Although he’s putting up pretty good numbers everyone knows Dwight Howard isn’t the same dominant All-Star center he was when he was in Orlando. While many concede that he is still plagued with back and shoulder injuries, he admits to one other problem on his part. Read more after the jump.
From Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles:
“You’ve got to have energy and I want to bring that energy every night,” Howard said in a revealing interview Saturday afternoon. “That’s my job. They count on me to be that guy. I just know how much more effective I will be when I’m in better shape. And, unfortunately, it’s cost us a lot of games.”
Howard said his conditioning has improved throughout the season, but he’s still “not even close” to where he wants to be, and where he once was before undergoing back surgery in the offseason.
“I knew that would be a process. The better shape I’m in, the more active I can be and the more I’m able to do on the floor,” he said. “But it was a struggle at first because I just didn’t have it in the tank, especially on defense.”
Howard is not only building on his conditioning, he’s also playing through back pain that doctors said would take a year to fully heal. He’s also decided to play through a torn labrum in his right shoulder rather than have season-ending surgery. While his mental and physical strength has been tested by Kobe Bryant amongst others, when examined you’ll see that he’s a lot stronger than people give him credit for. It is good however to see him own up to his inefficiencies and try to work on them. As the Lakers vie for that eighth seed in the Western Conference to make it to the playoffs, they’re going to need both he and Kobe Bryant to lead the way.
