As Howard reflected on some of his challenging times on Sunday after a win over the Pistons, “Can You Stand The Rain” by New Edition was playing on a portable speaker in his locker. A reporter teasingly asked if he himself could stand the rain – and Howard got reflective. “Man, I’ve been standing in the rain for years! The sun is shining again!” Howard said. “You gotta be able to stand in the rain. That’s what makes us humans. That’s what makes us us. The ability to go through tough times and not allow it to break our character. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to go through Hell and be like, ‘OK, just smile it off.’ But you never know how close you are to your breakthrough if you just quit on yourself.”