Houston Rockets big man Dwight Howard has been out of action, for a majority of the season. He’s missed the last 19 games for the Rockets and in his absence, Rockets All-Star guard James Harden has elevated his play.
There is some good news though for the fans in Houston. Howard has resumed basketball activity.
Following from ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins.
Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale said before Saturday night’s 114-100 win over the Denver Nuggets that star center Dwight Howard has resumed mild on-court activities.
Howard hasn’t played since Jan. 30 because of edema in his right knee.
“He is starting to do a combination of treadmill and floor stuff, which is a good sign,” McHale said Saturday night. “They’re going slow. They want to make sure that they have a handle on it.”
In early February, Howard underwent a bone marrow aspirate injection and started rehab immediately. The team said Howard would be out four to six weeks and that Howard’s status would be evaluated after four weeks.
McHale has said he is not sure when Howard will return but expects him before the end of the regular season.
Howard should be back before the end of the regular season, which would be ideal for Houston. Get Dwight acclimated to the new up-tempo speed they have been playing with Harden leading the charge for the team.
Houston has been keeping up with the rest of the Western Conference without Howard. In the 19 games Howard’s missed with his knee injury, the Rockets are 13-6. They currently sit third in the West playoff standings with a 43-20 record and they have James Harden playing at an insane level.
Harden is the favorite for NBA MVP and his play as such helps that record look so good but they’ve also gotten strong play recently from big men Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones.
The West is so tough, so the Rockets being a 3 seed doesn’t exactly make them favorites. It would be hard to see the Rockets hanging in a seven-game series with the Spurs, Grizzlies or Warriors without Howard. The positive is, if he’s back before the end of the regular season, he can play some heavy regular season minutes and then they have a chance at making a deep playoff run and keeping up with those teams.
As long as all goes right.
