Rockets’ Dwight Howard (left knee sprain) will play in Game 2 vs. Warriors
Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard will play in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors, as reported by Yahoo Sports NBA writer Marc J. Spears and subsequently confirmed by the Rockets. He had been listed as questionable after sustaining a sprained left knee during the Warriors’ 110-106 win in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Howard suffered the injury just past the midway point of the first quarter of Game 1 after a scary collision with teammate Josh Smith while pursuing a rebound:
Howard returned shortly thereafter, but clearly appeared to be less than 100 percent as the game progressed, finishing with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, 13 rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and five turnovers in 26 minutes of play. He didn’t score in the second half, his movements appeared stiff and labored, and he clearly didn’t have the same level of explosion off the sore knee that he’d showcased during the Rockets’ series victories over the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Howard went through pregame warmups to test the sprained knee about an hour prior to tipoff, running sprints, stretching and doing some side-to-side movement. Evidently, the Rockets’ medical staff liked what they saw enough to give him the go-ahead.
The Rockets will certainly be glad to have their defensive centerpiece back in the lineup. But even after two days of rest and treatment on the ailing knee, one would suspect Howard might still be at least somewhat limited in terms of his lateral movement and explosiveness.
That could prove problematic against a Warriors team that distorts defenses with ball and player movement, looks for opportunities to attack the basket and can draw opposing bigs away from the paint with floor-spacing shooting, especially in small-ball lineups that feature Draymond Green at center. Even with Howard back, coach Kevin McHale could find himself forced to lean more heavily on his own brand of small-ball, with power forward Smith manning the middle as an undersized center, and relying to a far greater degree than anyone expected on rookie reserve Clint Capela, who’s been a pleasant surprise for the Rockets during their playoff run.
As our Kelly Dwyer noted in his look ahead to Game 2, if Howard’s looking a step slow in screen-setting, seems unable to outduel the likes of Green and Andrew Bogut for rebounds and can’t quite elevate to finish above the rim on the pick-and-roll or on those high-low lobs that terrorized Dallas, his presence could wind up doing the Rockets more harm than good. If he’s able to approximate the at-times game-changing play he turned in during Rounds 1 and 2, however, he could give Houston the boost it needs to pull off the tremendously tough task of scoring a split against the league-best Warriors in the not-so-friendly confines of Oracle Arena.
– – – – – – –
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
