Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from win over Denver Nuggets

(Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Dwight Howard is flat-out balling! He’s staking a claim for Most Improved Player!

Unless you claim not to follow the NBA at all, most everyone knows that Carmelo Anthony won the NBA Player of the Week award for his exploits last week. Does he deserve it? Sure (The writer is a Melo fan!) but he’s only done this for a week. Dwight Howard has been doing this for over a month.

What Carmelo Anthony brings to the Portland Trail Blazers is what Dwight Howard has given to the Los Angeles Lakers under similar circumstances. Howard and Melo have non-guaranteed contracts and was not wanted around the NBA.

Time to celebrate Dwight Howard folks.

Dwight Howard put up some numbers in limited playing time. In 19 minutes Howard scored 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds (2 offensive!) and blocked 2 shots.

The word “Intimidating” was a word that was mentioned throughout the broadcast when Nikola Jokic was in the paint. The presence of AD, JaVale McGee and Howard overwhelmed Jokic at times in this game on the defensive end. The Lakers outrebounded the Nuggets 56-35.

The Lakers big man shot 5-of-8 in this game (No one knows what he was thinking shooting the 3-pointer from the right corner though!) rolling to the rim and catching lobs for dunks.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1202077169159032832

It’s plays like these that makes LeBron James even more dangerous. Since he’s a willing passer and commands so much attention, teams are forced to pick their poison. In this game, the Nuggets kept sagging off to devastating results. Opponents have a split second to make a decision when LeBron breaks down the defense. An 18-3 record shows they select wrong a ton this season.