Dwight Howard (Knee) Questionable Saturday vs. Mavericks

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (knee) is questionable for Saturday’s matchup with rivals in the Mavericks.

Because of a knee injury, Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard is questionable for Saturday’s matchup against the in-state rival Dallas Mavericks.

According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Howard’s knee injury occurred in a blowout loss to the Western Conference-leading Memphis Grizzlies:

"Howard was limping after the Rockets loss in Memphis on Monday. He joked that night that he would soon need a cane and downplayed the injury, calling it the usual “post-game pain.” The Rockets did not list him at all in the subsequent injury reports."

Wednesday night, Howard missed his second game of the season as his Rockets fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-92.

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If Howard is unable to go, a huge puzzle piece will be missing when the Rockets welcome the Mavericks to the Toyota Arena. While these two teams have always been rivals, Chandler Parsons leaving the Rockets for the Dallas Mavericks — and Daryl Morey refusing to match the max deal offered to Parsons — has added fire to this flame — there was a lot of back-and-forth between Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey this summer.

In Dwight’s absence, Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale looked to rookie big Tarik Black to start in his place, mainly for defensive purposes. In two starts, Black is averaging 3.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.]

This season, Dwight Howard is averaging 18.8 points (his highest output since 2011-12), 11.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game.

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