The NBA regular season has been played in a third of the game, but the Performance of the Lakers has not won the recognition of fans so far in the season. With a wave of four consecutive losses, the Lakers' current record is 16-17, ranking 6th in the West. There is no doubt that the Lakers' current record is very disappointing to fans. You know, at the beginning of the season, most fans saw the Lakers as a favorite team to win the championship, and they all saw them as the best team in the West. However, it is indeed very disappointing that such a highly anticipated team has only delivered a record of less than 50% winning percentage.
Seeing that there are fans here, they will definitely ask, what is the reason for the Lakers' failure? Some fans will say that it is because of injuries, yes, the Lakers' injuries have been with the team so far in the new season. Some fans say that it is because of Davis's decline, yes, Davis's strength this season has indeed declined, and the famous Bill Simmons is even more blunt, "I don't understand why Davis is not yet 30 years old." Of course, there are also fans who say that it is a problem of Wei Shao's incompatibility, and yes, Wei Shao came to the Lakers to play very hard and could not find his position. Obviously, the above three points are undoubtedly several key factors for the Lakers to fail to meet expectations this season.
If the above three points are "inevitable" factors, then the Lakers have another human factor so far this season, and this factor is that "Howard has become a victim of Vogel's stubborn coaching." Before talking about this, let's take a look at the data that Howard has handed over this season. Howard has played in 26 games for the Lakers so far this season, averaging 15.3 minutes per game, scoring 4.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.77 blocks, and shooting 62.2 percent from the field. It is worth mentioning that Howard's average playing time, scoring, rebounding, and blocks this season are all in an overall decline. I don't know, what do you want to say after reading this data? Anyway, I just want to say "Howard hit the Lakers too much"
Fans who often watch Lakers games will know how embarrassing Howard's situation in the Lakers this season is, and can be described by the eight words of "don't give a chance, don't let you play". Seeing that there are fans here, there is a reason why Vogel did not let Howard play, because the Lakers have played a "small, fast, smart" lineup this season. For this statement, I can only use the four words of "nonsense" to describe. Take the last four straight losses, where Vogel would rather use Jordan Jr. than Howard. Look at the defense of Jordan Jr. on the field, it can really be said that whoever sees Jordan Jr. will single, and whether it is defending the inside line or defending the outside line, it is undoubtedly a very big loophole. However, even so, Vogel still did not use Howard, and the result was that "Jordan Jr. was all four games, and the Lakers experienced a wave of four consecutive losses."
Of course, some fans will say, can Howard play the Lakers avoid four consecutive losses? As for this question, it is really difficult to answer. However, what I want to say is that if Howard plays, the Lakers' rebounding disadvantage will not be so obvious at least, the Lakers' interior defense will not be so weak, and Howard's blocking and single defense under the basket will be stronger than Jordan Jr. You know, Howard is the best defensive player in the league in the past, but the former rebounding king + block king, as the saying goes, "the skinny camel is bigger than the horse."
Again, maybe Howard had some small conflicts with Davis before, or maybe Howard had shortcomings of one kind or another. However, in the later games, Vogel really can't be so stubborn, really can't help but give Howard a chance, and can't help but give Howard time to play. You know, Howard can really help the team, and he really wants to help the team out of trouble.