Getty Images Lakers center DeAndre Jordan.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have Dwight Howard in the starting lineup on Friday against the Clippers, relegating veteran big man DeAndre Jordan to the bench.
And not only that but Jordan will only be used in an emergency situation when Howard starts, with Lakers skipper Frank Vogel saying he’ll only center the minutes to one classic big man per game.
Vogel shared the news while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“We made the decision a couple of games ago that because trying to play both of those guys in really short minutes it didn’t really feel easy for one to get into a rhythm. We made a decision to only use one of them unless, obviously, we had foul trouble or whatnot,” Vogel told reporters. “And it was DeAndre for a bit. I decided in the middle of the first quarter of the last game that I wanted to see what Dwight could do and it was Dwight for the rest of that game.
“And I intend to start Dwight tomorrow against the Clippers,” added Vogel, who usually keeps his starting lineup under wraps. “And it will be a situation where we just monitor really on a game-to-game basis going forward, but with the intention of just giving those center minutes to one player and not two. Whether it’s DeAndre or Dwight.”
Jordan has averaged nearly 14 minutes per game this season, grabbing 6.0 rebounds and notching 4.8 points.
Howard Shined Against Kings With Double-Double
Howard — who started the second half against the Kings — shined bright with 12 points and 13 rebounds, also recording a pair of blocks and steals. That came after Howard was told he wouldn’t be playing, so he was working hard to stay on the floor.
“Coach told me I wasn’t really going to play tonight before the game. I was kind of down and expecting not to play,” Howard said in his walk-off interview with Spectrum Sports. “But you always have to be ready to play. He called my number and I wanted to make sure if a played tonight I was going to give it 110% effort to help this team win.”
Lakers Have Had Issues With Big Man Rotation
The Lakers mismanaging the big man rotation is nothing new. A large part of the team’s downfall a year ago was the tension between Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell and Andre Drummond, who was picked up off the buyout market. Each brought a unique skill set to the table, but none of the trio were optimized.
This season Anthony Davis — and even LeBron James — have been playing more center, giving the Lakers a superstar skill set at the position.
“When I’m at the 5 and LB is at the 4, then we can switch all over the floor: all pick and rolls pin-downs, whatever, we just switch it,” Davis said.