Dwight Howard is going to miss the early part of Lakers camp because of his back. It does not appear to be a major headline story at the moment, but could become one if it lasts into the regular season. The Lakers trading for Dwight Howard was certainly a gamble for the simple fact of whether or not his back will effect his career going forward and in what ways. For the short term though, it will keep Dwight out of the early part of Lakers training camp.
The problem with missing the early part of camp is that Dwight will not be able to build chemistry with the rest of his teammates. If there is any panic that is warranted at this time, it's that the Lakers team chemistry may be off at the start of the season. We have seen with the Miami Heat, team chemistry really matters. The Dallas Mavericks were able to beat the Heat, in their first year with LeBron and Dwayne Wade together, because they had better team chemistry. Talent matters but you need that and team chemistry to be able to win a championship. In my opinion, the Lakers are a little ahead of the Heat in the fact that LeBron and Dwayne are essentially the same player and they play the same kind of game. The Lakers will be starting five distinctly different players that know their roles. If anything, the biggest problem may be sharing the ball because now that Dwight is on the team, Kobe and Pau will be getting less shots and if they are willing to accept that the team will be better for it. Training camp is the time for building team chemistry and Dwight will miss a part of that.
As a result of Dwight sitting out training camp, the team chemistry will take a longer time to develop. Will it take half a year? Will it take the whole year? Nobody will know until that time comes, but what helps the Lakers is that each player is willing to accept their roles. This NBA season can't come fast enough will all the offseason headlines made by teams, and for Laker fans all they want to see is a healthy Dwight Howard ready for the start of the season.
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