Lakers News: Howard Wants to Play in All-Star Game Despite Injury

The 2013 NBA All-Star Game is just around the corner and the Los Angeles Lakers will have two players representing them on Sunday.

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Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard were voted as starters for the game by the fans, and they will be joined by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant for a star-studded Western Conference roster. Bryant will be making his 15th consecutive start in the All-Star Game and Howard told ESPN that he would like to play despite his shoulder injury.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to play,” Howard said before the Lakers practiced Monday. “If I were to re-aggravate my shoulder in these next two games, I’d probably just play a couple minutes (in the All-Star Game) and sit the rest of it out.”

At the end of the day, the Lakers do not want to put Howard’s body at risk by allowing him to play in the game. Even though Howard seems to have recovered from the set-back, he can re-aggrevate the shoulder Sunday night. Still, the All-Star weekend is a showcase for the fans and there is no way Howard will miss a chance to interact with his supporters.

The Lakers center will appear in his seventh All-Star Game, after averaging 16.2 points and 11.7 rebounds this season.