[rainmaker82]

Anyone thinking about his play? Even if Kobe doesn't play, which I would be surprised. The Mavs have Eddy Curry down low. No way can he match up with Howard and Gasol. Lakers should be up by 10+ at half. I think they come out strong at home tonight.

Any thoughts on this one fellas?

[onacloud]

Anyone thinking about his play? Even if Kobe doesn't play, which I would be surprised. The Mavs have Eddy Curry down low. No way can he match up with Howard and Gasol. Lakers should be up by 10+ at half. I think they come out strong at home tonight.

Any thoughts on this one fellas?

Dwight Howard (back) said through a variety of comments on Monday that he is not yet 100 percent.

"My back’s strong enough, but it’s not about strength at this point," said Howard. "It’s about endurance." He added, "There are still days where it’s real achy, and hard to move. And I just try to fight through it." It's hard to ascertain where exactly he is with the injury, especially because back injuries are as tricky as they come, but we doubt the Lakers would throw him into action if he wasn't ready. Marc Spears added that "barring an unexpected back flare" that Howard "will play in (the second of) back-to-back games at Portland on Wednesday.