4. JaVale McGee/Dwight Howard
The first player to watch on this list is a tandem. If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to defeat the Utah Jazz, they will need their center pairing to hold down the fort against one of the top big men in the league; Rudy Gobert.
Gobert is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner as he can wipe out players on that side of the court. He could match up with Anthony Davis at times during the game, which makes McGee and Howard even that much more important.
In their first game against the Thunder, Utah started Royce O’Neale and Bogdanovic in the frontcourt. If they do that again, McGee and Howard are going to have mismatches inside all night long that they will have to take advantage of.
In the season opener against the Clippers, the duo combined for 36 minutes played but didn’t have much of an impact, scoring seven points with eight rebounds, one assist and three blocks. If they receive that amount of minutes again tonight, they will have to do better, especially if they aren’t matched up with Gobert consistently.