Hawks' Dwight Howard: To warm up before making decision on status

Howard said his back is feeling better Wednesday, but will wait until after warmups to decide whether or not he'll play later in the evening against the Timberwolves, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Analysis:

Howard was held out of Monday's win over the Thunder due to back tightness, but it sounds like he could be trending in the right direction as Wednesday's matchup approaches. In his absence Monday, the Hawks went with a smaller lineup with Paul Millsap at center. If Howard is ultimately held out again, it's unclear if the Hawks would go with the same alignment against a Timberwolves team that starts seven-footer Karl-Anthony Towns and the 6-foot-11 Gorgui Dieng up front.