Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron out early, Butler leads Heat upset, 5 Lessons

Dwight Howard needs to play more for the Los Angeles Lakers!

One of the mysteries in this Finals series is about Dwight Howard. Like did he do anything wrong?

In the Western Conference Finals, Frank Vogel had to get on him for his antics that almost got him thrown out of a game. He told Dwight to cool it and inserted him into the starting lineup. The Lakers ran the Nuggets out of the bubble afterward.

For the last two games, Dwight Howard has come out of the gate firing with energy and physical toughness. He scored three dunks in less than two minutes in Game 2 and it didn’t take him five seconds to do this in Game 3.

In a game where the Miami Heat decided to go with the bigger lineup with a commitment to being more physical, this is the time to use Howard. If he fouls out, fine. The Lakers were outmuscled. No one’s outmuscling Dwight. Ask Bam Adebayo.

But where will his minutes come from?

Markieff Morris?

PFFT! Nope. The oldest Morris twin is on fire from the 3 point line. With a team that shot 14-42 (33.3%) from distance, that is really saying something.

In 19 minutes, Morris lit up Miami from the corner knocking down 5 shots from downtown in 11 attempts. He led the team in plus/minus by a country mile with +10. He’s been the most consistent 3 point shooter on the team and he’s been lights out since the Denver series!

Kyle Kuzma:

Why this guy is hated by many of the Lakers fanbase is beyond reason. He’s important in the small-ball lineup. Plus when he cuts to the basket and plays within control, he’s productive. This game was one of them. He finished with 19 points in the strength of 4 shots from the land of the extra point. His defense was much improved in this game and he knocked down a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter. 

Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso are out. They are keeping their minutes.

Lake Show Life might have found Dwight some minutes somewhere. Read on to see where!