Houston Rockets: Houston, We’ve Got A Problem

April 11 marked the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. During said mission, an oxygen tank exploded unexpectedly and prompted the astronauts to use the moon’s gravity as a slingshot as their last resort to try and get home safely.

Obviously, due to the explosion, the astronauts were unable to land on the moon for what would’ve been the third time in history and the mission was deemed somewhat of a failure.

Would you still consider the mission a complete failure if the Astronauts were unable to land on the moon but returned home safely? Not exactly.

Well, that’s the case for the Houston Rockets.

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On Tuesday, the Houston Rockets dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors. Of course, losing a road game to a team that lost only twice at home throughout an entire 82-game span is no big deal, however, defensive centerpiece Dwight Howard going down with a left knee injury after playing only 26 minutes is.

During the loss the Houston Rockets were able to trade punches with the best team in the league. In the second quarter, the Houston Rockets led by as much as 16 points just before the Warriors went on a huge 21-4 run to close the half with a three point lead at the break. Even without Howard, the Rockets kept coming back at every single Warriors lead and they trailed by only two points with 16 seconds left in the game.

They were in it until the very end without their defensive centerpiece.

Dwight battled injuries throughout the whole season, but he came back stronger than ever once the playoffs got going. He was the most important player for the Houston Rockets for the first two rounds of the playoffs. No small feature for a player that missed 41 games.

But even though the team can be successful without Howard, there are still some concerns regarding his most recent sprain:

1. Knee injuries are a recurring issue for Howard. I know I’ve been beating the same dead horse for the entire season, but if he starts missing playoff games the Houston Rockets’ #Pursuit will come to an end sooner than expected.

2. Defensively, Howard’s impact was not exactly great. With Howard on the court, the Rockets held the Warriors to 47.9-percent from the field. In the second half, which Howard missed entirely, the Warriors shot 45.5-percent from the field.

3. On offense, losing Howard means that the Rockets will lose 16.4 points and a playoff-leading 13.8 rebounds per game.

But they’re losing so much more. It is impossible not to double-down on Howard inside the paint. Therefore, having him below the rim draws another defender and opens up a spot for the Houston Rockets’ shooters on the floor.

Surrounding Howard with shooters such as James Harden, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Trevor Ariza is usually a proven and rather successful offensive scheme.*

Like it or not, Dwight Howard is the foundation of the Houston Rockets’ offensive scheme.

Just like the Apollo 13, the Rockets were unable to land on the moon and steal Game 1 on the road. That won’t be held against them, as Oracle Arena is a tough place to steal a win. And even though they got some great things to build upon – great offense down the stretch – they lost Dwight Howard, or at least some of his health, in the process.

In the words of Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell — Houston, We’ve Got A Problem.

* See 2009 Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.

Next: Rockets: I Never Doubted You!

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