Washington Wizards: Can Dwight Howard be the savior the Wizards need?

The Washington Wizards are off to a dreadful start and are in need of some help. Can Dwight Howard be the savior for the team?

It’s been almost unbearable to watch the Washington Wizards play basketball. It’s been dysfunctional, chaotic, and very self-centered. Friday night, the team plays the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which Dwight Howard will make his return.

The long-waited debut of Howard is about to be upon us and all Wizards nation is hoping he can be the superman of old. As everyone knows, Howard has been out due to a piriformis (butt) injury. It’s only been seven games, but it’s felt like an eternity.

Washington is ranked dead last in points allowed per game at 122.4, and rebounding at 41.3 per game. This has played a critical part in the Wizards’ failures thus far this season.

I’ve said it over and over again, Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith are terrible. Both haven’t been able to get the job done. All they’ve accomplished is demonstrating how soft and overpaid they are. Don’t even get me started on either one of these guys contract’s. Both have done nothing to deserve that type of money.

Howard’s career rebounding  average is 12.7. Markieff Morris is currently leading the team with 5.5 RPG. It’s unacceptable for any team’s leading rebounder to have that type of number. Not knocking on Morris’ play at all, he’s been the only decent big man on the roster as of now, but it demonstrates how badly the team needs Howard.

Simply having an interior presence has been a major weakness. The team hasn’t been able to come close to guarding athletic big men. We saw that in the last performance against Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and made the Wizards look like fools in the paint. It was embarrassing to watch.

Let’s not forget that Howard will be able to block 2-3 shots per game as well. Washington isn’t the worst in this category, but it’s never a bad thing adding more blocked shots to the stat sheet.

Most of the defense issues Howard can address. He’s not going to be able to fix the locker room problems or squash all the ego’s, but his return is a start in the right direction.

Is there a decent amount of pressure on Howard? Absolutely. At least more at this time than at the beginning of the season due to the current situation the Wizards have put themselves in.

Do I believe that he can be the superman of old? I sure hope so. He needs to be, otherwise everyone in Washington is in deep trouble.