Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard is an injury concern once again after a knee injury forced him to exit Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.
Continue for updates.
Howard Questionable to Return in Game 1 with Knee Injury
Tuesday, May 19
After teammate Josh Smith fell into his knee in the first quarter, Howard appeared to be in pain until head coach Kevin McHale removed him in the fourth quarter. It has been deemed a knee bruise, and his return is questionable, according to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated added a brief comment from Kevin McHale after the game regarding the severity of the injury: I don’t know. We’ll find out tomorrow. Howard, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, added that he’s hopeful to play in Game 2.
Howard logged 26 minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing 13 rebounds before exiting.
The center previously missed a 26-game stretch earlier this season because of a knee issue. He had swelling in his right knee, and the Rockets, in a comfortable playoff position, tried to give him as much time as possible to recover to limit any potential setbacks.
Before this season, Howard was one of the league’s most durable players. He hadn’t missed more than 11 games in any of his first 10 years in the league. In fact, in half of those campaigns, he appeared in all 82 regular-season contests.
If the injury forces the center to miss more time, the Rockets will once again have to juggle their frontcourt rotation to fill the void. Smith and Joey Dorsey are among the players who can do that.
We’ll have more updates on Howard as they are made available.