Dwight Howard swatted the shot into the stands and playfully wagged his index finger, his famous smile visible to the back of the lower bowl at Staples Center. Six years after Howard spent one tumultuous season with the Lakers and then spurned them in free agency, his unlikely return to the team this year has begun with an even more improbable development. Howard is playing superbly, and Lakers fans have already embraced him again after just three games.