Mike Brown: Lakers’ Dwight Howard ‘definitely not 100%’

Former Lakers coach Mike Brown said Dwight Howard isn’t close to his former self.

“He’s definitely not 100%. He still has a ways to go until he’s able to be the old Dwight,” said Mike Brown on ESPN Radio’s “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”

Howard underwent back surgery in April but rushed back to start the season on time. The Lakers center has been open about how difficult it has been to play this year.

“At this point where he is in his recovery, he’s better than most centers to ever play the game anyway,” Brown said. “So you take what you can get.”

Brown said he was “shocked” that the Lakers let him go but he said he “appreciated the opportunity that they gave me.”

He was also skeptical of Coach Mike D’Antoni’s initial expectation that the Lakers would score at least 115 points a night.

“When they hired Mike, the one thing he said was they were going to score 115 [or] 110 points a game and be the old Showtime,” Brown said. “That was going to be tough with the roster that he had. I didn’t feel that was a running team.”

Brown noted that players such as Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Howard don’t really fit in a fast-paced team.

“I thought they were going to have some trouble there,” Brown said.

Despite the Lakers 25-28 start, Brown still thinks the Lakers will continue to improve.

“I’m sure he’ll figure it out,” said Brown of D’Antoni. “I think it’s a matter of time before they get it going.”

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.