Dwight Howard Discussion: The Taiwan Terror

He deserves to start against Orlando if Davis still can't play

 

Not a fan of messing up the perfect center rotation we have right now. It's working beautifully so there is no reason to change it.

 

I agree. He is getting more minutes than McGee and you’ll probably find that will extend even more into the playoffs. Let McGee start and get his 20 mins of high energy - it’ll keep him engaged.

 

What a transformation. I still resent him a little bit for not being what he is now back then, perhaps saving the end Kobe's career from being a long farewell tour...

But man, he has been sensational.

 

it's not a center's league and Dwight coming off the bench is making the mismatches even worse. Mcgee and AD get the few bigs that are any good and Dwight just has his way coming off the bench. No need to mess with what's working.

 

The best part is he is still a top defender.

 

On one hand I agree with what you all are saying about JaVale... he would probably get butthurt if he lost his starting job and he does play with energy at the start of each game because he's happy... so why mess up the chemistry.

But then I think about how JaVale wanted Zubac gone... and how Zu at 22 is putting up similar numbers as Dwight during his 17 minutes every night and it pisses me off how we accommodated him. He should do what Dwight did this season and play hard no matter what his minutes.

If Boogie looks like he's going to recover then McGee has to be the odd man out.

 

I think depending on Boogie for anything other than spot minutes here and there is a bad idea, and we'd be setting ourselves up for failure.

If he is truly ready, our team is built to want him out there and to succeed, but they also care about him long term. I'm sure they will figure it out, and nobody needs to be the odd man out.

What a ridiculous big man rotation if everyone is healthy. Just absurd.

 

Boogie played 25 MPG and put up good numbers even while recovering from his Achilles.

His other injury people recover from more easily and one can look at this year as rest and another season away from the Achilles.

Maybe you are right and those three can split the center position 16 minutes each... but something tells me they won't be content even when adding in the extra 12 minutes or so that AD is resting.

Has a three man platoon ever been done before successfully?

I suppose if you can do it nothing wrong with keeping all three... but if one has to go it would be McGee for me. DMC offers a different skill set and will provide the bulk and size that the other two can't. Plus he can shoot from range which the other two can't.

 

BEAST mode from Dwight - he's been the guy that has really stepped up in AD's absence as far as being that defensive and lob threat - and just doing all the little things defensively.

 

He crushed them with his rebounding and energy. 13, 14, & 15 rebounds in 3 of the last 4.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Don't mess with the rotations.

 

Th funny thing in watching Dwight play is that he looks like he loves in slow motion, yet his timing is usually on point. It’s like he is being really efficient with his energy and it reflects in his play and numbers. If I were a young big I’d be watching him and trying to learn.

 

Probably better. But I'm not complaining. Dwight has FAR exceeded my expectations.

 

KB24 said: ↑
Who knows how we would have played with Cousins instead of Howard.

I don't know man. Dwight is so much more mobile than Cousins and so much more of an elevated rim protection presence and offensive threat for easy 2 point lobs, who can go out on the perimeter to defend, with all of his experience. Paired AMAZINGLY with what McGee brings. I'm thinking this is the best possible scenario towards a chip. That said, I want to put a stake in the heart of Small Ball / no center position All Star basketball .... and bring all 3 of them back next year. At this point ........for the FUN and the chance for a / another ring ....... maybe Javale bites the bullet this time at the vet minimum. That's your center rotation next year. Who says NO if we can do it "cheaply" from KCP and Rondo's monies this year? One generational player on our team that would be thrilled obviously is ......

 

McGee came to the Lakers after the championships stint with the Warriors. He was out with an illness and wanted to come back to his starting role. He likely had better offers waiting and I'm sure there was an agreement with the Lakers that McGee was to be the starter. That's besides the point, though. Zubac's production increased when LeBron was out. You don't draw plays for a player like Zubac when you have a guy like LeBron on your team. It worked because LeBron was injured and the Lakers really had no depth so feeding Zubac made a lot of sense in smaller rotations. The issue with this is also the fact that Dwight is an accomplished NBA player. The respect factor is just different. Zubac came into the league being an unknown and while he's capable of scoring the ball at times, he's not 1/10th the player Dwight was at his prime. Javale can respect someone like Dwight in a way Zubac would never receive.