Some of you guys always trash me when I’m negative. But I can’t help it. I’ve been a fan of this team for twenty years and I’ve been hurt so many times, from Scottie Pippen being a complete and total free agent bust to Tracy McGrady’s body breaking down within months of his acquisition. So when I get the pre-game press release each afternoon listing Dwight Howard inactive, accompanied with the comments from Kevin McHale insinuating that he doesn’t know when Howard will return to the lineup, you can understand why I’d be nervous.
Look no further than recent Rockets history for a painful illustration of the fragility of the NBA. In 2004, Houston was riding high, on Cloud 9, with two of the top ten players in basketball, both under 25 years of age. Coming off a humbling playoff loss to Dallas, the thinking was that all Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady needed was time. A few months later, McGrady went down, and was mysteriously out of the lineup for the duration of the 2005 campaign. While there was certainly gossip, no one knew exactly what was going on at that time.
Fast forward to today as, after what seemed like just routine knee soreness, has now kept Dwight Howard out of the lineup for the past several games. It’s most likely nothing, but as someone who has been so emotionally invested in this team, its hard not to be nervous. Fortunes can turn so quickly.
