The debut of Dwight Howard as the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers will have to wait. Howard will sit on the bench in casual attire for a fourth straight preseason game according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com via Twitter:
Dwight Howard looked great again in practice today, but he won’t play in Tuesday’s preseason game in Anaheim. Still progressing.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 15, 2012
At this point in time, there’s no question that Howard is making a quick recovery from back surgery and is on pace for a return to the floor on opening night against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 30. Even though Howard is turning a lot of heads in practice and appears to be ready to put on the purple and gold for the first time on the floor, the veteran center will not return until he’s 100 percent.
After Tuesday’s game against the Jazz, the Lakers will have four more preseason games with three coming against the Sacramento Kings and one highly anticipated showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers.
It remains to be seen whether or not Howard will return for one of the final four preseason games, but it seems more and more likely he’ll be good to go for the season-opener against the Mavs in two weeks’ time.
