The Lakers acquired the best center in the NBA this offseason, but they don’t know when he’ll be able to take the court. Dwight Howard underwent back surgery on his lower disc in April and was still recovering from the injury when the new season began. Los Angeles traded for Howard, knowing that he wasn’t ready to play. Now, it appears nobody knows when he will be good to go as he went through another intensive surgery last night.
Teammates say that Kobe Bryant and Howard had an altercation during practice, and a rough basketball play by the rim resulted in an awkward landing for Howard. More details to come in a press conference following tonight’s game.
According to Howard, there is no timetable for his return. He wants to make sure that he is completely healthy before coming back. While it’s unknown exactly when Howard will be 100 percent, it likely won’t be anytime soon. He’ll miss the next 4-5 months of the season, and may be ready for L.A.’s playoff debut should they have a qualifying record. Los Angeles is set to play their first playoff game on April 17.
In August, Howard had discussed how he is not allowed to run, and has to sit. After surgery, Howard was directed to wait out the injury as anything high-impact, such running and jumping, would have harmful effects on his back in the first few months following a discectomy, which would help avoid having a re-herniation. Unfortunately, he opted to return early and risked a reoccurence of the injury.
Los Angeles has become the favorite to win the Western Conference after trading for Howard and Steve Nash. If L.A. doesn’t have Howard for an extended period of time, they could struggle. The Lakers would be much weaker in the frontcourt without Howard or Andrew Bynum, who was sent away in the four-team deal. Nash is injured with a foot contusion and will be sidelined for the next 1-2 weeks.
Even though Howard can’t give an exact return date, he is confident that he’ll come back as good as ever.