Dwight Howard: Still Playing through Knee Pain

Howard continues to experience pain in his right knee that is related to the knee strain injury he suffered earlier in the season, forcing him to sit out 11 games, the Houston Chronicle reports. "I am getting there," Howard said. "Each day is different but I just try to play as hard as I can for as long as I can. I want to make sure that come playoff time, I will be 100 percent. Right now, I want to give my team everything I have."

Analysis:

Howard was out for nearly a month, missing games from Nov. 19 through Dec. 11 with the right knee strain. He had a difficult statistical stretch in the second week of January but has since started to round back into his usual dominant self. If Howard were missing games, this news might be more concerning, but considering he's played 34+ minutes each of the last four games, it's hard to be too worried about this based on the information that's available.