Dwight Howard on Pressure from Kobe Bryant to Play: ‘He’s Not a Doctor’

After getting publicly pressured to fight through his shoulder and back injuries by Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard fired back when confronted by the media in Boston today. Howard — who took part in the morning shootaround, and is considered a gametime decision for tonight — says that Kobe is not a doctor, and that he won’t take unnecessary risks with his basketball career (and future earnings) at stake. Per ESPN: “That’s his opinion, that’s it. He’s not a doctor, I’m not a doctor. That’s his opinion.’ […] ‘I want to play,’ Howard said. ‘I mean, why wouldn’t I want to play? But, at the same time, this is my career, this is my future, this is my life. I can’t leave that up to anybody else because nobody else is going to take care of me. So, if people are pissed off that I don’t play or if I do play, whatever it may be, so what? This is my career. If I go down, then what? Everybody’s life is going to go on. I don’t want to have another summer where I’m rehabbing and trying to get healthy again. I want to come back and have another great year. That’s what I want to do.'”