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Houston Rockets: Should They Trade Dwight Howard?

By Mauricio Putz

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As you may should know by now, in a huge blow to the Houston Rockets‘ struggling defense, center Dwight Howard is out for at least four weeks with his second knee injury of the season.

Sure, the Houston Rockets are 22-10 with Howard on the court. However, during Dwight’s first absence the team went 8-3, and their defense allowed only  90.4 points per game. Which is, by all means, an amazing record and opponent point per game rate. In fact, that would’ve been enough to be the number one defense in the league per opponent points per game allowed.

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Nevertheless, during his first outing, the Rockets squared up only against six teams with a record over .500, this time around, the stretch will be way tougher for them. The following is the Houston Rockets’ schedule for Dwight Howard’s month-long absence (Feb. 4 to March 4):

(Note: Highlighted teams = Teams > .500)

It’s not looking great for the Rockets, is it?

Well, now that you’ve seen how exactly do the Rockets fare without their All-Star center, don’t you think they should trade him?

With the trade deadline only 14 days away, it’s only fair for the Houston Rockets to seriously consider getting rid of Dwight Howard in an effort to try and reinforce their lacking offense. Of course, they’d be letting go the most devastating/imposing physical presence in the league, but they’ve done a pretty decent job with him on the sidelines.

The second half of the season is coming, and with it the most important stretch of the year. The Houston Rockets are in dire need for any kind of improvement on offense as they try to continue their success within the bloodbath known as the Western Conference.

Sure, the Phoenix Suns’ spot seems to be the only seed in danger as the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder go for it, nevertheless, the third-place Rockets are only two games away from being the sixth-seed in the Western Conference facing either the almighty Memphis Grizzlies or the Portland Trail Blazers.

As a result, it is only natural for the Rockets to try and figure out a future without an injury-prone center as Howard.

Although it is highly unlikely for the Houston Rockets to hold the fort without Dwight Howard, even if it has been done before, they do have a one-in-a-million shot for it to really happen. As of right now, the Houston Rockets are not exactly excelling at an specific area as they should.

A trade for Howard should provide the Houston Rockets with a much-needed bump on offense that could further reinforce their chances at an NBA title.

Either way, if they don’t get rid of Dwight Howard right now, he’ll eventually dump them once his player option kicks-in after the 2015-16 season. Don’t you see he’s done it before?

Your move, Houston Rockets.

Next: Rockets: Dwight Howard is Out... Again

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