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The Los Angeles Lakers thought that they had their roster in place. Having acquired Anthony Davis and signed the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Danny Green, the Lakers were ready to embark on their championship quest.
Then, Cousins tore his ACL.
In a surprise move, the Lakers elected to reunite with center Dwight Howard, who had a tumultuous run with the organization during the 2012-13 season before leaving town after just one year.
Howard has struggled to find his niche in the rotation through the first two games of the season, but he is confident that he can help the team win (via Brett Dawson of The Athletic):
“We’re a team from top to bottom,” Howard said. “We have a lot of great pieces. I just want to make sure I do my job the best that I can do it, and I know if I do that, I’ll put my team in a great position — or our team in a great position to win.”
“I understand from probably the fans’ perspective they want me to come out and try to get 30 points and 30 rebounds and stuff like that,” Howard said. “But whatever the coach needs me to do. If he wants me to score one night, then that’s what it’ll be. If he wants me to play defense, block shots, rebound, be physical in the paint, that’s what I have to do every single night.”
The 33-year-old has also failed to convert easy looks around the rim, though head coach Frank Vogel says that Howard is not supposed to be a scorer for the Lakers:
Howard “didn’t get the ball one time in the low post” on Friday, Vogel noted, because “that’s not his role here on this team.” Two of his three shot attempts came on rolls to the rim that resulted in missed layups. His only bucket came late in the fourth quarter of a rout: a dunk off a Quinn Cook lob that was the end result of a broken play.
Howard will certainly be under a microscope all season. He is still one of the better rebounders and rim protectors in basketball when he is going well, but Howard will need to get up to speed in a hurry.
