The Lakers lost again, lost to the Jazz, suffered four consecutive defeats, the record was once again surpassed by the Spurs, the team fell out of the play-off area, putting aside the game winners and losers, Howard's performance made the fans shine, the team was injured continuously, Vogel finally gave Howard a chance, he lived up to expectations, played 30 minutes, shot 9 of 13, got 21 points and 12 rebounds, the whole team did not have a single mistake, such a strong performance, people can't help but think of the former "Warcraft". This is Howard's strong stats of 20 points and 10 rebounds in a single game after 808 days, and he still represented the Lakers against the Cavaliers in the last game, but the Lakers won the championship that year.
The Lakers have high hopes for the introduction of Howard this season, Jordan Jr. is embarrassed to use, Howard has become the only traditional center in the team, as a Lakers champion hero, Howard came to the Lakers to prove himself, but the Lakers have been trying small lineups, Vogel constantly switched starting lineups, resulting in the Lakers have never had a stable lineup to deal with the game, Davis, James was injured, Vogel tried three small lineups, the results all failed, helplessly, he chose a large lineup, with Howard partner Westbrook to start and give Howard enough ball rights.
Howard who got the ball was deeply encouraged, in the game, he was very positive, with cooperation, scrambling, enthusiasm is the best player in the Lakers, on the offensive end, he is not afraid of Gobert's strong defense, with a strong body to push Gobert to score the ball, on the defensive end, he is very good to guard the team's inner line, although there is no defense, but with Howard, the Jazz team has no one who can easily break through to the inside line to score. More importantly, Howard can not only defend on the inside, but also turn back to the outside line for defense, although on the road, Howard's performance has been applauded by the fans on the spot, and even the NBA commentators have said that this is not a veteran, the former Warcraft has returned.
Howard performed so much, after the game team head coach Vogel did not praise him, more about the next West, and the team's next opponent, Vogel said: The team does not have to worry about the game against the Pelicans, against the Nuggets is a bigger challenge, we will know how. As the head coach' next game against the Pelicans, it can be said that it is a "life and death battle" for the Lakers, if they do not win, they are likely to miss the playoffs, and vogel is still so stubborn in the end, it is really helpless. Wouldn't it be nice to use the current squad to play every game step by step? Why do you look down on the Pelicans so much, the other side is an absolute competitor of the Lakers playoffs.
Compared to Vogel, Howard's post-game interview is not called rational, he said: "Before the season, we had a good idea for this season, but now everything is very different, it feels very bad, engaged in this sport, anything can happen, all we can do is go all out.
If Vogel had not abandoned Howard and used the defensive lineup reasonably, perhaps the current Lakers would not have worried about the playoffs, let alone asked James and Davis to return early for the playoffs. Vogel should reflect on his own problem.