard Steve Nash into committing nine turnovers despite his 48 points.
Aside from giving the Mavs scoring, rebounding, energy and defense, Howard brings a heavy dose of attitude into each game.
Big attitude.
It's an almost brazen demeanor that he uses at both ends of the floor, challenging anything in his way, even bad officiating calls. He imposes his will on opposing players.
"That's me, every game," Howard said. "I bring my whole body and mind into it. It's what I enjoy. It's what I do."
At Wake Forest, Howard was the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year -- a unanimous selection -- as the Demon Deacons ran their offense through him.
In the NBA, he gets his shots. But what he does most is a lot of grunt work.
It's a role that he accepts willingly.
"It's not hard," Howard said. "I mean, if I don't do that ... we don't win." Some heavy lifting In an era of spoiled athletes and inflated egos, Howard is something of an anomaly.
He's a 6-foot-7, 207-pound rebounding machine with a mouthful of braces.
He's a lean warrior on the perimeter and a heavy banger underneath.
He's a surgeon in sneakers who isn't afraid to do the heavy lifting.
"That's my job," Howard said.
It's this eager acceptance that impresses Mavs swingman Jerry Stackhouse, who calls Howard a "utility guy with skills."
Said Stackhouse: "Most utility guys aren't skilled. They're just good on defense ... or just assist guys. But Josh can do a lot of things on the floor, especially with his energy on offensive rebounds."
In the first round, Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy tried to count Howard's multiple moves, leaps and bounds to the offensive glass.
"He's a human pogo stick," Van Gundy said.
"And guys in this league," Stackhouse said, "don't want to deal with that."
After Game 4 on Sunday night, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni singled out Howard as "the one who killed us with his rebounds and everything else," in a 119-109 loss to Dallas. The series, now 2-2, shifts to Phoenix on Wednesday night.
D'Antoni's "everything else" included Howard's third double-double of the playoffs.
In Game 7 of Round 1, he scored 21 points against the Rockets. Not bad for a grinder. Gaining in experience Dirk Nowitzki has followed Howard's evolution as a player in these playoffs, as well as his second NBA season overall.
"What sophomore jinx?"
The more playoff games for the Mavs, the better Howard seems to play in them.
"He's our energizer out there," Nowitzki said. "He's all over the place. He's probably our best defender. He's been aggressive around the boards and keeps a lot of balls alive for us. He's worked on his shot a lot. He's got that in-between game now."
The Mavs can never get too many scoring chances in this series. It's impossible, if they hope to keep pace with the NBA's No. 1 offense.
RSS