Lakers’ Dwight Howard sees minor improvement with longer free-throw attempts

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s always Dwight Howard’s first impluse: Make a joke out of it.
His free-throw routine, in which he stands back a few steps from the line, is becoming one of the more quaint curiosities in the NBA. And to explain it, the 34-year-old, muscle-bound center instinctually tried to go for laughs.
“The weight room,” he said. “Because (I lift) so many weights, I had to step back from the free-throw line.”
As silly as that explanation might sou