“This week we had to travel… We got barely any practice. So I am stressing out because the cha-cha is the hardest dance we’re gonna do all season and we are learning to do this in two days.” Daniella Karagach Pashkova, before the performance, spoke about the lack of practice for the pair. Even Dwight Howard echoed the same concern in a pre-taped video. The concerns inevitably came true, and the duo got one of the lowest scores for the episode. But DH12 is not quitting and is already putting in some work and even issuing an apology to his partner.

“Not letting my perfect partner down next time.” Dwight Howard apologized to the EMMY-nominated choreographer. He even captioned the Instagram post with an assuring message, “We got this next one 🙏🏾 @daniellakaragach @dancingwiththestars #dance #dwts #rip #frankiebeverly.”

The Monday episode was a ‘Soul Train Night’ special, and the pair did a ‘Cha Cha‘ performance. The preferred choice of song was ‘Let’s Groove’ by Earth, Wind and Fire, but it did not impress the judges.

“I’m gonna do a little real talk. That was hard to watch,” comments from Carrie Ann Inaba met with a lot of boos from the crowd, but she did not budge on her assessment. “I know you can do better than that, and you’re trying to trick us with all the expressions.” Guest judge Rosie Perez too had a similar verdict.

“You know that I love you on the court. But I think you just need to work a little bit harder, that’s it.” The other two judges, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, appreciated the approach but also advised to improve the technique. That is why the pair could only muster 23 points of the possible 40. But there’s still hope.

Dwight Howard fans shouldn’t lose hope just yet

Currently, the Center is at risk of elimination, but the other two pairs got similar low scores. Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater (21 points), and Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart (24 points). But all three of them have a shot at redemption with tonight’s performance and audience votes.

Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach Pashkova will perform Paso Doble during Tuesday’s ‘Hair Metal Night.‘ Not to forget the 2020 NBA Champion and his dance partner received the top 2 scores after week 1 and week 2 performances. They had scored 44 points from a possible 60, and Carrie Ann called the previous foxtrot performance “gorgeous.”

Even Derek Hough said that he was “blown away”, and Bruno Tonioli was impressed with the 6-foot-10 former NBA star’s footwork. With the audience on the set booing the judge’s comments from this week, it feels that Dwight Howard has fan support. And it will come in handy if the situation turns worse after the performance.