Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US Presswire
Despite a cautious optimism that followed Dwight Howard after the trade in which he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers, it seems as though he will not be ready by the start of pre-season games and he may miss some time in the regular season. While the Lakers wait for Howard to heal from his injury, Pau Gasol will move to the center position and Jordan Hill will man the Power Forward position for the mean time.
This is actually not that big of a deal. The Lakers will be fine while Howard heals up. They may not be as good in the beginning obviously, but as soon as Howard is a hundred percent, they will have no problems coming back and finishing the year strong.
What troubles me though is head coach Mike Brown doesn’t seem the type to handle all these egos. He seems like a lame duck sometimes and he looks as though he doesn’t know what he’s doing. When it’s time to incorporate Howard to the mix, how will he handle a team with four All-Stars? He looks like a coach who doesn’t have the moxie to stand up to his players and he may just pander to his superstars. Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash are alpha dogs and chemistry could be a problem if it’s not resolved before Howard returns from his injury.
There is still no real time frame for when Howard will be ready to suit up for the Lakers. I assume that it will be sooner rather than later though. He began his workouts with the Lakers’ training camp this week. Howard is the type of player who immediately makes an impact once he steps on the court. When he is ready for his return, he will be able to really help the Lakers make their inevitable push back to the NBA Finals. As of now though, the Lakers hopeful will patiently wait for Howard’s exciting debut with the club.
