Getty Dwight Howard of the Washington Wizards warms up before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Making his second stop on the Los Angeles Lakers, things are drastically different from Dwight Howard‘s first go-round with the purple and gold. Initially brought on board in 2012 to take the torch from Kobe Bryant as the face of the franchise, Howard’s tenure with the Lakers didn’t go as planned. From heaps of infighting between him and Kobe Bryant to inconsistent play – especially in the playoffs – Howard left town after only a year.
Howard is far from the elite player he was when the Lakers initially acquired him yet despite being tossed around the league and bought out by one of the league’s worst teams, Howard still can provide some value and on a non-guaranteed minimum deal, the Lakers are hoping to recapture even a sliver of the player he once was.
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Dwight Howard on Anthony Davis
Howard seems to be a huge fan of playing alongside Anthony Davis. While fans may be hesitant to have Howard mentoring the future of the Lakers’ franchise, Howard’s 15 years in the NBA count for something and it seems that in his older age, Howard has a certain wisdom to him that didn’t exist when he was young and making his mark on the league.
Howard touched on the mentor-mentee role himself a bit.
“Playing with a guy like Anthony Davis, I think we’ll really play well off each other. Howard told the OC Register, “He’s amazing. I’ve watched him grow over the years, and I’m just excited to be able to learn from him, but also give him some things that I’ve learned over my 15 years of being in the NBA.”
At his best, Howard is a rebounding and shot-blocking machine that has the ability to anchor what could be one of the most daunting front lines in the NBA.
Dwight Howard on the Lakers’ Defense
“The main thing I’m looking forward to is defense. I really don’t see anybody coming in our house & scoring at will.”
@DwightHoward with @geeter3 on playing alongside A.D. & LeBron and the defensive presence he’ll bring to the #Lakers: t.co/SmJ1FlBtCq
Speaking of the defense, Howard would go on to touch on this a bit as well. While he mentions playing alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron, the two-headed monster of him and JaVale McGee at center could prove to be one of the best shot-blocking tandems in the league. Factor in the NBA blocks leader from 2017-2018 (Davis) at power forward and you have the recipe for a team that can make life hell on opponents trying to score near the rim.
Davis’ ability to fly in from all areas of the court on help defense should give Howard and McGee a boost down low as well knowing that they should have a bit of help coming their way as well. While the Lakers need their perimeter defenders to play up to par and make things difficult away from the rim, it seems like the Lakers are set in a prime position to not allow any easy buckets in 2019-2020.
While it remains to be seen if Howard will wind up starting alongside Davis in the frontcourt, at the very least he should be seeing a heavy dose of minutes in what looks to be a timeshare alongside McGee.
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Dwight Howard has High Hopes for Anthony Davis & the Lakers’ Defense