Video: Analyzing What We Saw from Dwight Howard's 1st Lakers on-Court Appearance

The last time we saw Dwight Howard, he was sitting at a press conference, smiling like he'd just been traded to the best team in basketball or something.

That smile didn't last for too long, though.

His road to recovery after having back surgery in April has been long. His training regime is typified by things like core strengthening. Anything even remotely resembling a vacation was short-lived.

But while a return date isn't set in stone yet, the worst of Howard's experience now appears over. He's even back on the floor—sort of. 

Beyond the obvious good news that Howard is still capable of moving and doing things with a basketball, ESPN Los Angeles' Andy Kamenetzky notes some additional takeaways:

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I have no idea how directly these snippets translate to Howard competing against actual NBA competition during an actual NBA game, but there's no denying he looks fairly spry for someone who went under the knife in April. His movements are fluid. His step and jump hooks contain bounce. He's able to handle some degree of pressure to his back in the form of Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham's forearms. All welcome sights for a Lakers fan's eyes. 

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Spry indeed.

He isn't just dealing with some mild pressure to that back; he's also testing it with those dream shakes.

If you're watching the video and wondering why he can't jump right into the action, remember that Howard's only being subjected to minimal contact. He may be backing up into a forearm, but he's not having to deal with a whole lot of resistance.

Nor is he having to deal with the speed of a game, high-flying acrobatics or—no pun intended—putting his back into some post-defense.

There's a reason Howard will continue to recover for a bit longer, and it's a good one. We all know by now that when athletes rush back to the court too soon, they're at greater risk for re-aggravating injuries or experiencing pain (itself usually a warning sign).

Caution aside, though, seeing D12 do anything is pretty encouraging for Lakers fans.

For someone who had to use a walker to get around at times prior to the surgery, the most important takeaway from this video is that Howard looks pain-free. He may not be bull-dozing anyone over (which would be a bit awkward in light workouts anyway), but he isn't moving too gingerly, either.

We don't see a guy who looks scared to put himself out there.

Howard probably won't move with the same strength and quickness we're accustomed to for a few more weeks. He's really just now re-discovering a feel for the game after months of just tending to his body.

You have to be pretty happy with those baby-hooks falling so automatically, even if the video is carefully edited to hide the results of Dwight's free-throw attempt. (Couldn't they get one shot of him making a free throw?)

You also have to be happy with how strong Howard looks. It might not seem like anything new, but keeping himself in the best possible shape is key to protecting that back going forward.

The most encouraging sign of all may be toward the end of the minute-long video, when Howard rolls to his left before putting up yet another hook shot. His range of motion clearly isn't too inhibited, and it shouldn't be much longer before he's once again exploding to that basket with full force.

There's more work to be done, but we can all rest a bit easier having seen that work in action.

Sure, the background music was painful, and it felt a lot more like a movie trailer than anything of substance, but for Lakers fans, this was still the feel-good blockbuster of the summer.

The best film to come out of Hollywood since...well, since probably a week ago.