Against the Hornets, Westbrook single-handedly blasted down 35 points, while Howard was DNP by Vogel and did not have a minute to play. On January 30, Beijing time, the US media lakeshowlife suggested that Howard apply for a deal and leave the Lakers. The famous bill Simmons teased that Wei Shao increased the value of the transaction through this game, and the Knicks, who have always been "stupid and have more money", have the possibility of taking over.
After returning to the Lakers, Howard was not reused by coach Vogel, averaging only 14.8 minutes per game, a new career low and a lot less than when he played for the Lakers in 2019-20 (18.9 minutes). He averaged 5.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and shot 63.5 percent from the free throw line, a new post-show season high.
So far this season, Howard has been DNP in 12 games and has not been given a chance to play. US media lakeshowlife believes that Howard should apply for a trade to play for a team that needs to be more in demand. Against the Hornets, Jordan Jr. played badly, but Vogel still didn't think of Howard, the veteran who didn't get the respect he deserved. It has previously been reported that the Lakers have also evaluated the possibility of trading Howard.
In addition, after the Lakers introduced Wei Shao, it meant that Howard no longer adapted to this system. The Lakers reporter listed changes in the shooting percentage of the basket that Westbrook worked with several centers. The specific data are as follows -
When Howard came in/out, Westbrook shot 47.6%/59.8% from the basket;
Jordan Jr. played/left the game with a 47.2%/59.5% goal-shooting percentage from the basket;
When Davis came in/out of the game, Westbrook shot 62.6%/54.1% from the basket.
The traditional center and Wei Shao are very incompatible, and when the thick eyebrows that can open up space are on the field, Wei Shao's attacking basket shooting rate is significantly improved. That's why the Rockets traded Capela for Westbrook in the first place.
Against the Hornets, Wei Shao, who played with a single core, scored 35 points and scored 30 points in the second half, unfortunately failing to hit a three-point kill. Bill Simmons tweeted and joked: "The Lakers' strategy of 'making Zhan Mei truce and trying to increase the value of Westbrook's trade has worked, and the Knicks may be stupid enough to be willing to trade him." "Ridicule is ridicule, the outside world generally believes that Wei Shao's contract is too big, it is difficult to be sent away by the Lakers."