He was supposed to be the centerpiece of a juggernaut. The team traded for him with the assumption that he’d be the bridge between the Kobe Era and the next generation of Laker dominance. Instead, his season has been plagued by chemistry issues, coaching issues, and even worse, injuries. Lakers center Dwight Howard will  now miss Friday’s game against Minnesota because of his sore right shoulder. Howard has been battling with a torn labrum in his right shoulder since January, and he re-aggravated the injury in a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Howard had to leave the game in the fourth quarter, clearing the way for a 13-point collapse and a seventh straight road loss for the Lakers. The Lakers medical staff had deemed Howard as “day-to-day” with the shoulder. After leaving the game against Phoenix, Howard told reporters that the pain in the shoulder was the worst it had felt since the original injury (which caused him to miss 3 games).

A season with much anticipation and promise, has turned into a season of injury-hampered frustration. The Lakers are 20-26, in 10th place in the Western Conference, four games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Howard is averaging 16.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks for the Lakers, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture is a full-fledged oration…