If the Los Angeles Lakers win tonight against the Houston Rockets, they would have earned a spot as the eighth seed in this year's Western Conference playoff picture.
With all the pressure upon them, being without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, Dwight Howard knows the team will be depending on him to lead them to a playoff berth.
"There's no pressure," Howard said. "We understand the importance of the game but we just need to go play and be free. We don't need to put pressure on ourselves. Just go have fun and win the game."
The Lakers have dealt with several setback this season due to injuries, but Howard was playing post-back surgery. According to the Los Angeles Times, despite having a rough individual season, Howard still believes he had a strong season.
"I will say that I don't think a lot of people really understand the severity of a back injury and the fact that I came back and the fact that I look like I'm 100%," he said. "The back surgery is probably the worst surgery that you can have as a basketball player and for me to come back and play the way I've been playing is a blessing and people wouldn't understand that from the outside looking in. But for me not being able to walk, then getting on the walker, then learning how to do all of that stuff again -- to now, I think its a blessing and it's all about hard work. Everything that I did up until this point is hard work."
Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol has also had rough season compared to previous years. However, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, Gasol also doesn't feel the pressure of tonight's showdown against the Rockets.
But even though there's no pressure, that still won't stop him from seeking additional help. According to the article, Gasol called up his brother Marc who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, asking him to handle business tonight against the Utah Jazz - the team fighting with L.A. for the final playoff spot.
"I told him to please go out there and compete and try to win the game," said Pau.
He said, 'We'll see,' because last night they played the starters 24 minutes. They probably play the same the next game," said the Lakers' forward/center.
If the Grizzlies beat the Jazz tonight the Lakers will be in the postseason even if they lose against the Rockets.
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