It is official. Dwight Howard will not be playing tonight against Minnesota. Howard re-aggravated his shoulder injury on Wednesday when they lost to the Suns at Phoenix as Shannon Brown blocked his shot and came down hard on him.
This is the third time Howard has hurt his shoulder this month. Even though he is trying to avoid surgery, this may be unavoidable. Every time he’s going to go up with the ball in a game, there is a chance a defender will get aggressive with him, and possibly re-injure it. Unfortunately, if he does have to get his shoulder worked on, he will be out the rest of the season. With him being a free agent, this may mean he won’t put on the Purple and Gold again.
Instead of playing tonight, Dwight will be receiving a platelet rich plasma procedure, which is a revolutionary medical technique for athletes using their own blood. Kobe Bryant is a fan; he’s had the procedure done on his knee, and attributes it to helping him play this long. An article from the New York Times explains what this procedure actually is:
The method, which is strikingly straightforward and easy to perform, centers on injecting portions of a patient’s blood directly into the injured area, which catalyzes the body’s instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. Most enticing, many doctors said, is that the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery.
PRP sounds really promising, and if it can help Howard avoid surgery, that is a plus. Think about Kobe. He hardly ever seems to mention knee issues anymore. It seems to have worked for him.
Pau Gasol should be seeing more playing time tonight, which should alleviate his current distaste for D’Antoni not playing him enough. Metta World Peace will be the Lakers back-up center. Robert Sacre should get some playing time off the bench as well.
For more on the pregame report, click here.
Los Angeles Lakers (20-26) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-25)
6:30 PM PST, January 29, 2013
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: TWC Sports Network, ESPN
Radio: 710 ESPN (English) 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Timberwolves Projected Starting Line-up
PG: Luke Ridnour
SG: Ricky Rubio
SF: Andrei Kirilenko
PF: Derrick Williams
C: Nikola Pekovic
Key Reserves:
G: J.J. Barea G: Alexey Shved PF: Dante Cunningham
Lakers Nation News
Kobe Bryant Doesn’t See Himself Not Winning Another Championship
Shootaround Report: Gasol to Start, Metta at Backup Center
Lakers vs. Timberwolves Pre-Game Report: Lakers Seek Road Victory
Lakers News: Dwight Howard Will Not Play Friday Against Minnesota
Lakers News: Ricky Rubio Stands Up For Lakers’ Pau Gasol
VIDEO: Lakers Dunk Of The Week – Kobe Feed To Earl For The Slam
Lakers News
The Lakers Need to Keep Adhering to Their New System [Silver Screen and Roll]
What Are the Lakers Up Against in February? [Silver Screen and Roll]
Dwight Howard will Receive Platelet Rich Plasma Procedure on Shoulder [Silver Screen and Roll]
Dwight is Day to Day [LA Times]
Lakers’ Nash Needs to Try a Little Selfishness [OC Register]
Players That Fit Within the Lakers Disabled Players Exemption [LA Times]
Mike D’Antoni, Steve Nash Evolve [ESPN]
Earl Clark’s Three-Point Range a Surprise [L.A. Times]
Dwight Howard Says Shoulder ‘real sore’ but Dismisses Possibility of Surgery [SI Tracking Blog]
The Lakers Aren’t Likely To Get A Playoff Bid, According To Team’s History [Dime Magazine]
Metta World Peace Says He Came to L.A. for the Pressure [ESPN LA]
Los Angeles Forced to Figure Out Road Woes Without Dwight Howard [SB Nation]
Finding the Right Balance May Mean Separating Kobe and Nash [Forum Blue and Gold]
Rubio Stands Up for Fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol [Yahoo Sports]
NBA News
NBA players union places executive director Billy Hunter on indefinite leave [Yahoo Sports]
Raptors’ Casey Fined $25,000 for Ripping Officials After Loss [ProBasketballTalk]
Explaining why Russell Westbrook Got So Mad [SB Nation]
Evaluating Toronto Raptors’ trade for Rudy Gay [ESPN]
Rudy Gay Will Not Make Raptors Debut Until Sunday. Against Heat. [ProBasketballTalk]
Bogut Blocks Away Mavs Comeback [Golden State of Mind]
Jonas Valanciunas Injury Update: Raptors’ Center to Return to Lineup [SB Nation]
Did Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns Make the Right Call? [ESPN]
Magics’ Glen Davis Breaks Foot, Out for Rest of Season [ProBasketballTalk]
Best Passer, Shooter, Defender at Point Guard [ESPN]
Andrew Bynum Receives Injections to ‘Cushion’ Knees [CBSSports.com]
Sacramento Kings Struggle Through ‘lost’ Year [SI.com]
Rodman’s Children’s Book is Available Now. He’s a Great Role Model. [ProBasketballTalk]
Suns Reportedly Want Hawks Forward Josh Smith [SI Tracking Blog]
Multiple GMs Believe Kevin Garnett Won’t Play More Than 2 More Seasons [Dime Magazine]
Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul Named Team Captains for All-Star Saturday Night [ProBasketballTalk]
Kevin Garnett and DeMarcus Cousins Blame the NBA’s ‘Agenda’ and Sacramento Screwups for Rookie/Sophomore Snubs [Ball Don’t Lie]
Is Reggie Evans Right? Should Heat’s Title Have Asterisk? [ProBasketballTalk]
Ex-NBA Player Nick Van Exel’s Son Convicted of Murder [ESPN Los Angeles]
