NBA Top 50: Josh Howard (No. 48)

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

Few players have seen their stocks fall as precipitously as Josh Howard over the past year. (His teammate, Jason Kidd, is the top contender in this category.) Part of Howard's slide came from on-court production: Josh went into a massive funk over the second half of 2007-08, a funk which extended into the postseason and helped derail Dallas's title hopes quite early.

Perhaps a larger character in Howard's perceived slide has been his off-court junk: public admissions he smokes weed in the offseason, holding a birthday bash during the playoffs and inviting teammates even though Avery Johnson put the preemptive strike on it, being completely unrepentant when cited for drag-racing in your hometown. We who have defended Howard have received precious little support from Howard himself over the past year. But has he faltered completely?

He's still an excellent player, and is about a year removed from being one of the best in the league. It's hard to remember now, through all the dust ... but Howard started 2007-08 in phenomenal form. Through January, Howard had averaged 20 points on efficient shooting, with the best rebounding numbers of his career. He served as a relentless attacker, a pit bull to augment the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki-led attack. Howard's defense remained excellent: an uber-strong yoker and disruptor, keeping his opponents on their toes and forcing mistakes by sheer dedication and intimidation.

Something fell apart. He had deaths in the family and recurring back spasms. He ended the season with a whimper. In the playoffs, against New Orleans, he shot only below 30% and scored only 12 points per game ... being guarded in large part by Peja Stojakovic.

So we can look at the Josh Howard of February 2008 through the playoffs, or we can look at the Josh Howard of 2003-07. I'm willing to make the leap required to assume the end of last season was a bad, long fluke, caused in part by extraneous issues unlikely to repeat themselves. Which means ... we get the old Josh Howard back.

What is the old Josh Howard? A strong mid-range player, an elite rebounder for his position, an unassailable defender of twos, threes and some fours. A guy who doesn't turn the ball over. A player who, in theory, should benefit from the free-wheeling style of Jason Kidd. A player who, in practice, thrives in the sort of slow-down offense Avery Johnson provided and Rick Carlisle could very well continue. A wing who can take any opponent off the dribble, and keep most opponents from driving past him.

The vaunted "two-way player" myth is a canard, a trait that looks good on paper but serves to obfuscate the need for defense from every player on the court. Howard, by being such an efficient defender as well as an able offensive weapon, really does bring the idea to life, though. Because of his defense, he can at times be the best player on the court. His energy and passion on the court make him the sort of player who should matter in every single possession, in a positive way. It's unclear whether he'll get past whatever blocked his path late last season. If so, Dallas should surprise and be a very good team again.