Houston Rockets Miss Dwight Howard in Loss to Lakers
By Dan Schultz
@DSchultz89
Getty Images
The Houston Rockets showed just how much they missed Dwight Howard by dropping a surprising game at home to the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated them 98-92.
Howard was unable to play due to a strained right knee, and this left a big hole in the middle where the Rockets are usually dominant.
Because of this, the Rockets elected to attempt a lot of three pointers, remaining mostly successful as they knocked down 39.5 percent of the nearly 40 threes they attempted. However, their post play was lacking, with starters Tarik Black and Donatas Montiejunas only combining for 12 points. Meanwhile, the Lakers thrived inside, with Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer scoring a combined 28 points, to go along with 23 rebounds as well.
The Rockets have gotten off to a very strong start to this season, but this loss was certainly eye-opening in the sense of how much they truly depend on Howard to be their go-to man. Howard is a tremendous talent who is a load to handle on both sides of the court. But great teams find a way to win games like this even when one of their stars is sitting out. Just ask one of the Rockets’ rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
It is early in the season and there is no reason to panic at all, but the Rockets should definitely use this game as motivation to continue to sharpen their system so as to make sure they can still pull out games when one of their key players has to sit out from time to time.
Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.
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