Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin Showing Signs of Bounce-Back Season

Preseason basketball is looking good on Jeremy Lin and Dwight Howard.

There have been spots where either member of the Houston Rockets has struggled—Howard's foul trouble, for instance—but for the most part, both are showing glimpses of what they hope will be a strong bounce-back season.

In the above video, found by us for by ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin, Lin is seen dropping a dime, nailing a trey, burying a floater and dunking against the Indiana Pacers in Taiwan. He finished the exhibition bout with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a 3-of-4 showing from deep.

"I think he’s really comfortable with who he is," head coach Kevin McHale said of his point guard afterward, per the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "He’s lost weight. He’s quicker. He played well again tonight, but he’s played well in practice. It’s always nice when guys play well in practice and it carries over to games."

He wasn't the only one looking spry either.

Howard finished with 10 points on just 5-of-13 shooting in Houston's victory, but his quickness and explosion were on display numerous times as the contest plowed own.

He made it look so easy, so effortless, like his back and shoulder, unlike last year, were doing just fine.

More moments like these will be a must if the new-look Rockets wish to make noise in the contender-heavy Western Conference. These Rockets are still new to each other, and floor spacing figures to be a major concern whenever James Harden, Omer Asik, Lin and Howard are playing together.

Finding ways to score, to coexist will be pivotal. Seeing Lin and Howard rebound from a 2012-13 campaign that saw both withstand gunfires worth of criticism will be just as important.

“I’m going to be fine,” Howard said a day before the game, via Feigen. “Superman is a little rusty, but he’ll be OK when the season starts.”

Keep this up (sans foul trouble), and he'll be more than fine. Lin too. Superman and, in some form, Linsanity could be back. And on the same team.

Now that's something to think about.

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