Larry Brown Sports

Like many other superstar professional athletes, there are a lot of rumors and gossip that surround the life of Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard. For lack of a better term, Howard appears to have a lot of baby mama drama.

Earlier this month, a fan apparently got a rise out of Howard when she brought a sign to a game against the Portland Trailblazers telling him she is willing to become his “6th baby mama.” Below is a photo of the tweet the young lady sent that included a picture of the sign she brought to the game, courtesy of Vlad TV:

The fan was obviously looking for a response from Howard, and that’s exactly what she got. The big man did not find the sign to be humorous.

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For the first time in a while, Dwight Howard seemed to have his joking spirit back.

The Los Angeles Lakers center has constantly been asked about taking on a greater leadership role with the team since Kobe Bryant got hurt. He was asked by the media Wednesday if he was going to give the team a motivational speech before its critical game against the Houston Rockets.

Howard brushed aside the comments by saying the team already knows what’s at stake. However, with enough prodding, the center acted out an exaggerated version of a speech by channeling the movie “300.”

“Kobe is watching us at home,” Howard said. “Dr Buss is watching us up high! Let’s let it out tonight! Everything we got! Everything! Leave it on the floor! Pau, put your big boy pants on! Dwight, hit your free throws! Jodie, hit those threes boy! Now let’s get it! Now let’s bring it in! Hoorah!”

Howard then closed out the speech by bellowing, “This is Sparta!” which was the cry of Leonidas, King of Sparta, when he declined peace with the Persians in the epic movie.

It was quite the theatrical performance from someone who has long been known for his impersonations and joking ways.

The Lakers need a win or Utah Jazz loss to clinch a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Mike D’Antoni was extraordinarily harsh on Pau Gasol when he took over the job as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in November, but he’s finally softening his stance on the big man.

Gasol returned to the starting lineup on March 25 after missing six weeks with a foot injury. The team has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games — all of which Gasol has played over 30 minutes. Save Sunday’s win over the Spurs, Gasol has been shooting the ball extremely well. He has also been posting great rebound totals (9.7 per game in that span), and averaging 5.6 assists per game over his last 10 contests. His production has not come at the expense of the team’s other big man, Dwight Howard. Howard has routinely shot over 60 percent, grabbed double-digit rebounds and scored over 20 points in recent games.

“I’ve come to realize that we can play with the two big guys,” D’Antoni said in reference to Gasol and Howard while speaking with the media on Tuesday. “I was a little skeptical at first. I think with both of them being close to 100 percent, yeah, they can play together easily. I kind of had a preconceived notion that probably wasn’t right.”

It’s better that D’Antoni made his discovery before it was too late. I honestly thought he was crazy when he was benching Gasol for Earl Clark.

The funny thing is that Howard says nothing is different now from how it was before.

“Nothing has changed,” said Dwight Howard. “We can play together. That’s why they brought us here — so we could play together.”

Though Howard didn’t say it, the big difference is probably the health of the players. Gasol’s conditioning was in question when D’Antoni took over, and D’Antoni was blunt about benching the Spaniard. Maybe the reason Gasol didn’t look so good was because of his knee and foot problems at the time, which have likely improved. We know based on his improved play that Howard is recovering from offseason back surgery.

Maybe the Lakers were not poorly constructed this whole time. Maybe they just were not healthy.

Photo credit: Matthew Emmons, US Presswire

The future of the Los Angeles Lakers became even more uncertain on Friday night when Kobe Bryant suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon. The team already has to deal with Dwight Howard becoming an impending free agent, let alone worrying about Kobe’s anticipated six-to-nine month recovery period.

According to USA Today Sports, Howard is expected to re-sign with LA. Two sources close to the 6-foot-11 center reportedly said they “fully expect” him to return to the Lakers next season but that Howard will wait until the summer to announce his final decision.

The Lakers need Howard to return now more than they ever did. The team is aging rapidly around him and Kobe seemed to not rule out retirement in his venting session on Facebook early Saturday morning. Bryant will be 35 and coming off a major injury when the 2013-2014 season begins. Howard will be 27, and although he has had problems with his back and shoulder he’s very much still in his prime. Kobe is getting close to the finish line.

As we know, a couple of Howard’s friends saying he plans on sticking around essentially means nothing. Howard said back in December that he would not rule out leaving the Lakers if it meant chasing a championship. This is also the same player who constantly changed his mind about his future with the Orlando Magic last season and left the fans and the organization wondering where his priorities stood.

