OAKLAND—Dwight Howard may not be the Houston Rockets’ top chef—that title, of course, goes to James Harden—but he’s about as vital an ingredient as you’ll find on their depleted roster.
But the big man who joined Harden in Houston two summers ago with the hopes of playing in games like these left Oracle Arena with the worst kind of taste in his mouth on Tuesday, hobbled by a left-knee bruise that kept him contained through most of the Rockets’ 110-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the Western Conference Finals. Behold your early X-factor in this series: The Rockets aren’t likely beating the Warriors to begin with, but they’re definitely not doing it if Howard isn’t healthy.
Howard finished with just seven points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes (one minute in the fourth quarter), but more relevant is the part he played during Houston’s second-quarter surge. He was on the floor during the entire 27-6 run that put Houston up 16 points, an early statement if ever there was one that this matchup might not be as one-sided as so many believed.
His turnovers were a problem, to be sure—five in all and two coming during the end-of-first-half finish in which the Warriors regained the lead. But still, he controlled the boards and defended like he almost always does, started fast breaks and put the kind of pressure on the Warriors’ big men that is a must if they have a shot at winning this taste test. And now, after a regular season in which Howard missed two months with right-knee trouble and ached to be healthy again, he finds himself unsure of what his body will be able to give him from here.
“Thank God, it was nothing major, but bruises—especially around the knee and all that—it’s very hard to do a lot of the things that I want to do,” Howard said. “It’s very painful. I tried to play it off as much as possible, but I couldn’t give my teammates what I needed to give them. It was disappointing. It was frustrating. But it’s a long series.”
The silver lining for Howard here is that it’s not the knee that gave him so much trouble before. He sounded like someone who will likely play in Game Two on Thursday, but the question of how effective he can be will remain. The Rockets are already expected to be without starters Patrick Beverley (point guard, wrist injury) and forward Donatas Motiejunas (back) for the season and can ill afford to take another hit on the health front like this.
“I don’t think that it’s going to be something that is going to restrict me from playing for the rest of the series,” Howard said. “I’m just going to stay positive, stay focused, and the doctors are going to do their job to make sure that I get out on the floor.””
For all the focus on the Warriors’ record-breaking three-point shooting, their penetration is a pivotal part of their offensive attack as well. They were tied with the Rockets for second in the league during the regular season in points in the paint (45.3), with everyone from Stephen Curry to Klay Thompson to Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa more than capable of beating their defender off of the dribble—all of which makes Howard and his rim-defending ways so key here.
To wit: while Houston allowed 97 points per 100 possessions during the regular season when Howard was on the floor, that number spiked to 102 points allowed per 100 possessions when he was on the bench. His absence was convenient for the Warriors in the series opener, as they went small with their lineups early and often and did so until the end when Howard was out.
“Well, he’s a very good player,” Rockets Coach Kevin McHale said. “I mean, he’s our top rebounder. He puts pressure on the paint. He protects the paint. He’s just a hell of a basketball player, and hopefully he’ll be better.
“I hope Dwight is healthy and we can stay big (with their lineups). I like us when we play big. We didn’t have that option tonight with Dwight out…. But we played over half a season without Dwight. There’s no excuses. We’ve got to play. There’s balls there to be had, there’s rebounds there to be had. There’s baskets there to be had, there’s layups there to be made. We’ve got to do that.”
But make no mistake, Howard won’t be the only one feeling the pain if he’s still hurting in Game Two.
“When [Howard] is out, obviously the floor is going to be more spaced and that’s when you have to attack,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Maybe not for a shot, but (to) get into the paint and move the ball on, that kind of thing. But it’s definitely a different game.