Dwight Discussion: Dwightmare on Figueroa St. Part Boo

Mark Medina ‏@MarkGMedina

Dwight Howard had a full practice on Saturday. Jordan Hill cleared for contact and had a full practice too

Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times wrote:Dwight Howard imitated Kobe Bryant's monotone way of answering reporters' questions, resting his head on his hand and looking as bored as possible.

Yep, he's feeling better.

Howard will probably make his Lakers debut Sunday in an exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center.

He wouldn't confirm it, and neither would the Lakers, just in case Howard woke up with an unexpected ache in his back and had to postpone for another few days.

Barring anything like that, the six-time All-Star will take his spot at center for the 16-time NBA champions.

"It'll be the first time I've played basketball in a long time so I'll probably be a little emotional," he said Saturday. "I hope it doesn't happen that way, where I get out there and start crying."

The Lakers could use Howard, tears and everything. They're the only team without an exhibition victory. Their 0-5 mark is their worst start ever.

The starters have played sparingly, sure, but only Bryant looks to be in midseason form, averaging 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 points in 25.3 minutes.

"Can we play better? Yeah," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. "Is there some concern? Not yet. After the preseason, talk to me if we had a chance to play all our guys."

Howard was relieved to finally come close to playing. He gets asked how he feels a trillion times a day by reporters, trainers, friends, family members and, of course, the general public.

"I get it on Twitter all day every day: 'When are you going to play?'" Howard said. "Then you've got the people that are upset that I'm already back from injury: 'Hey, was he really injured?' I don't think people understand how serious that injury is. Some people never recover. Some people never get back as quick as I have.

"People want to see the new-look Lakers. I understand it. My job isn't to come here and play in the preseason. I came here to help this team win, and we want to win in June."

Howard's back is no longer an issue. The greater unknown will be his conditioning. He steadily increased his workload at Lakers practices and was cleared a little more than a week ago for five-on-five scrimmages.

"We do a lot of work to try to get me in shape. We do a lot of running," said Howard, who has worked out continually with Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham, a former NBA power forward. "Darvin does a lot of banging just so I can get used to the contact."

Howard averaged 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds last season for Orlando.

Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times wrote:"Can we play better? Yeah," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. "Is there some concern? Not yet. After the preseason, talk to me if we had a chance to play all our guys."

Weezy wrote:

Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times wrote:"Can we play better? Yeah," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. "Is there some concern? Not yet. After the preseason, talk to me if we had a chance to play all our guys."

First time I've quoted Potato Head in agreement in a while.

Doc Brown wrote:

Weezy wrote:

Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times wrote:"Can we play better? Yeah," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. "Is there some concern? Not yet. After the preseason, talk to me if we had a chance to play all our guys."

First time I've quoted Potato Head in agreement in a while.

Even a blind acorn finds a nut every now and then.

GoldHammish wrote:Not mine, but hilarious anyway:

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe wrote: Dwight Howardis close to making his debut with the Lakers. The big man has been practicing the past few weeks after missing the Olympics following surgery to repair a herniated disk.

Howard may make his debut Sunday night against the Kings, or perhaps not until the Oct. 30 regular-season opener against the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavericks, but he is already relaying a message to his teammates about his potential defensive impact.

“The biggest thing is we don’t have to gamble,” said Howard. “That’s the one thing I told those guys — don’t gamble. We’re solid on defense, we work hard for 24 seconds on defense and then we’re out.

“That’s when you put everybody else in bad predicaments, when you do gamble. But when we’re solid, we have some great defenders on the wing. We have some great defenders on the post. So there’s no need to gamble. We all just have to trust our instincts and play the right way.”

The relationship between Howard and Metta World Peace could be critical to the Lakers’ chances of overtaking Oklahoma City and reaching the Finals.

World Peace has had trouble meshing with certain teammates over the years — including former Celtic Jermaine O’Neal, whom he feuded with while with the Pacers — but he said he respects Howard as a premium defender.

“Dwight is the leader on the defensive end and he says he wants us to talk more and not gamble as much,” World Peace said. “So I’m definitely trying to listen to Dwight. He’s a very smart defensive player.

wcsoldier81 wrote:I think D12 is going to be mad at Kobe soon

Mark Medina ‏@MedinaLakersNBA

Mike Brown still said Dwight Howard is a game-time decision

nthydro wrote:He'll play. They just want to build suspense. He'll come out from the tunnel half way through the 1st quarter wearing a Superman outfit with accompaniment theme music and the whole shebang.

nthydro wrote:He'll play. They just want to build suspense. He'll come out from the tunnel half way through the 1st quarter wearing a Superman outfit with accompaniment theme music and the whole shebang.

XXIV wrote:

nthydro wrote:He'll play. They just want to build suspense. He'll come out from the tunnel half way through the 1st quarter wearing a Superman outfit with accompaniment theme music and the whole shebang.

If that happens, I'd rather he just not play.

XXIV wrote:

nthydro wrote:He'll play. They just want to build suspense. He'll come out from the tunnel half way through the 1st quarter wearing a Superman outfit with accompaniment theme music and the whole shebang.

If that happens, I'd rather he just not play.

Mike Trudell ‏@LakersReporter
The Lakers are officially calling Dwight Howard a game-time decision; we won't know for sure if he's playing until around 5 p.m.