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Report: Rockets’ Howard could be out a month
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Houston Rockets fear that center Dwight Howard might be sidelined at least a month because of the continuing problems with his right knee, ESPN reported Saturday.
The Rockets still expect Howard to be ready to return for the final few weeks of the regular season as well as the playoffs, but now they believe Howard will be out for weeks instead of days, as originally thought.
Howard is consulting with various medical experts to determine the best treatment and best course of action. Rest might be the only cure, however.
Howard has experienced a buildup of fluid in his right knee recently, preventing him from playing in this weekend’s trip to Detroit and Boston.
The 29-year-old Howard is averaging 16.3 points, 11 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this season, but the Rockets have fared pretty well without him lately.
He played less than nine minutes in a Jan. 23 game against Phoenix before the knee problem forced him to the sideline. The Rockets won that game and the next three games with Howard unavailable.
Houston’s four-game winning streak came to end with Saturday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, which represented the fourth straight game that Howard missed. He sat out 11 games earlier this season with discomfort in the same area.
