Before last night, Dwight Howard had yet to suit up in a Rockets uniform during preseason action. He only played 16 minutes in the first half during his first time out against the Warriors Sunday night, but an athletic dunk in the pregame layup-line, and a silky spin move and slam on Ognjen Kuzmic during the game, should make Rockets fans breathe easy after questions about his health have kept him out of preseason action since training camps opened.
Howard poured in 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting (1-for-3 from the stripe), grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and nabbed a steal in just 16 minutes of work. He also demoralized Bosnian second-round pick Kuzmic with this lightening quick spin move on the left block for the towering slam.
“I just had to get going a little bit, get the feeling of the game,” said Howard after the game. “Once that happened, everything was pretty cool. My main thing was just getting out there, getting up and down the floor, making sure I get my wind up under me to make sure I run, get deep post position. And on the defensive end, be very active.”
As Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle prefaced in his write-up on Howard following the 90-83 Rockets win, any doubts about Dwight’s health were quickly put to rest when he unleashed a towering windmill jam during an impromptu dunk session between Nick Johnson and Isaiah Canaan in the pregame layup-line.
“I had a really good summer, worked extremely hard,” Howard told Feigen after that game. “Not that I hadn’t before, but this was a really good summer for me physically and spiritually. We’re looking forward to having a great year. Can’t wait to get started. I think this is going to be personally a really good season. As a team, I think we have an opportunity to do something nobody thinks we can do besides the city of Houston.”
Count us among those people who don’t think the Rockets — after losing Chandler Parsons and picking up Trevor Ariza this summer — stand much of a chance in a locked and loaded Western Conference. But if Dwight is fully healthy and can return to the form that made him a perennial DPOY contender and the top center in the Association, then we’re not the only ones who could be wrong about Houston’s chances in the spring.
Will we see the Howard of old for the Rockets this season?
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