Naturally, money should be a major factor. The Lakers can offer Howard a max contract extension of five years, $117.9 million. Other teams would only be able to give him a four-year, $87.8 million deal. And hey, Dwight’s second season in LA can’t get any more frustrating than his first — or could it?

Louisville guard Kevin Ware has begun his road to recovery in the wake of suffering one of the most gruesome injuries you will ever see in sports. The sophomore is a long way away from playing basketball again, but he has undergone successful surgery and already begun moving around on crutches. The amazing amount of support he has received has undoubtedly helped accelerate the process.

Ware told the Courier-Journal that he received phone calls in the hospital from Dwight Howard and Charles Barkley, who lent words of encouragement. He also got a visit from NCAA President Mark Emmert and browsed through hundreds of tweets from pro athletes like Michael Bush, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo.

“I’ve never had this much support in my life,” Ware said. “Like, I’m just so grateful for it, you know?”

Ware said that just being able to move around — even if it is with his leg in a cast and on crutches — brought his spirits up. After his body went into shock when he saw his bone sticking through his skin, he said the only thing on his mind was making sure his teammates won the game.

“And that made me just go into Kevin mode,” he explained. “I just told Luke (Hancock), ‘I’m good. Just win this game.’ I just kept repeating that. I got louder and louder, and Russ was there and I’m pulling their jerseys, trying to get in their face like, ‘Y’all got to win this game.’ When they took me off the court, I heard so many cheers, and I’m like ‘When I’m out of surgery, there’s gonna be some good news.’”

There was indeed very good news, as Louisville dominated Duke to advance to the Final Four. Ware said he didn’t remember his teammates putting the  Midwest Regional trophy in his hospital bed with him because he was so heavily medicated after surgery. However, the memories came back the next morning when the trophy was still sitting next to him.

Assuming his leg does not become infected, Ware should be released from the hospital on Tuesday and there’s a good chance he’ll be able to join his teammates in Atlanta. Having him on the sidelines could give the Cardinals a shot in the arm that they may not even need.

Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant have not gotten along very well in their first season as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. Anyone who has paid attention to the team knows that. Fortunately, they don’t need to. Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal probably weren’t sitting down for any lunches together when they were teammates, but that didn’t stop them from finding success.

The important thing is that the Lakers have been winning more than losing lately, and they have themselves in playoff contention. Howard admits him and Kobe aren’t great friends, but that’s life.

“We’re not best friends but I would say that we understand where we’re at,” Howard told Dan LeBatard on 790 the Ticket in Miami on Wednesday. “We’re pretty much on the same page as far as what it’s going to take for us to get to the next level and for us to win. I have to bring that energy and effort every night and because I’m in better shape, I’m able to do that for longer periods.”

LA is three games above .500 and currently holds control of the 8th seed in the Western Conference. Howard has dominated the glass since the All-Star break and the team has been better because of it. If you couldn’t guess that Dwight and Kobe aren’t close from reading stories like this from the All-Star Game, Howard just spelled it out for you.

The only thing Lakers fans should care about is the result on the court. LA is still capable of being a dangerous team if it fulfills Kobe’s guarantee — whether Bryant and Howard like each other or not.

Thanks to Sports Radio Interviews for the transcription

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is one of the worst free throws shooters in the NBA. He is shooting less than 50% from the line this season, and opponents have begun preying on his weakness.

During Tuesday night’s win over the Orlando Magic, Howard went to the free throw line an NBA record-tying 39 times. He converted 25 of those attempts, which is better than expected, but Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni was quick to criticize Orlando’s approach after the game.

“I hate it for the fans,” D’Antoni said according to NBA.com. “They can come to practice for free and watch him shoot 40, 50 foul shots. They don’t even have to pay for the tickets. I’ll invite them all.”

If the Magic’s plan was to foul Dwight in the second half in an attempt to get back into the game, it backfired. Howard found a rhythm and converted 16 of 20 free throws in the final two quarters.

“With any player, if you get 39 cracks at it, it’s only natural for you to gain some type of rhythm,” Magic guard Arron Affalo said. “Usually the percentages kick in when you take five to 10. But when you actually make a few, you gain some confidence, and he did a good job of making them down the stretch for them.”

D’Antoni may not like hack-a-Dwight, but he has made it clear that he does not intend to bench his center late in games because of it. Howard rewarded D’Antoni’s confidence in him by shooting lights out from the line in the second half on Tuesday. The more practice he gets now, the better off he’ll be down the stretch.