The old Superman shouts out a warning to the young one regarding the testing times which are about to come in Los Angeles
On last Friday, Dwight Howard became the second All-Star Orlando Magic centre to head over to Los Angeles Lakers, the first being Shaquille O’ Neal.
O’ Neal had been a big critic of Howard’s approach towards his trade throughout the last one year or so and now that D-12 is in Hollywood, according to the original superman, the testing times are just about to start for Howard
as he joins the long list of All-star centres that have played for the Lakers.
“The pressure that he has been feeling in Orlando has just multiplied by three now,” O’Neal said. “The first thing the great Jerry West did when I signed with the Lakers is he walked me into the Forum and told me to look up. He
showed me all the great big men that played before me and how many championships they won. The Lakers have a tradition of having great big men. He has a lot of work ahead of him.”
There is no doubt that Shaq’s time with the Lakers was a successful one as it was highlighted by three NBA Championships and Howard has to work very hard if he wants to have a similar kind of stint in Hollywood.
However Howard’s job does not end with just succeeding the previous Orlando centre to come to L.A. He has now joined a huge list of legendary centre’s that have adorned the purple and gold which includes the likes of Wilt Chamberlain
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who were a dominant force inside the paint for oppositions all across the NBA.
There is no doubting Howard’s capabilities who may possibly be the best big man of his generation as he averages double-double figures of his career. But the way he parted ways with Orlando does put the bull’s eye right on his
back to immediately succeed or otherwise face a huge bulk of criticism from the media and the fans alike.
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