Knee sprain puts Howard’s status tonight in doubt
Injury-filled year prepares Rockets for playing on without center
OAKLAND, Calif. — As Rockets center Dwight Howard walked slowly and carefully to a seat on the Oracle Arena baseline — his left knee aching since Josh Smith crashed into it in Tuesday’s first quarter — teammates went through another practice without him.
The team spent much of the season this way, usually with two or three starters out at a time and with Howard missing half the regular-season games.
Fortitude has developed into a strength as certain as James Harden taking the ball to the rim or Howard grabbing rebounds off it, but it will be tested now more than ever with Golden State holding a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals and Howard likely to be out or diminished by a sprained knee.
By Wednesday, after nearly seven months of this, the Rockets had reached the
point that they looked at an injury-filled season as preparation for dealing with another.
“Throughout the year, we’ve been through pretty much everything,” said forward Trevor Ariza, the only player to have played in every Rockets game. “Injuries. Players in and out of the lineup all the time. We just have to continue to find ways to win. We have responded well when we lose a player.”
Howard, who missed 41 regular-season games, spent the day having an MRI and various forms of treatment, with more planned leading up to Thursday night’s Game 2. He was listed as questionable and said he could not play if the pain doesn’t ease, but he had “no doubt” he’ll return at some point in the series.
“I would have to sit,” Howard said of his chances to play if he feels the same Thursday. “I have to listen to my body. Nobody can understand an injury but the person that is injured. It’s going to be how I feel. If I feel I can tolerate it and go out and play with it, then I will. But my career is the most important thing. I want to do what I can to help this team, but I cannot help the team if I’m hurt.” Part of the routine
His teammates, spoke as if they did not expect Howard to be back in the middle Thursday. That might not be as much an indication of his prognosis as their routine of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, but it rekindled the theme of their season — forging ahead — which began in the second game and has continued since.
Point guard Pat Beverley, who would be matched up with MVP Stephen Curry, and forward Donatas Motiejunas, who had been a key to the Rockets’ success without Howard, are out for the season. But the Rockets went into the series with a hope Howard could be the force inside that he could not be in January in their last regular-season matchup with the Warriors, soon before he was shut down for more than two months.
“We need Dwight,” forward Corey Brewer said. “We need him big-time. But we’re a team. If he can’t play, we have to all pick it up.
“We’re preparing to win. We hope he plays, but if he doesn’t play, we’ve played without him all year, and we’ve just got to be ready to go.”
The Rockets’ defense in the postseason has fallen off from its regular-season levels, but it has crashed with Howard out. The Rockets have allowed 104.7 points per 100 possessions with Howard on the court and 111.7 with Howard on the bench. ‘No excuses’
The Warriors scored four points in the paint in the 7½ minutes of Game 1 before Howard was hurt. They scored 46 the rest of the game, including 16 in the fourth quarter, when Howard was limited to just 51 seconds.
“There’s no excuses,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said without speculating about whether Howard will play. “We’re going to have to play harder. We’re going to have to play tougher. We’re going to have to make plays down the stretch.”
The Rockets went 29-12 in games Howard played this season and 27-14 without him. But his value has been clear in the postseason as he finally seemed back to full strength. The long road back could make the latest setback more disheartening, but Howard said he would not allow himself to think that way.
“It was just a freak incident that happened, and I’m not going to allow this to change my energy or my mood toward our goal,” Howard said. “As a team, we’ve come a long way. And on a personal note, I’ve come a long way, and I won’t allow this to defeat me.”
The Rockets as a whole took the same position. By now, that could be habit. But it also will be tougher than ever to persevere.
“You can’t worry about whether he will play or not,” Ariza said. “Of course he’s a big part of what we’re doing and a big part of our team. But if he can’t go, we can’t use that as an excuse not to play or try to win the game.”