How bad is the situation in Los Angeles for Dwight Howard? Not only are the Lakers down 2-0 to the Spurs, but Howard is getting blasted by the media for the lack of impact he’s had in the first two games:
Dwight Howard, who could soon sign a $118-million contract to become the Lakers’ next Shaquille O’Neal, is not playing like Shaquille O’Neal. There have been times in the last two games, in fact, when he looks more like Jermaine O’Neal.
The Lakers took the floor at the AT&T Center on Wednesday exhausted and hurting, their man purses filled with ready excuses. No Kobe Bryant. No Jodie Meeks. Barely Steve Nash.
Howard, however, could soon be paid to ensure there are no excuses. He is supposed to be the excuse eliminator, the momentum creator, the giant shoulders upon which his teammates can survive nights like this.
Instead, with the Spurs surrounding and poking and prodding him, he crumbled into a giant purple ball upon which his teammates gratefully collapsed. He had five turnovers, five fouls, shot only four free throws and grabbed only two rebounds in a first half when the Lakers essentially lost it.
He was there, but he wasn’t there. He was the elephant in the room, a giant that nobody could really recognize. This was the sort of game that Shaq used to own, yet this was a game that Howard quickly sold.
Bill Plaschke deserves a standing ovation for that rip job.
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