Another Frank Howard thread

[albanycuse]

I thought he played well despite his turnovers. I like when he looks to drive and dish better than when he looks to shoot because he gets the team involved and it makes it easier for us to score. We have a tough time scoring sometimes so the jump shots that aren’t falling opens up opportunities for our slashers and dunks. Frank was much better today than last game. I don’t recall any mental errors that plague him worth mentioning.

 

[orangeinnyc]

i thought he played very well, had some monster buckets for us that kept us in the game, his shooting wasn't great and had a few bad turnovers but other than that he was a calming presence, had some nice assists and should have had about 3-4 more if our centers could catch the ball, thought he set up teammates nicely and had that huge steal obv at the end...also watching his postgame interview he was great, this quote stuck out o me "i think guys just fought, matt did a great job today, him and marek don't get enough credit and they deserve it" he seems to really have matured and is stepping up as a leader, in this regard i think he has def turned a corner

 

[Dave85]

I thought he played well despite his turnovers. I like when he looks to drive and dish better than when he looks to shoot because he gets the team involved and it makes it easier for us to score. We have a tough time scoring sometimes so the jump shots that aren’t falling opens up opportunities for our slashers and dunks. Frank was much better today than last game. I don’t recall any mental errors that plague him worth mentioning.

He played really well.

 

[pfister1]

Would love to be able to rewatch the game and look at how many of the turnovers were the result of players on the other end of passes not being able to catch and also see how many assists he lost because we couldn't put anything in the basket from within five feet. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like his numbers could have been much better if his teammates helped him a little bit.

 

[billsin01]

I thought he played well despite his turnovers. I like when he looks to drive and dish better than when he looks to shoot because he gets the team involved and it makes it easier for us to score. We have a tough time scoring sometimes so the jump shots that aren’t falling opens up opportunities for our slashers and dunks. Frank was much better today than last game. I don’t recall any mental errors that plague him worth mentioning.

Thought he was our best player on the floor for the full 20 minutes of the first half and was a HUGE key in our even being in that game. Missed some shots, but had four nice assists and three others that guys simply didn't convert (bunnies for Sidibe and Chuckwu as well as one for Doleazj). Had another solid pass to Sidibe that had potential but he fumbled it between his legs. FH also scored 8 points, I believe. So in a half when we had 24 -- he factored into 16 of our 24 and if we make three layups it would have been 22 of our 30.

 

[RF2044]

Frank came up big today, and I like how much he plays with an even keel -- he is playing like a mature, experienced vet who doesn't let mistakes affect him anymore.

But he has to--simply has to--cut down on the unforced turnovers. If he does that, he's going to have a terrific year. But we can't afford to have him hemmorage the ball like he has the past four games -- he is too important to this team's success, and we're too anemic offensively to absorb our PG turning it over 7 or more times a game.

That's my lone criticism. Kid played very well otherwise, and got a "bragging rights" win in front of friends and family.

 

[Dave85]

Would love to be able to rewatch the game and look at how many of the turnovers were the result of players on the other end of passes not being able to catch and also see how many assists he lost because we couldn't put anything in the basket from within five feet. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like his numbers could have been much better if his teammates helped him a little bit.

He's terrific. He's going to get better. He had limited PT last year. He's going to get better. Today's game I thought he played stellar in spite of the 7 turnovers.

 

[br801]

That was the best I've seen Howard finishing at the rim, on a day when Battle and Brissett were getting many of their shots swatted there. He's somehow made himself into a pretty solid offensive threat, and his defense at the top of zone and in the press has been mostly solid. He still makes a few head-scratching plays and decisions each game, but usually offsets them with some clutch play.

 

[Eric15]

There were 3 or 4 times when Georgetown was right on the verge of blowing us out, and Frank made a critical driving layup to keep us within striking distance

 

[OrangeDW]

There were 3 or 4 times when Georgetown was right on the verge of blowing us out, and Frank made a critical driving layup to keep us within striking distance

Yup. Also some nice drives and dishes for dunks at critical times. That steal and hoop to tie it was enormous too. He came through, all in all! Great sign.

 

[kcsu]

Ftankie Clutch!

 

[Alsacs]

Since Frank switched from #1 to #23 I am pretending he is a totally new player to the team.
#1 is gone.
#23 has been a really solid player this year. Outside of UConn he has been our 2nd best player.

