Los Angeles Lakers: Dwight Howard well on his way to a starting position

Dwight Howard is playing tremendous basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers. If he keeps it up, he will push JaVale McGee out of the starting lineup.

Dwight Howard returned to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason and seems poised to make this time around work better than the first time. The first go-around was filled with drama and the Lakers couldn’t mesh all of their stars together.

Howard is older and he has more wisdom. He also is seeking to win a ring for the first time in his career so that extra motivation is there. Anyone playing next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis should get plenty of opportunities as well.

Howard hasn’t filled up the stat sheet in his first five games with the Lakers, but his presence has been made. Howard, currently in 21.3 minutes per night has an insane offensive rating of 118.8 and a defensive rating of 89.4, that’s good for a +29.4 net rating according to NBA advanced stats.

Those numbers are not sustainable over the course of a season, but it goes to show how much impact Howard is having. His per-36 minutes he is averaging 9.1 points and 12.1 rebounds. Both numbers are well below what he usually averages, but his usage is also down to a career-low 9.5%.

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Howard is doing good things in the minutes he is playing. JaVale McGee is decreasing minutes each night, leading way to Howard possibly taking that starting role at center. In McGee’s four games his offensive rating is a low 96.3, his defensive rating is good at 98.4 but still lands at a -2.1 net rating according to NBA advanced stats.

Howard is shooting 70.6% from the field and is blocking 2.4 shots per night. His offense and defense seem to both be doing well and an increase in minutes will improve his stat categories. As witnessed here Howard still has the ability to go out and get buckets and be a force on both ends.

Going forward, Howard could be taking the starting center spot and getting his minutes around 25 per night. Playing more minutes with Davis and James can be seen as a boost to Howard’s value to the team. The Lakers need a center who can give them a bucket and has the experience to go against some of the other big centers in basketball.

Howard isn’t getting any younger and he knows this may be his best opportunity at a championship. He has changed his game to be more of a team player and it seems to be clicking for him. Frank Vogel and his staff have done a great job in putting him in situations that he can succeed in.

One thing Howard will need to continue to work on if he seizes the opportunity is free throws. This has been a struggle his entire career and he is currently 42.9% from the free throw line. More minutes means more opportunities for teams to slow games down and foul to force him to try and make his free ones.

The Lakers’ has a good offseason getting depth, and this Howard signing is proving to be a good one. Now he has to keep playing his role and he will end up in the starting five.

With his career ticking down, he knows it’s time to win a ring and that could just be in Los Angeles.