Wizards' Dwight Howard (back) says pain is gone

Washington Wizards forward/center Dwight Howard said he is now pain-free after undergoing a lumbar microdiscectomy on November 30.

What It Means:

"Oh, I can sit down. I can touch my toes, put my socks on — all the stuff I couldn’t do before the surgery," Howard said. "It feels good to get that stuff off, because I was in a lot of pain. I don’t know how I actually played the way I was playing with what was going on in my body, and I’m just so happy that it’s gone." Howard is only 3 weeks into a 2-3 month timetable. Markieff Morris has been the primary beneficiary from Howard's absence.

Dwight is averaging 26.4 FanDuel points through nine games this season, with 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.