Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
Dwight Howard is progressing much faster than anyone anticipated. Initially it was assumed Superman II would miss the start of the regular season. Then came the encouraging news of DH participating in practice making many believe he could be ready in time to get in some preseason action.
But if you listen to Mike Brown he’ll tell you that Howard is pretty much good to go right now.
"“As much as he’s practicing, to me he’s back.”"
Now Brown’s opinion isn’t of the medical variety. The guys with degrees that determine that sort of thing still have yet to clear Howard for full-contact 5-on-5 drills. That’s pretty much the essence of the game unless the NBA has adopted new 3-on-3 half court rules that I’m unaware of.
So Brown’s assessment isn’t based on anything relative to Dwight’s medial condition. From a hoops conditioning standpoint however it is saying something if Brown deems Howard to “back” already.
Certainly there is no way Howard is ready for a full night of hoops. He’s got to get reacquainted with contact in addition to getting his legs under him before that is a reality.
None the less this is yet another positive omen as the 2012-13 Lakers begin the march towards another title.