Since having major back surgery last April, Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard hasn't been able to regain the dominance of his former self before the injury.
Howard has struggled this season on the court and it has been a very demanding time for him at this point of his career. He has appeared a bit slow on offense and defense, opening room for criticism of his game.
Though he has shown signs of improvement, he still hasn't been the force envisioned by the Lakers and their fan, according to the L.A. Times.
"Sometimes I have gotten beat up for it, but that's fine. I'll take all those hits and I'll keep moving," Howard said. "People watch games and they see me playing so they think it's all good. It's just a time thing. I've just got to keep going, keep pushing myself and it'll get better."
Still, Howard added that he doesn't regret is decision to comeback at the beginning of the season instead of taking more time off.
"I don't want that in my head. I don't want myself to be thinking so much about what I should have done, what if I would have waited until this time or that time," he said. "I just know that the harder I push myself, every day it's getting better."
However, Howard says despite all the criticism and setbacks this season, he continues to have a group of supporters, with one in particular whose helped him through this season.
"I've had people really just help me out," Howard said. "Guys like Phil [Jackson], he texts me and he understands how it is to come off back surgery. He just said it takes a full year to recover, so you can't beat yourself up over the things that have happened this year."
The fact that Jackson continues to talk with players on the Lakers means that he's a little more invested than he's leading people to believe. Even if the Lkaers were to miss the playoffs this year, Howard may stay with the team once he's a free agent if he can manage to convince his buddy Jackson to take on the head coaching reponsibilities next season.
