5 Injuries that will impact the 2019 NBA playoffs

#4 Dwight Howard

When examining the disappointment that has been the Washington Wizards 2018-19 season, many may point to the loss of John Wall. They will note that Wall has been out of the lineup since December 28th, 2018 due to heel surgery and is done for the season.

They may see this as a huge blow to the playoff hopes of the Wizards. Actually, they might be wrong. When Wall was ruled unfit to play, the Wizards were 13-22 and already out of the playoff picture. The Wizards have also gone 7-5 since his departure.

In fact, the Wizards' management was considering blowing up the roster due to poor play. They were considering that as early as November which was long before the Wall injury. The Wizards are an aggressive team defensively.

They are very active on the perimeter. They force 7.9 spg for 19th in the NBA and average 14.4f bppg as a result. The Wizards also average 4.8 bpg. However, the Wizards give up 116 ppg which is three more than they score and it can be attributed to the fact that they allow opponents an NBA 2nd worst 11.6 offensive rebounds per game.

This is where the second back injury requiring surgery in Dwight Howard’s career has kept the Wizards out of the playoff picture this season. The 33-year-old center was meant to replace the dwindling stats of Marcin Gortat who the Wizards traded for Austin Rivers in the summer.

The Wizards then signed Howard who had been waived by the New Jersey Nets. However, the 7’0 Howard who, even though his stats have been plummeting for several seasons, remains a double-double threat scoring and rebounding wise. He can block shots as well.

His dominance on the backboards and rim protection would win the Wizards at least two-three more defensive possessions a game and could translate into more winning.

He has only played in 9 games this season for the Wizards and is not expected back until late February or early March. His return will be too late to really help a Wizards push for a playoff spot.