Dwight Howard looking at a 6 to 8 week time frame (UPDATED w/ Video)

Dwight just needs to stay out until healthy. The Dwight Howard that we saw in his return simply wasn't very good. While injured Dwight would still help us, we aren't going anywhere in the postseason with him playing that way. With the west the way it is, getting a top seed means nothing.

We just have to hope he can get healthy in time for the postseason, if he can't we're screwed and will have to deal with it in the offseason somehow.

 

I don't understand why no one has asked how this originated and if he did strain his knee in Nov, or if that was the bone bruise all along. He originally got kneed in the right knee on opening night and played the rest of the game, despite immediate swelling. He also played the next night...I guess reporters are afraid to ask if this was mismanaged from the start. It certainly looks that way.

And now they're prepared to let him push it, as soon as the pain is gone....not sure how that makes sense, if this has been bothering him all season.

PR has been pretty poor with this injury, from the bone on bone comment to barely even mentioning he has no structural damage last week.

 

You really are the Woj of Clutchfans. Always the quickest with the news. And always the most dramatic with the opinions. I have yet to read a single post of yours that's non-news related that isn't something about how the sky is falling.

 

We've been down this road before with other players. Dwight is damaged goods. Trade him while he still has some value. He's an "asset" after all, isn't he Maury?

Send him to Denver along with Shved, TJones, & Jason Terry for Lawson, McGee, Wilson Chandler & Kenneth Faried. Let's salvage something out of this situation and make this team legitimately 10 deep before Harden gets run into the ground.

 

I would not be surprised if Dwight has no value at all until the deadline of the season he becomes a 20 million dollar expiring.

 

my guess is he needs surgery but DM wants to maintain leverage through the trade deadline when trying to find a center to fill in for dwight.

the price would be much higher for us if they knew we needed the guy to be a starter vs "dwights coming back. we don't really need this guy except for as an injurance policy."

after a center is acquired at the deadline... "turns out dwight needs micro-franture surgery. he'll be back in a year." he'll come back for next year's playoff race. then going into his last season the rockets offer a low ball extension (justified on their part due to injuries, but also to make it public that the two sides can't agree on an extension). dwight of course will want the max. the rockets would look bad to trade him and would hurt their chances to land another max player like him, but if they can't agree on an extension, a trade becomes acceptable. it will play out like tmac, traded as an expiring contract for young players and picks.

 

Dmo=20 points
Tjones=10 boards

There you have it.

 

JR in medical threads (scratch that, anywhere) is gold.

Paging JR more

 

This screams of MOAR FLEXIBILITY eh Murray?

 

Its not rainbows and sunshine. A man has an injury that is not major at this time. The reason why the timetable is variable is because he can come back at anytime he feels the knee is ready to go. I actually partake in situations like this everyday as a sports physical therapist for mainly college and HS athletes.There are times when an injury has a minimum time frame do to soft tissue or bone healing. Then there times when pain tolerance/performance are what make the decision.

Everybody wants athletes to play with pain, then criticize them when they do and don't play up to their standards ie Dwight in LA with the back and this year with the knee. Dwight can play right now but he would be a shell of himself. He suffered no new injury he just didn't feel like himself. The Rockets and Dwight decided they would rather have a 95-100% Dwight for the playoffs instead of the 65-70% he has been playing at so that is why he is sitting. If he doesn't sprain his ankle maybe he still is playing. Seeding doesn't matter as much in the West as a healthy team and our depth has improved up front with Jones coming back. So you can make all the jokes you want but until you understand the rehab and return to sport process your opinion doesn't matter. Let the medical people do what they have been trained to do and you do whatever it is you were trained to do. Good day.

 

yao ming's injury wasn't major at least what they told us. remember it was an "unknown gm" from another team that gave out the scoop on yao before any team official did. knees for an athlete who relies everything on explosion are a big deal. If he had an arsenal of shots, it would be a little different.

 

If the team doctor and Dwight are not worried about it then why are you? They each have more riding on this than you or I do. And what the hell do T-Mac or Yao have to do with Dwight? Why do some of yall think one person's health has anything to do with the next person's health? From a medical perspective each patient has to be dealt with and evaluated on their own given circumstances. The medical staff will deal with Dwight based on Dwight, not T-Mac, Yao, or anybody else.

 

But we really, really want to panic.

Give us a reason, any reason, to jump off the ledge and we'll do it immediately.

 

I'm in the camp of believers that feel the organization and their doctors are trying to put as much positive spin on Dwight's condition as possible. Most realist will look at this situation and realize we can't depend on Dwight like we thought we could when he first came here. That ship has sailed. It's not a pleasant reality at this point but Dwight is not a certainty and more of a question mark. Again, I hope the organization is looking at a legit plan B at this point beyond Dwight.

 

Too bad Hakeem can't take a dip into the Lazarus Pit and come out 20 years younger.

A man can dream....

 

I made a post in the other Dwight injury thread explaining why what you said is 100% false. Read it please and reply to this. But know this. Team doctors are independent practitioners and do not work for and are not paid by the team. I go into more detail in that post. The organization has no reason to put a positive spin on it. he is their player and they have to pay him. Why would they not want the most accurate data on their employee. This line of thinking is silly. If the team was really concerned about Dwight you wouldn't hear a peep out of them.

 

Yes I already read your now legendary post. And my opinion is still the same. Sports is big business and even though it's unethical for health care professionals to not be honest or put positive spin on things, lets not be naive here. Money, power, and prestige of being in a certain position can make people do some unethical things. I'm just being a realist here. I'm glad you and others on here have the utmost confidence and belief in the team's physician. I don't have to have that same confidence and belief however and choose not to. So we can agree to disagree.

 

Does anyone else think that Howard is likely "done?" I wonder if the Rockets have "insurance" on his contract. This is Yao Ming all over again.

 

This is a minor injury. He could play with it now. Just not up to his capabilities. What part of that do you not understand? Who cares what anybody thinks besides the medical staff and the organization. You amateur healthcare professionals crack me up. Does anyone tell you how to do your job or just assume that you do your job wrong and they have all the answers with zero training? Because that is how you naysayers are treating people who have spent 7 years or more in school to do this stuff like myself. Just say you don't what's going on and sit back and watch the show. That you compare this injury to Yao is comical. Ignorance at it's finest.

 

To me, all this injury does is make me ponder a few things.

1) Does Howard opt out of his contract after next season? Or does he stay in for another year?

2) If he opts out or when his contract ends, even if he is "healthy at the time", how do the Rockets approach that situation? And remember Howard has Dan Fegan as an agent.

While Morey recognizes what Howard brings to the team defensively, I don't see Morey handicapping the team's cap with a huge Howard contract.

Again, this went from Howard+Harden Houston Rockets....to Harden's Houston Rockets.