How Long Can L.A. Lakers Survive with Dwight Howard Sidelined?

Dwight Howard may not be available for the start of the regular season, but the most recent indications suggest the Los Angeles Lakers won't be waiting too much longer than that. 

While that comes as good news to fans eager to see their new prize in action, the temporary absence should also serve as a reminder of just how fragile this super-team is.

A protracted stretch without Howard wouldn't be pleasant. Even with Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill filling in at center, the Lakers would suddenly look like Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns teams of old—plenty of scorers, but no defense.

It's almost impossible to overstate what D12 means to this club on the defensive end, and not just because he's thrice been named Defensive Player of the Year. Andrew Bynum was almost as indispensable, as is just about any All-Star seven-footer with a penchant for protecting the rim.

Howard just so happens to be really good at it.

He's averaged 2.2 blocks over the course of his career, and as many as 2.9 in 2008-09. Of course, he still creates a serious obstacle for would-be interior scoring whether he records a block or not. With his reach and mobility, few shots in the painted area are safe when Howard's lurking.

Given that Bynum was, in many ways, the superior low-post scorer, these were the perks that had Los Angeles so sold on Dwight in the first place.

Sure, he's dangerous in pick-and-roll situations and incredibly explosive, but what separates Howard from so many solid bigs is his ability to single-handedly alter the other side's offensive game plan.

You can count head coach Mike Brown as a believer (via ESPN Los Angeles):

"

His athleticism, combined with his power and strength, and his quickness, and energy is phenomenal. I mean defensively here's a guy, that in my opinion, is one of the best pick-and-roll big defenders in the game, to ever play the game. He's one of the best paint protectors to every play the game. You know, just knowing that he's down and around the basket is a deterrent.

"

Put simply, Howard is a one-man wrecking crew.

That's especially important for the Lakers because he won't have a whole lot of help.

L.A. ranked 15th last season in points allowed, so don't fool yourself into thinking that a seven-footer like Gasol and a once-great stopper like Metta World Peace will make the difference. Nash will certainly make somewhat of a difference on the defensive end, but not the good kind of difference.

Kobe will do his part, but you'd really prefer he focus most of his effort on scoring.

Ultimately, there isn't much standing between slashers and the paint they love so dearly. The Lakers will struggle to stop quick point guards especially, and they'll just have to learn to live with a fair amount of penetration.

They can afford to do just that with Howard playing the ultimate backstop.

Without him, though, this team's margin for error narrows substantially. The Lakers' offense will have to roll almost flawlessly to keep pace with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets.

In other words, yes, the Lakers can certainly live without Howard for a few games with little-to-no impact on the standings.

They just have to hope this doesn't become a routine.