Well Josh Howard appears to be back on the court. The Dallas Mavericks player participated in a scrimmage game on Wednesday, which was his first time on the court since he had ankle surgery just a few months ago. He was able to play the first half of the practice game before he had to stop and ice his ankle. He said that when you don't play for as many weeks as he did, and you come back and start again you're going to have bruises bumps and pains and aches. He said that he was trying to fight through it.

The Mavericks still aren't sure when Howard will play his first actual game. The goal for Josh is to get him completely healthy and according to Coach Rick Carlisle to make some time to play in the pre-season. Carlisle also said that they were looking to make sure there was steady progress and so far there has been, but that there was no specific time when he would definitely be back in. He mentioned that since the procedure was serious that no matter how he performed in the scrimmage game, he still needs time and that he won't be put into any games anytime soon.

This is bad luck for the basketball star who was most likely hoping to have a chance to work with new recruit Shawn Marion who played with the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors. Marion was supposed to have paired with Howard. However, he has missed two practice sessions in a row with a calf injury and likely will not be in the pre-season Pistons game. These two will certainly make a difference on the court if they can get back in the game.