The Assist: Lakers Dwight Howard & Jodie Meeks visit Kobe Bryant at home [photo]

Trusting in Dwight Howard’s word about what he plans to do in free agency has been a shaky in the past. But if his latest actions are any indications, the rumors that Dwight plans to sign in LA long term this summer absolutely point to that. Not only did Dwight go to the hospital to visit Kobe Bryant following the surgery on Mamba’s achilles tendon, he and teammate Jodie Meeks also visited Kobe at home on Monday.

Dwight believes the Lakers can win in the playoffs even without Kobe. But, the impact Kobe has made on the All-Star center is clear. In Sunday’s win against the San Antonio Spurs, Howard looked comfortable as the face of the Lakers, scoring 26 points and grabbing 17 boards. The Lakers also have a shot to move up in the seventh seed so these last few games in the Western conference are going down to the wire including Wednesday night’s final game of the season between the Lakers and the Rockets for that spot. If the Lakers, through a variety of combinations manage to pull that off, it would mean a first round match up against the Spurs instead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.