In the game against the Kings, the Lakers still used a five-small lineup to replace Ariza, James continued to play center, and the other three positions were Munch, Bradley and Westbrook. Such a five-small lineup is not ideal, in the face of the Kings' large lineup, the Lakers in the first quarter by the opponent to play a wave of efficient counterattack, open up the point difference. When the score was behind, Vogel made a change in the lineup, he reused Howard, allowing him to improve the depth of the interior and the ability to fight for rebounds, and Vogel's change also achieved miraculous results.
After Howard came on the court, he immediately gave the team help, changed the team's passive situation, in the first quarter of the game, Howard in 3 minutes twice dunks, a single quarter with 4 points and 4 rebounds. In the second quarter of the game, Howard was given playing time again, and he had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal on 3-of-5 shooting in the paint. In the first half, Howard was very efficient with 12 points and 8 rebounds in just nine minutes.
Entering the second half, Howard didn't get much playing time on the offensive end, but he was excellent at grabbing rebounds and defending. In the second half, he had 2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, and his performance was still very shiny. In the whole game, Howard only played 22 minutes, he had 14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 6-of-12 shooting, with a personal plus-minus of +11, which ranked third on the team.
It is worth mentioning that he has grabbed 7 offensive rebounds in the whole game, while the other players have only 7 in total, and the Kings team has only 9, and his excellent performance in this regard has helped the Lakers get more opportunities to finish. The Lakers can win the game, Howard's play is crucial, his presence makes the team's internal offensive and defensive strength stronger, and the competitiveness in the game is also stronger.
Howard hasn't been reused in the past period, and before this game, Howard had been hidden in the snow for two consecutive games, and Vogel had been sticking to his five-small lineup and didn't give Howard a chance to play. In this game, when he saw that his five small lineups were not working well, Vogel also immediately made changes, allowing Howard to play, increasing the team's interior depth and fighting strength, and the effect of such a change was significant.
In the author's opinion, the Lakers can continue to win consecutively in this campaign, beating the Kings at home, Vogel needs to thank Howard, without Howard's efficient performance in this campaign, the team is likely to lose this game, because there is a gap between them and the Kings in the interior, and Howard's appearance makes up for the lack of the team's internal line, and largely helps the team.
For Vogel, although the use of the five small lineups is mainstream, it also depends on the situation, and if the team's five small lineups are not effective, or insist on such a lineup, then the effect will not be very good. At the right time, it is feasible to use a large lineup to improve the team's internal strength and ability to fight for rebounds. The team is not without a center, Howard is still in very good shape, and giving him playing time in some games may have a big reward. After this game, it is also expected that Vogel will give Howard more playing time in subsequent matches, so that the team can expect more victories.