When the game started, (Dwight) Howard lollygagged, smiled, laughed, launched 3-pointers (he was 0-for-4) and went out on the perimeter to defend Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and the other little people. I fully understand that the All-Star Game is a small man’s show, and Howard got out of the way and let the athletes run up and down the Amway Center court and do their dunking, lobbing and alley-ooping ’til their hearts’ content.

“I just wanted to have fun, get out there and make the game interesting,” Howard said. “You know, for me, this is what I wanted to do. I didn’t really care about getting the ball. I get the ball with my team. That’s what matters.”

And which team will that be? Howard wouldn’t say. For a third straight day, he shut down all questions about his future, his trade demand and whether this was his official good-bye to Orlando. Maybe that’s for the best, and a credit to his desire now to overshadow the weekend with his nonsense. But in a way, Howard ended up doing that anyway by making himself so conspicuous by his absence. Howard wanted to host the parties, do the meet-and-greets and fake-eyeglass press conferences and celebrity grip-and-grins.

The game? What game?

“The show was the whole weekend,” Howard said. “It’s not just about the game.”

via Ken Berger of CBS Sports