People that watched the Western Conference Finals were well aware that Dwight Howard was not fully healthy throughout the series as he was dealing with a knee injury but what people might not have been aware of was the severity of the injury. Howard was questionable for game two with what the Houston Rockets called a knee sprain but it turns out that Howard was dealing with a partially torn MCL and meniscus throughout the series, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.
Howard suffered the injury in game one of the series when he and Josh Smith collided but he never ended up missing any action. Howard played forty minutes in game two after being questionable and had 19 points and 17 rebounds. The 6 foot-11 center also played the final three games of the series and averaged just under 15 points and 15 rebounds per game.
The Golden State Warriors went on to win the series in five games and it is unknown how much of an impact it would have had if Howard was fully healthy as the Warriors were clearly the better team but it certainly makes you wonder. Howard was reportedly told by team doctors that the knee injury didn't require offseason surgery because the tears weren't too severe so he just rested it.
Entering the 2015-16 season the Rockets plan to keep an eye on Howard and possibly limit his minutes a little bit to ensure he stays healthy. Last season Howard missed a career high 41 games, 26 of which were due to swelling in his right knee. Even when he was on the floor Howard wasn't himself. The 29 year old is used to playing well over 30 minutes a game in his career but last year he only played about 30 minutes per game. The Rockets will probably keep his minutes around 30 minutes again this year to help ensure he doesn't miss as many games and in the hopes that he can dominate once again as Houston looks to contend for an NBA Championship.
