Josh Howard's sore left knee will keep him out one to two weeks after the veteran swingman was evaluated on Monday. Howard had missed the past two games and hasn't played a full game since Dec. 29 against Indiana. He has attempted to play in the first half of losses in Indiana and Philadelphia before being forced to sit out. As he walked out of Verizon Center on Monday, Howard said he was feeling better after resting the past few days and was leaning more on the shorter end of his estimated break. "Two weeks is the extreme. I hope to be back before that." Howard is averaging 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in eight games with the Wizards. He missed the first 24 games while recovering from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament sustained last February. "He still wasn't a 100 percent, but just having him on the court was a great presence for us, so yeah, that's a tough loss," John Wall said. "Josh came in, played a great role for us, bringing a great defensive intensity. A veteran player, talking to us, helping us out a lot." Coach Flip Saunders said Howard will be re-evaluated again later this week. Howard's absence has been and will continue to be felt on the defensive end, where the former all-star forward consistently raised the energy level. The Wizards will host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. "We're a lot better. He's a guy that's been an all-star in the league, been to the NBA finals, been in the playoffs a lot. His veteran presence just helps a lot, especially when you have a young point guard, you can help settle him down. But we don't have him," Saunders said. "We were playing so well because it helped us so much defensively, another veteran player who can help us in later game situations. It's another opportunity, Al [Thornton] stepped up last game, played pretty well against Charlotte and it gives guys opportunities." Thornton had slid far back into the rotation, with Howard's return coinciding with the arrival of Rashard Lewis in the Gilbert Arenas trade. But he will be expected to give the Wizards more games like he did in Charlotte, where he came off the bench, scored 11 points and helped the team take a brief lead in the third quarter. Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2011/01/josh-howard-to-miss-one-to-two.html
