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Houston’s Dwight Howard to miss a month with knee injury

By Trisity Miller

Jan 25, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) on the bench in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) on the bench in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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ESPN reports Dwight Howard will miss a month because of a knee injury.

In regards to the health of Dwight Howard, there’s good news and bad news — let’s start with the bad.

Because of a lingering knee injury, Marc Stein of ESPN reports the former Defensive Player of the Year and Houston Rockets center in Dwight Howard is expected to miss “at least a month” of action.

This isn’t the first time this knee has caused Howard problems. Early in the season, Howard missed 12 straight games because of injury.

Fortunately for the Rockets, James Harden was playing at a MVP  level, keeping the team afloat and away from a situation similar to that of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that may miss the playoffs because of early season injuries.

The good news?

Because of the upcoming All-Star break, the actual month that Howard will miss is skewed. This past off-season, Adam Silver and company adjusted the All-Star break, making it a week-long to allow players time to rest up for the second stretch of the season — the 2015 All-Star break lasts from February 12 to 19. If returning on the predicted time-table, Howard is essentially missing three weeks of basketball; worst-case scenario, Harden misses “five” weeks because of an extra week of rest thanks to the break.

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Oh, and there’s even better news to follow-up the bad and the good. Though he’s far from the kind of player Dwight Howard is, the Rockets will benefit greatly from having power forward Terrence Jones (averaging 12.2 points, 6.2 rebounds in six games) back in the rotation. In general, the Rockets are an improved team from a talent perspective in comparison to the first time Howard went out with injury, thanks to the addition of Josh Smith (averaging 12.3 points on 47 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists off the bench in Houston). Combine that with stellar play from the usual in MVP-candidate Harden and the improved Donatas Motiejunas and you’ve a solid grouping to lean on.

What matters most for the Rockets and Howard is his health come playoff time. Observers are already skeptical of what the team can do when fully healthy, but without Howard to anchor the defense and draw seldom attention off of James Harden, Houston could be headed for their third straight one-and-done in the playoffs, a sign the organization surely doesn’t want to see as Howard is creeping toward the latter portion of his career.

In 32 games played this season, Howard has averaged 16.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

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