Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and the NBA Season's Key Injuries to Watch

Every year, injuries to key players shape and shift the balance of power in the NBA.

Last season, it was Dwight Howard's back and Derrick Rose's knee. While those players—once they return to the court—are on the injury-watch list this year, there are a number of other players whom fans need to keep an eye on.

From Kevin Love and his broken hand—as ESPN.com reported—to the health of Eric Gordon's knee, there are injuries that will play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome of the 2012-13 season.

Ahead is a list of eight NBA players on the injury-watch list as the season gets underway.

Kevin Love

One of the NBA's biggest double-double machines is going to be on the bench for up to two-and-a-half months.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced—as CBSSports.com reported—that Kevin Love will miss six to eight weeks due to a broken hand. Just to put that time frame into perspective, six to eight weeks means Love could miss upwards of 20 regular season games.

That's almost one-fourth of the entire 2012-13 regular season, and it leaves the Timberwolves with Derrick Williams—a somewhat underwhelming rookie last year—as their best option at the power-forward position.

Don't forget, the Timberwolves are also without point guard Ricky Rubio, who's rehabbing from last season's torn ACL.

Losing Love means that the Timberwolves have gone from a dark-horse playoff contender in the Western Conference to a team that could struggle mightily throughout the first half of the regular season.

Love's injury clearly puts the focus on Derrick Williams, who will be asked to step up his play significantly from his 2011-12 averages of 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. It also means that more pressure will be placed on Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko early on to help solidify a Timberwolves team that now lacks depth.

Let's hope the Timberwolves don't get themselves into too big of a hole early on in the season that they can't get themselves out of. 

Dwyane Wade

ESPN's Michael Wallace is reporting that Dwyane Wade is "ahead of schedule" regarding his rehabilitation from offseason knee surgery. 

While Wade doesn't need to play at all during the preseason, it is important that he's a part of the Heat's rotation when the regular season starts. The Heat need him in the lineup so Erik Spoelstra can figure out the best seven- or eight-man rotation.

Even if Wade and his bum knee are back to 100 percent when the season starts, he will be a name to watch because he often finds himself missing time due to injuries.

At 30 years old, Wade isn't exactly old. But the way he approaches the game and the reckless abandon with which he plays more often than not ends up with him getting banged up. When you throw in last year's knee injury and the offseason surgery he had, it certainly complicates things for Wade.

The wear and tear of an 82-game season will take its toll on Wade, and the Heat need to be smart with how they manage his minutes. The Heat need Wade healthy when the playoffs roll around, and that could mean a somewhat limited regular season for Wade.

Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is having a completely underwhelming preseason with averages of just 5.8 points on 25 percent shooting, 6.5 assists and 2.2 turnovers per game. That's not a lot of production for an average of 24.8 minutes per game.

While Lin is apparently recovering just fine from the tear in his meniscus that ended his 2011-12 season, it's clear that he's not yet back to true "Linsanity" form.

That's a major issue because without Lin playing the way he did early on in New York, the Rockets are going to be in for one extremely long and disappointing season.

It's quite a dichotomy, though, because the Rockets don't want to rush Lin back to high-level minutes just yet. Doing so could mean reinjuring his knee and missing significant time this season.

With such a hodgepodge of talent on their roster, the Rockets need someone to step up and lead. That's where Lin comes in, but he can only come in and do that if he's healthy.

The Rockets' 2012-13 success hinges largely on the health of Lin's left knee. The upcoming season could be salvageable with Lin in the lineup. Without him, though, it would be a much different story. 

Derrick Rose

It's impressive to see the Chicago faithful rallying around Derrick Rose, his recovery and his ultimate return to the court for the Bulls. I'm not a Bulls fan, but I'd sure love to be at the game when he walks back onto the court.

For all NBA fans, Rose's return, or lack thereof, will be one of the major storylines to watch throughout the 2012-13 season. For Bulls fans, his return holds a much greater level of importance.

Even without Rose, the Bulls still have a formidable lineup. From veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to one of the most unappreciated players in the NBA, Luol Deng, the Bulls still have enough talent to help them compete in the East.

But, we'd all be foolish to think that they are somehow better off without Rose. With a healthy Rose in the lineup, the Bulls are arguably the best team in the NBA. Without him, they are a mid-level playoff contender.

If Rose returns before the 2012-13 season ends, his play and subsequent health will be extremely crucial to watch. A torn ACL isn't an easy injury to recover from, and coming back too early from it can seriously hinder a player's career.

