Dwight Howard will play for the Los Angeles Lakers tonight as they take on the Boston Celtics. Earlier today Howard participated in the Lakers shoot-around, and he is now slated to make a return after missing the last three games for the Lakers as he nursed his injured shoulder Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

After missing two games with sore shoulder, Lakers center Dwight Howard plans to play against Boston tonight, league sources tell Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 7, 2013

This is great news for the Lakers, as Pau Gasol will be missing an extended period of time, and they would be left with Robert Sacre as the only true center on the roster. Kobe Bryant had discussed the need for "urgency" regarding Dwight Howard playing through his injury, and Steve Nash also noted that there comes a point where you simply have to play through pain. Now, Howard will play for the Lakers in Boston-- his first game as part of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.