JaVale McGee vs.Dwight Howard
The Los Angeles Lakers signed JaVale McGee through the 2021 season, so he’ll be back next year for the Lakers. Dwight Howard’s future in LA isn’t as sure. The Lakers would love to have him back, but he’s played so well that he’ll probably get a few significant offers during the offseason.
He’s looked happy for the first time in half-a-decade, so we’ll assume that he opts to keep the good times rolling, and he re-ups with LeBron James and company for a slight pay raise.
After both centers return, Frank Vogel will have a big decision to make. He could stick with the status quo and have JaVale McGee continue to start at the 5. Or Vogel could shake things up and insert Dwight Howard into the starting unit.
JaVale McGee averaged 16 minutes per game as Lakers starting center throughout the 2019-2020 season, and during his time on the floor, he was an elite rim protector. He did what Frank Vogel asked him to do—he provided high-quality backline defense for his teammates.
JaVale is a more dependable rim protector than Dwight Howard, but Dwight did everything else better. Dwight was a better one-on-one defender, a better perimeter defender, and a much better screen setter.
More importantly, though, Dwight Howard brings extra intangibles to the table, he does the little things that are incredibly valuable, but don’t show up on the stat sheet. Dwight is an irritant. He bumps and shoves while playing defense, which starts out as nothing, but wears on his assignments as the game goes on.
He also puts a little extra shoulder into his screens, and opposing guards begin to feel him as the game progresses. Dwight Howard physically wears down his opponents, and that pays dividends as the game rolls into the fourth quarter.
Perhaps you think it doesn’t matter whether JaVale or Dwight starts; it’s which player closes games that’s important. That’s wrong. Every player wants to start, no matter what they say to the media. Dwight is slightly better than JaVale, so he should be the Lakers starting center next season.