After an intense offseason that saw Dwight Howard make his way from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, it's safe to say that there's a lot riding on the back of the big man.
It's just unfortunate that his back is nowhere near healthy enough to be carrying a team.
The news comes from Lakers reporter Mike Trudell on NBA.com:
The Lakers training staff, led by head trainer Gary Vitti and head physical therapist Dr. Judy Seto, have recently been integrated into newly acquired center Dwight Howard's rehabilitation from back surgery in April.
The team is not giving a timetable for Howard's return to the court at this point. However, they have stated that he will not be ready for the start of training camp or the beginning of the preseason schedule starting on Oct. 7 against Golden State in Fresno.
This certainly isn't a groundbreaking development. When Howard went down with the back injury and was subsequently forced to undergo surgery while with the Magic, it was public knowledge that it was something that would take a while to recover from.
The fiasco that was Howard's offseason somewhat took the focus off of the fact that he will be a 6'11", 265-pound big man coming off serious back surgery.
How quickly the normally healthy (he's only missed more than four games in a season once in eight years) center returns to his elite form will have a huge impact on Los Angeles' season.
The Lakers have had arguably the best offseason in the NBA. They've added depth all over the court, and even without Howard, they have a legitimate Big Three of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
But their aspiration is clearly an NBA championship, and while it's obviously not impossible, it's hard to bring home the Larry O'Brien Trophy without a dominant big man in the paint.
As if Howard needed any more pressure on his recovering back.
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