Dwight Howard had made significant strides since returning to the court and completing drills since he began an "offseason" program during the season. 

Jason Biles, head athletic trainer of the Houston Rockets, cited the return of Howard's "explosiveness."

"Every workout has been super tough," Howard said. "They have been trying to push me to the extreme so that I will be better than being in game shape. I will be in better shape than that. They are trying to test my limits to see how far I can go each day.

"I won't let anything hold me back. I've been injured before. I've had worse injuries than this. I'm going to continue to work hard. I just look forward to getting back on the floor to dominate."

Howard hasn't played since Jan. 23.

"I'm a little bit more explosive right now," Howard said. "They've been working on my conditioning a lot, too. All season long, I've been battling back from an injury. It was tough for me to stay in shape and also play at a high level.

"This time, I think they took the necessary steps to make sure I won't reinjure my leg. They've been working on my full body - back, legs, whatever may cause any weaknesses in my body."

Asked if he is stronger than at any other time this season, Howard said: "Oh, yeah. For sure. I don't think this season I had a time I felt really good on the floor."