Centers
JaVale McGee wronged his former team. He shot 100 percent from the field and also bullied the smaller Warriors on the glass to the tune of 13 rebounds in 17 minutes.
He was also disruptive on defense, handling the lane the way a Frank Vogel center must. The Lakers didn’t switch assignments on the perimeter, but the Warriors still couldn’t get much going at the rim because of McGee’s presence.
Dwight Howard was excellent.
On offense, he couldn’t finish at the rim the way he once did. It’s clear that at age 33, he’s lost much of his athleticism and that he can’t jump more than four inches off the ground anymore. But it doesn’t matter.
He played his role perfectly with an appropriate attitude, and that’s an excellent sign for the Lakers.
Howard rebounded well, played passionate defense, and he set a few monster screens.
Dwight was the one player on the roster (besides Davis), who I was most interested in watching. I wanted to see if he would show any tiny signs of unhappiness during the Lakers first preseason game. He didn’t though, Howard had fabulous body language throughout the contest, and he played hard.
After watching Dwight during the Warriors preseason game, it feels like he did hit rock-bottom and has changed into a new and better man.