How Lakers’ Dwight Howard Fits Best With Loaded Roster

Making his return to the Lakers, Dwight Howard comes back under much different circumstances. No longer one of the young faces of the league and seemingly hitting rock bottom after years of freefall, Howard is a humbled man trying to get his career back on track.

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How Lakers’ Dwight Howard Fits Best With Loaded Roster

Expected to come off the bench and back up JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard could be an ideal fit off the bench as a defensive anchor for the second unit. Should he prove to be capable of eating up around 15-20 minutes per game at center, the Lakers could almost entirely avoid having to play Anthony Davis at the five and use him at power forward, where he feels much more comfortable.

Dwight could be a huge boost for the second unit, specifically in the rebounding category. With names like Quinn Cook, Avery Bradley, Jared Dudley, and Kyle Kuzma expected to see significant run off the bench, the Lakers have ample outside shooting and perimeter defense, yet lack rebounding and rim protection. Dwight, at his best, can offer a huge boost to both and help to round out what looks on paper to be an excellent supporting cast.

Should McGee go down, Howard should be more than capable of stepping in and providing quality spot starts. While playing starter minutes over the course of an entire season might be a bit taxing given his age and the fact he missed almost all of last season due to an injury, he shouldn’t be forced into that sort of role and could be used to help alleviate McGee’s workload and give him some rest to stay fresh over the course of the season.

Howard’s attitude seems to be different this time around and despite his recent struggles, has the ability to still be at least an impact player off the bench. For a non-guaranteed contract, the Lakers have a high upside option that they can cut ties with and limit their losses should things go wrong a second time.

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Dwight Howard Working on Three Point Shot?

Though brought in for his ability to block shots and snatch up rebounds, Howard seems to be finally embracing the move of the NBA out of the low post. Looking to have dropped a considerable amount of weight and much more mobile, Howard looks to also be working on his outside shot. While it seems unlikely we see him unleash many of them in the season, it could be interesting to keep an eye on considering Howard has only six made three-pointers in his entire career.

At the very least, the increased mobility should help him up and down the court to work as more of a lob threat and agile help defender. While the hope is that Howard can help to act as a counter to some of the league’s interior bruisers, it remains to be seen if he retained his elite strength despite dropping some weight.

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