The Los Angeles Lakers are as troubled a franchise as there currently is in the NBA. Inconsistency has plagued them all season and they've yet to remedy any of it.
In the midst of such disparity, though, there have been two constants: Howard's mouth and his attitude, both of which have presented unnecessary distractions for the Lakers. And it's now officially out of control.
Most were prepared to initially chalk Howard's struggles up to his health. As the big man himself pointed out earlier in the season, he wasn't supposed to return to the court until January (via Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times):
Dwight Howard has a message for anybody criticizing him.
Settle down.
The Lakers center wanted to remind everybody he was still not 100%.
"I wasn't even supposed to be playing until January and I'm playing now. What do you expect?"
Not so slowly, his "reminders" became excuses.
Howard tore the labrum in his right shoulder and was suddenly forced to play through even more pain, a reality that he won't let anyone forget (via Eric Adelson of Yahoo! Sports):
On his first trip down the court, Dwight Howard felt Miami Heat players grabbing at his injured right arm.
"They got me early," he told Yahoo! Sports in the quiet of the Lakers locker room after Sunday's 107-97 loss. "They would yank it back."
Howard said the Bobcats did the same thing in Charlotte Friday night – even worse, in fact.
"It's like a jolt," he said. "Then it hurts the rest of the night."
The pain is clearly excruciating for Howard. Battling a back and shoulder injury is no easy feat. But there's no need to remind us incessantly of it. We already know.
By continuously drawing our attention to his physical state, Howard isn't earning the respect of ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
