But it's a better bet the rat will tell the truth than D'Antoni.
Case in point: After Tuesday morning's shoot-around, D'Antoni said Howard was "doubtful" for the game with the Nets.
Two minutes later Howard told the media he had met with D'Antoni before the shoot-around and had told him he wasn't playing.
He didn't seem doubtful about it.
When D'Antoni was asked almost six hours later in his pregame press briefing if he had talked to Howard about maybe giving it a go, he said, "I didn't talk to him.
"I knew from this morning he wasn't going to play."
So why did he tell everyone he held out some hope that Howard might play?
"I don't know," D'Antoni said.
Howard, meanwhile, sounded like he was being interrogated by the police without his attorney present.
Was he bothered by the toughness questions now being raised?
"No, I'm not," he mumbled, but he was no longer the smiling, happy-go-lucky guy who has also irritated some inside the locker room.
He said no matter what is being said, "This is my career. There's no need for me to prove anything to anybody."
Howard said, "I don't want to re-injure it. As long as I'm healthy that's the only thing that matters. Right?"
But there are some in sports, apparently including D'Antoni and coaches on the Lakers' staff, who believe an athlete is supposed to play through the pain.
I asked Bryant, who is noted for playing through pain and who was limping a little on his way to the postgame news conference, if he had any questions about Howard's toughness.
"No, I think it's an experience thing," he said. "For me when I was growing up in high school and middle school, both fortunately and unfortunately, I dealt with injuries.
"There are injuries that aren't debilitating, injuries that you have to play through and manage the pain. You learn your body and know what you can push through and what you can't push through. And Dwight has never been hurt."
Howard played with a sore back last season with Orlando and he has said he did further damage playing. He did not finish the season.
He has also repeatedly said he returned too early from back surgery to play for the Lakers, the nerves in his legs still not ready to let him play at full strength.
But might the injury to Gasol now pressure Howard into returning sooner rather than later?
"Maybe, maybe," Bryant said. "I think he's just worried about the damage in his shoulder and this is all new to him."
Might the insulting questions about his toughness and added pressure on Howard to play drive him toward the Lakers' exit and a fresh start elsewhere next season?
Do the Lakers baby the baby, as some of the Lakers' coaching staff have Howard pegged?
Or, are these same coaches asking him to jeopardize his career so that he might help them keep their jobs?
Yes sir, while things might appear to be looking up, the Lakers continue to have more problems than wins.
