November 18, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) dunks in the second half of the game against the Houston Rockets at the Staples Center. Lakers won 119-108. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
It all comes down to tonight. The Lakers could ultimately make the playoffs as high as the seventh seed or miss them and go down down as the biggest bust in recent memory.
“There’s no pressure,” Dwight Howard said.“We understand the importance of the game but we just need to go play and be free. We don’t need to put pressure on ourselves. Just go have fun and win the game.”
Howard is currently coming off an outstanding performance over the the Spurs. Where he lead the team with an Orlando-esque 26 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Whether he’ll need his stat line to resemble the twelves days of Christmas at the end of the night has yet to be determined. However with the absence of Kobe Bryant, his leadership will be absolutely vital.
“We believe that we can do something special,” Howard said. “If we get into the playoffs, we don’t fear anybody.”
Howard has averaged 22 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his two games against the Rockets this season.
How do you think Dwight will handle the pressure? Sound off in the comments and let us know.