Holding off on the "#return" this year might be in the best interest of Rose's longevity in the NBA, especially when you consider the way Rose plays. He plays with explosive athleticism and a high level of contact.

Rose needs a completely healthy knee to return to 100 percent, and that might take more time than Bulls fans want to give him. 

Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley, one of 2011-12's biggest surprises, missed the Celtics' late postseason push when he underwent surgery to repair small tears in his left shoulder, as ESPN.com reported.

While the reports coming out of Boston—according to Boston.com—are that Bradley won't be back on the court until mid-December, his recovery is "ahead of schedule."

The Celtics need Bradley to return to the lineup sooner rather than later, mainly because he's the only depth they have at the point-guard position behind Rajon Rondo.

If Rondo goes down before Bradley returns, the Celtics will have to dramatically shift their lineup and rotations, and that will be hard to do with the new talent they acquired this offseason.

Bradley adds depth to the Celtics' bench, and while they have depth at the shooting-guard position with Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, they need depth at the point. 

John Wall

Just when things seem to be going in the right direction for the Washington Wizards, they suffer a setback in the form of a "stress injury" to star point guard John Wall's left knee, as ESPN.com reported.

According to the same report by ESPN, Wall will miss approximately eight weeks, which means he could be out until the start of December. That could mean 14 games without Wall.

While that might not sound like a huge deal, when you look at the depth the Wizards have at the point-guard position—Shelvin Mack and A.J. Price—it's clear Washington needs Wall to be in the lineup as soon as possible.

Wall's injury also impacts the development of rookie Bradley Beal. When the Wizards drafted Beal, the thought was that he and Wall could create a tenacious backcourt duo. Now that Wall is going to be out for a bit, the development of that tandem is going to be on the back burner.

The Wizards can survive without Wall, seeing that they have a talented and mature frontcourt tandem of Nene and Emeka Okafor. But surviving isn't going to help the Wizards develop as a contender in the East like they had planned this season.

The fact that Wall's injury is to his knee also points to the fact that this injury could pop up again during the regular season once he returns. That will be something to keep an eye on. 

Dwight Howard

The herniated disk that kept Dwight Howard out of the end of the Magic's 2011-12 season was apparently so bad that he couldn't even bend over unless he didn't want to stand back up, based on an article by ESPN's Ramona Shelbourne.

"What a lot of people don't know is, when I hurt my back, it affected my nerves to the point where my whole left leg went dead. Basically, I couldn't do a calf raise," Howard told reporters after a Lakers practice on Thursday.

According to LakerNation.com, head coach Mike Brown and Kobe Bryant have been "amazed by Howard's progress" and have even compared him to Bill Russell, noticing no signs of injury.

While things seem exciting and positive in Los Angeles, it's important to remember the nature of Howard's lower-back injury. Herniated disks can pop up without warning, especially for a player like Howard who will be absorbing a ton of punishment in the paint throughout the season.

Howard's health over the course of the 2012-13 regular season will be something to keep an eye on because his injury could pop up without warning, and that would be a setback for the new-look Lakers.

It will be interesting to see how Howard's back holds up once he returns to the court in an all-out game setting. The contact he'll get, against, say, the Nuggets or the Thunder, is going to be a lot different than what he'll experience against his teammates in practice. 

Monitoring how Howard's back holds up throughout the regular season will be an interesting storyline to watch. 

Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon has yet to play any minutes during the 2012-13 preseason, and it's because he's still nursing soreness in his right knee.

According to John Reid of the Times-Picayune, there is no timetable for Gordon's return. That's concerning for the Hornets, especially when you consider Gordon's importance to their young roster's development.

Here's what Gordon had to say about his return to the court, as the Times-Picayune reported:

"

I definitely want to get back to where I should be. As of right now, I’m just going through the rehab with a lot of strengthening, running and all that. I want to take a real toll on it this week and then see how it goes from there next week. I definitely want to be back before the season starts and that’s what we’re striving right now.

"

The Hornets need Gordon in the lineup if they want rookies Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers to develop like they need to. Not only will he be a mentor for them, but he'll also make their lives easier on the court when opposing defenses are focused on him.

Not only will Gordon's return be interesting to keep an eye on, but his play when he returns will also be a something to watch for. The Hornets hope that Gordon's knee won't hold him back throughout the 2012-13 season, especially since they've committed to him long-term with a four-year, $58.3 million contract.