New Year’s resolutions for the Los Angeles Lakers
By Amaar Burton
3. JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard: Keep the peace
When Dwight Howard joined the Los Angeles Lakers as a late addition in free agency, the biggest concern was not that the former All-NBA center was no longer the superstar he used to be.
The Lakers don’t need Howard, at 34 years old, to put up 20-and-12 stat lines and compete for Defensive Player of the Year.
The main concern was about Howard’s presence on the bench and in the locker room.
Would the mercurial talent sulk and complain if he didn’t get the ball as much as he wanted? How would he handle not being a starter or not having a featured role? Would he be a pain to deal with, like he’d allegedly been at his other stops around the league?
So far, so good.
Howard is averaging 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while playing just under 20 minutes per night coming off the bench. He is taking 3.7 field goal attempts per game as a role player, when once upon a time in his career he was taking more than 13 field goals every night (plus a lot of free throws) as the face of a franchise.
The Lakers’ starting center, JaVale McGee, is averaging 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, playing fewer minutes than Howard.
https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1204832173091627008
This might look like a mentor-mentee situation on the surface, but it’s really not.
McGee might look younger and less experienced than he appears (thanks for that, “Shaqtin’ A Fool”), but he’s a 31-year-old full-grown veteran who’s been in the league for 11 years and has two championship rings.
McGee would have every right to be salty about Howard getting more playing time, but by all accounts, he is on-board with the rotation.
The platoon is working, the Lakers are winning and everyone seems happy.
Howard appears to have won back the trust and support of a fan base that had vilified him following his previous run with the Lakers in 2012-13. McGee appears to be earning the respect of fans who had only known him previously as the star of basketball blooper reels.
Going into the new year, the best thing for the Lakers would be if McGee and Howard don’t upset the balance they’ve got going and maintain positive attitudes about their new normal.