JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard? Who starts? Who cares.
If Anthony Davis keeps playing as he did in the preseason opener, the centers Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee will be counted on to be the two-headed monster in the middle doing the little things. Against the Warriors, they did not disappoint.
JaVale McGee had a double-double, scoring 10 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. He looked focused as he helped his frontcourt teammates, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, intimidate the Warriors at the rim.
Outside of Stephen Curry (Because he’s Steph Curry!) the starting lineup of Golden State looked like a team that was allergic to the paint. The long rebounds early in the game got the Lakers started on an 11-0 run to start the game.
Remember that run JaVale went on last year when the man literally couldn’t miss? Against the Warriors, McGee was perfect from the field, hitting all five of his shots. But this play right here is what makes the Lakers the bullies of the Staples Center.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1180640327104782336
Watch what JaVale McGee does on this play. When Danny Green missed the 3-pointer from the corner, McGee completely boxes out Draymond Green from getting the ball. It’s almost if Green disappeared. It allows Anthony Davis to get the offensive rebound and slam it home.
Plays like this will make the Lakers a dominant offensive rebounding team, which they were in this game, collecting 16. Extra possessions, with the firepower of this team, means trouble for the NBA.
Dwight Howard played the majority of his minutes in garbage time but he was active scoring nine points and corralled nine rebounds. He still looked stiff at times, but that probably will fade when he gets the pace and timing down along with trusting his back more.