LeBron James had huge praise for Dwight Howard after a double-double night and a vintage performance against the San Antonio Spurs. Howard tallied 14 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting night, along with 13 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 21 minutes, giving the Los Angeles Lakers the punch they direly need from him off the bench.
LeBron knows the importance of Howard:
“Dwight Howard was huge,” said James, according to Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet. “Every minute that he played, it was a great performance by him, crashing the glass, catching lobs, and getting great strips defensively, and giving us extra possessions. He was vintage tonight.”
Howard might be coming off the bench, but he is playing more minute than phantom starter JaVale McGee, who has seen less than 18 minutes in five of the Lakers' six games this season.
Howard shot a crisp 8-of-8 from the field on Oct. 27 against his former team, the Charlotte Hornets — going off for 16 points and 10 rebounds. This should come as no surprise, however, as Howard has always produced double-double-worthy numbers when given minutes.
The veteran big man has played 19 minutes or more in each of his six games with the Lakers, fully embracing his role as a cog off the bench, and most importantly adapting to it quite comfortably.
The Lakers have won five straight games since their season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Howard's impact is slowly but surely starting to be felt in games.
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