Dwight Howard Says the Lakers are Not Going Down

Down 2-0 heading into Game 3 of the first round series tonight, it could very well be Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and a bunch of nameless scrubs against the San Antonio Spurs machine. Have no fear, Dwight claims. Per USA Today: “We’re not going to go down,’ Howard said defiantly. ‘We’re going to fight. There’s no (mentality of) ‘we’re going to go down fighting.’ We’re going to fight. We’re going to keep fighting. We’ve got a lot of bodies, some strong players, so we’re just going to keep fighting. I want to win, you know what I’m saying? It seems like everything is not going our way, but I’m going to fight through it. I’m a fighter. I’m not going to quit on these guys. I’m going to show them that they can ride my back. It’s not over. It’s only two games. You’ve got to win four.’ By ‘everything,’ Howard is referring to the following: A starting shooting guard in Kobe Bryant who is now the team’s most reliable tweeter after his April 13 Achilles tendon tear ended his season. A starting point guard in Steve Nash whose status for Game 3 is in doubtful after he re-aggravated a hamstring injury in Game 2, and had a cortizone shot in his hip Thursday. A starting small forward in Metta World Peace in who often looks like the leaning tower of Pisa on jumpshots because of the ripple effects of late-March surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee (he’s shooting 33.9% since his April 9 return). A backup point guard in Steve Blake who had filled some of the void so admirably but strained his right hamstring in Game 2 and is out indefinitely. A reserve shooting guard in Jodie Meeks who missed Game 2 with a sprained left ankle and is doubtful for Game 3. And though it has not been confirmed, it’s a safe assumption that pounding headaches and rising stress levels are the norm for Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach Mike D’Antoni after their season gone South. […] For World Peace, who was adjusting the electronic nerve stimulation machine sensors on his recovering left knee while speaking to reporters after Game 2 and the Lakers, (Kawhi) Leonard is one of the many obstacles to what appears to be a near-impossible comeback. ‘I mean, yeah, I can’t really run like I want to, you know?’ World Peace said. ‘But truthfully, I don’t give a (expletive). I still want to win. That’s not going to keep us (from winning). That’s not going to keep me from…from coming out on top this year. That’s our goal. That’s it. There’s no excuse.'”