 

[Briancuse]

We don't win without him today, but he does need to cut down on the turnovers.

 

[hungrychuck]

Yep, it was mostly good Frank today and we simply don't win that game without his clutch contributions.

Very nice bounceback game at a vital time.

Well done Frank.

 

[Jake]

Frank came up big today, and I like how much he plays with an even keel -- he is playing like a mature, experienced vet who doesn't let mistakes affect him anymore.

But he has to--simply has to--cut down on the unforced turnovers. If he does that, he's going to have a terrific year. But we can't afford to have him hemmorage the ball like he has the past four games -- he is too important to this team's success, and we're too anemic offensively to absorb our PG turning it over 7 or more times a game.

That's my lone criticism. Kid played very well otherwise, and got a "bragging rights" win in front of friends and family.

The issue with Frank is that his turnovers appear to be just sloppy ball handling..,,and are the kind that make you want to jump out a window.

 

[SoBristol]

We don't win without him today, but he does need to cut down on the turnovers.

Sure, but he had 9 assists, out of our total of 15. No other SU player had more than 2 -- our 2G Battle had only 1 (against 3 TOs).

.

 

[SoBristol]

The issue with Frank is that his turnovers appear to be just sloppy ball handling..,,and are the kind that make you want to jump out a window.

And, in response to that, his drives & assists are what wins games. So, you wish you didn't jump.

 

[Jake]

There were 3 or 4 times when Georgetown was right on the verge of blowing us out, and Frank made a critical driving layup to keep us within striking distance

He had 3 blow by layups in about a 2 minute period that kept the ship afloat.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Would love to be able to rewatch the game and look at how many of the turnovers were the result of players on the other end of passes not being able to catch and also see how many assists he lost because we couldn't put anything in the basket from within five feet. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like his numbers could have been much better if his teammates helped him a little bit.

It's been like that his entire time at syracuse.

Does he turn the ball over a lot? Absolutely. Some of them are complete lapses and lack of ball security. Sometimes I have no clue what I'm watching like against uconn. Some passes also are tight windows. But a lot of the passes simply are not caught. I see it at least three times a game.

Frank is going to be up and down all year. It's going to be frustrating. But we have to accept it, as annoying and tough as those negatives are. It's the current situation.

Big plays late from him today. Some bad sequences but again, when you're playing 35-40 minutes as the primary ball handler, everything is magnified.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Westbrook and Harden, ball dominant players, each turned it over 5+ times a game last year.

Not justifying Frank's turnovers because they absolutely need to be reduced, but volume equates to more turnovers, especially by guys who have the ball, obviously. The turnovers we need to avoid are the ones that lead to transition. Forced passes out of bounds, while not ideal, aren't momentum changers. Strips in back courts can be.

 

[albanycuse]

Westbrook and Harden, ball dominant players, each turned it over 5+ times a game last year.

Not justifying Frank's turnovers because they absolutely need to be reduced, but volume equates to more turnovers, especially by guys who have the ball, obviously. The turnovers we need to avoid are the ones that lead to transition. Forced passes out of bounds, while not ideal, aren't momentum changers. Strips in back courts can be.

You can’t compare Howard’s turnovers with NBA Level defenses and talent,

 

[NineOneSeven]

You can’t compare Howard’s turnovers with NBA Level defenses and talent,

I'm not.

 

[Dcuse]

Would love to be able to rewatch the game and look at how many of the turnovers were the result of players on the other end of passes not being able to catch and also see how many assists he lost because we couldn't put anything in the basket from within five feet. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like his numbers could have been much better if his teammates helped him a little bit.

You aren't wrong. Your post came right out of my head. He had at 5 or 6 assists on beautiful passes taken away because our big guys struggled to catch and finish. Probably should've ended up with 14 assists. But his shooting HAS to get better.

 

[DoctorBombay]

The issue with Frank is that his turnovers appear to be just sloppy ball handling..,,and are the kind that make you want to jump out a window.

And screaming, "Why? Why did you do that? So e ffin unnecessary...", on the way down!

 

[SoBeCuse]

The issue with Frank is that his turnovers appear to be just sloppy ball handling..,,and are the kind that make you want to jump out a window.

A lot of posters seem to feel his ballhandling and handle are just fine. He’s a turnover machine but he made some huge plays and had a good game. He seems to be able to handle some really bad stretches and come back strong like he did late in the game. Props to Frank.