Kleeman's Jump Hook: Portland's Juwan Howard Is NBA's Biggest Surprise

When The Oregonian first reported the Portland Trail Blazers would audition Juwan Howard to serve as a backup to LaMarcus Aldridge, I admit I chuckled a bit.

You mean, the 14-year veteran who averaged four points and a rebound for the Denver Nuggets and Charlotte Bobcats in 42 games last year? That Juwan Howard?

GM Kevin Pritchard was serious then. Now, the joke is on me and everyone else who thought the starter-turned journeyman's time had passed.

No one could have predicted the absurd rash of injuries that have befallen the crippled Blazers.

"Rise with us?" The team's new slogan should be, "Just call the ambulance."

In a season where Nate McMillan hoped his squad would build on a 54-win campaign and a first-round exit, taking many foes to school, he and most of his roster have instead been taken to the hospital.

The Blazers are so banged up that Pritchard signed two players through a hardship exemption, just so his coach could activate more than eight healthy bodies.

Portland reached the point of catastrophe long ago and left it in the dust.

Ailments have sidelined everyone from the owner to both centers. This graphic, created before Joel Pryzbilla underwent season-ending surgery, explains the team's woes better than I can.

The injury descriptions range from a torn patella tendon to cancer to back spasms to pneumonia.

Greg Oden, Pryzbilla, Rudy Fernandez, Jeff Pendergraph, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Steve Blake, Patrick Mills, McMillan, and Assistant Coach Maurice Lucas have all missed time this season.

How do you know when a roster is cursed? The coach hobbling around the sidelines on crutches offers a tell-tale sign, as does Owner Paul Allen's bout with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer.

Enter Howard, a player who has surprised me more than Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, and Zach Randolph.

In his last three outings, he's scored 13, 16, and 12. The Blazers dropped two of those affairs, at home against the Memphis Grizzlies and on the road against the L.A. Clippers.

Still, that kind of production from a 15-year-pro is impressive. That a 36-year-old who played sparingly last year is giving the Blazers anything merits a toast.

He started at center in a road game against the San Antonio Spurs and helped rookie Pendergraph cancel out Tim Duncan's production. This, a night after he played a meaningful role in a road victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Pryzbilla's season ended in that improbable win over the Mavs. Instead of allowing misery and self-pity consume the team, Howard rose to the occasion, the same way he did years ago with Yao Ming-less Houston Rockets.

His averages of five points and three rebounds will continue to rise, the points number perhaps to double figures, if he continues to play big minutes.

He helped his squad win matchups against Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki in their respective houses and even threw down a monster dunk over Chris Kaman earlier this week.

Had he played more than five minutes game last year, his sudden production might have been expected.

Instead, he tops Evans, Jennings, and others on my list of early season surprises.

Evans and Jennings, two top ten draft picks, were expected to be great. Randolph, though often characterized as a black hole, has always boasted the talent to do what he's doing in Memphis.

Howard may not keep this up, and he may run out of gas before his one-year contract expires.

Nothing can damper his several-week resurgence, a span in which he has aided a team looking to stay afloat in West playoff race.

Even with two consecutive losses and half of the roster shelved, the Blazers are still 22-15?

Yes, the joke is on me.