Lakers' Dwight Howard Out vs. Knicks, Considered Day-to-Day Because of Back Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers ruled center Dwight Howard out for their home game against the New York Knicks on Saturday after his back tightened up during pregame warmups.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin relayed the news on Howard, who is considered day-to-day.

Howard signed on for his third stint with the Lakers in August. He earned an All-Star appearance while with L.A. during the 2012-13 campaign and played a key depth role during the team's journey to the 2020 NBA championship. He spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

He's averaged 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds across 37 games so far during the 2021-22 season.

Although the 36-year-old Atlanta native had a few years derailed by injury, most notably 2018-19 with the Washington Wizards when he was limited to nine games, he's remained mostly durable throughout his 18-year career. He's played at least 69 games in 14 seasons.

DeAndre Jordan figures to receive an even larger share of the minutes at center whenever Howard is unavailable. 

The Lakers overhauled their roster in the offseason. While the end result was plenty of talent in the backcourt and on the wing, there's less depth in terms of traditional post players, which means Howard's absence will be felt in certain matchups if he's out for an extended period of time.

L.A.'s next game is Tuesday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.