No need to be down, Dwight?

A day after getting smothered by the Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard said his team’s mood shouldn’t be affected by the mounting losses. (Orlando Sentinel)

Magic C Dwight Howard said his team is continuing to be upbeat, adding there has been no screaming among teammates frustrated by the turn of events in the playoffs against the Celtics.

“There’s no need for us to be sad. We’re playing the sport that we love. We’re not going to come in here and change our attitude,” Howard said. “It’s easy to do it when you’re winning and everything is going your way.

“We have to continue to be ourselves and there’s no need for us to be down. There’s no need for us to come in here with attitudes and go at each other. We’re not going to be the team that does that.”

This quote explains everything I hate about Dwight Howard. I admire his abilities — he’s the best defensive big man in the game, an indestructible force, yada yada yada — but his attitude is weak. I don’t want smiling superstars who want to be happy after a game, who are happy just “playing the sport that we love.” F*ck that. I want my superstar ready to rip someone’s head off if that someone seems like an obstacle. I want my superstar taking losses hard and vowing vengeance. I want my superstar to have venom in his Nikes.

“There’s no need for us to be down,” Howard said. Can you believe that shit? He’s down three games to nothing in the Eastern Conference Finals, only a week after his team was favored to win an NBA championship, and there’s no need for the Magic to be down?

I think it’s time to forever put away the Howard-Bill Russell comparisons. At all times, Russell strived for any competitive edge he could find, any at all. Russ would have been thoroughly devastated by a loss. Winning was what drove him, what consumed him.   To Howard, a win is nothing more than one of the many, many things that make him smile.