NBA regular season, the Lakers away to challenge the Denver Nuggets, the recent state of the two teams is not very good, the Lakers lost to the Grizzlies, kings, suffered two consecutive defeats; the Nuggets recently lost to the Clippers, win over the Blazers. Lakers Anthony Davis continued to be absent, Nuggets Murray was absent, originally thought it would be a matchless match, but in the end the Lakers lost to the Nuggets by 37 points, suffering three consecutive losses.
Now, the Lakers are seventh in the West with 21 wins and 22 losses, and the Nuggets are sixth in the West with 22 wins and 19 losses, and the two teams are two wins apart. In this game, on the Lakers side, James contributed 25 points and 9 rebounds, Westbrook got 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Howard contributed 13 points, and no one else had a double. It can be said that the Lakers played very badly in this game, and even reached 42 points when the point difference was the largest, and the Lakers fans shouted: "Don't face it!" ”
As far as this game is concerned, it is not that the Lakers do not want to win, but can only say that they have really tried their best. In order to deal with the new MVP Jokic, Vogel even activated howard and Jordan Jr., two centers who had been hidden in the snow for a long time. And Howard played as a starting center, playing 6 of 5 in the first quarter of 10 minutes, 1 of 2 free throws, 11 points and 3 rebounds (all of them on the frontcourt), and completed a dunk on Jokic's head, originally thought that Howard would usher in a super explosion in this game, but Howard only played 21 minutes before being replaced.
Today's game, Howard played a little faulty, the first game, the first quarter on 6 shots 5, 11 points alone, the Lakers in the first quarter only took a total of 29 points, Howard alone took nearly half, such a performance really can not fault anything. However, in recent days, the news that the Lakers are going to trade Howard is really a bit incomprehensible.
According to Bleacher Report reporter Jake Fischer, sources revealed that the Lakers have contacted other teams to evaluate the value of the deals for Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan and Kent Bezmore. In other words, Howard, Jordan Jr., and Bazemore have been put on the shelves and ready to be sent away.
Howard played 33 games for the Lakers, averaging only 14.9 minutes per game, 5.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, shooting 62% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range, and as a center, he averaged 3.6 points per game on the inside and 63.8 percent on the inside. Such a player has to be traded by the Lakers, and it has to be said that the Operation of the Lakers is still confusing. Fans know that the Lakers really lack the inside line, Jordan Jr. is hidden in the snow, Howard's playing time is not guaranteed, Davis is still injured, forcing him to send Old Zhan to the No. 5 position, which is called to make Wei Shao better integrate into the team.
This season I really can't think of any problems with Howard playing: the base salary, does not take up space, blue collar, does not occupy the ball, low playing time, never complains, can play when you can play, and wave towels if you can't play. If the sending away Howard is to make room for funds, Howard is just a basic salary player, can not occupy much salary space for the Lakers, even if he is no longer in the Lakers' plan, then the Lakers should not consider leaving a substitute inside line just in case.
Even if Howard has reached the peak no longer, but with his current strength, playing a substitute center is completely fine, as far as his performance of 11 points in the single quarter today, it is completely fine to stay with the Lakers as a substitute. If in the following games, the Lakers face a team with a strong interior line, it is impossible to let thick eyebrows and James go to the top for a long time, although the Lakers insist on playing five small lineups this season, but a heavy center like Howard is essential.