New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers — January 7, 2020
In early January the Lakers faced the New York Knicks at Staples Center in a game that did not promise much of a show, but at least a safe addition to the win column. Some familiar faces on the other side in Julius Randle, Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock, all of whom played for the Lakers, could be the only interesting factor, but nothing else.
Predictably, LA won by 30 keeping the Knicks under 90 points, and if it was not an enticing game, Howard did his best to put on a decent show for the fans who showed up at Staples Center.
He scored 8 points along with 13 rebounds, but he added a season-high five blocks and he also scored a three. A perfect 1-for-1 from the arc to give him the 100 percent for the game, but a usual 50 percent from the free-throw line with a mediocre 1-for-2.
Anyway, he finished the game with +22 in Plus/Minus, second-best of the season.
Not so surprisingly, the Knicks are once more one of the worst teams in the league, so they must have plenty of issues to address. But when they will face the Lakers next year, they will need to remember that scoring is not that easy if Howard will still be there.