Houston Rockets: Dwight Howard’s Return is Welcome
As the NBA season roars on, few teams have been as banged up as the Houston Rockets. There has been a plethora of injuries that have done their part to hobble one of the NBA’s best teams, though you wouldn’t really notice it. The fact is, Houston has been absolutely rolling despite missing some key players for large periods of time.
It’s been an extremely impressive run out of a team that could have easily folded under so many injuries to key players. One of those injured players was Dwight Howard. It’s time to put the league on notice: the Houston Rockets were 18-5 with Howard only playing in 11 of those games. Guess what, Western Conference? Dwight Howard is back.
There are very few players who have the impact that Dwight Howard has on the court. His presence is enough to alter shots as players look to release their shots in a higher arc to avoid having their shot swatted into the 10th row. Offensively, Howard will help Houston during those times where the team isn’t sure of where to go with the ball.
There are times, mostly when James Harden is on the bench, that the team isn’t finding the best possible shot. Howard should help a bit with that and Houston can be even better than they are now. That sounds absolutely ridiculous because we have to remember that Houston is still 18-5 without one half of their star players.
Think about this: Houston is ranked third in points per game allowed with 95.3 points allowed. This is without Howard and his defensive dominance. Now picture that same defense, but with a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner.
This could spell dominance from Houston in the loaded Western Conference. Houston’s man-to-man defense has gelled nicely with the addition of Trevor Ariza and letting go of Jeremy Lin and replacing him with the duo of Patrick Beverley/Isaiah Canaan. Adding Dwight Howard into the mix will help add an element to the defense that hasn’t been as strong and that’s their help defense.
The Rockets are honestly a lot better than I gave them credit for after this offseason. There hasn’t been a single player who hasn’t been productive for Houston and it has shown as they have exploded out of the gates to start the year. The team’s defense has been incredible and has carried their offense, which has been admittedly a bit stagnant without Terrence Jones or Howard out there. That will definitely change as Howard brings a lot of fire power with him. There is a reason why Howard is considered one of (if not THE) best centers in the NBA.
Dwight Howard is not a perfect player. To be quite honest, Howard has quite a few flaws to his game, namely his free throw shooting. He isn’t as good a player as he could be. But with that said, he is still a major impact player who will make a major difference for Houston down the stretch and into the playoffs. It’s safe to say that Dwight Howard is a welcome addition to a team that is already on fire.
Watch out, Western Conference. You have been put on notice.