Sixth Man of the Year Ladder 3.0 still about those LA Clippers

Dwight Howard‘s transition in his age-34 season to being a reserve has gone much more smoothly than most anticipated. Howard, who missed 73 games last season after back surgery, has played in every game thus far this season for the Los Angeles Lakers and is beloved by a fan base that vilified him during his last stint in Lakerland in 2012-13.

Entering this season, Howard had played in 1,044 career games, winning three Defensive Player of the Year awards, being named to eight All-NBA teams … and coming off the bench just once. That relief appearance came on March 22, 2006, against the Knicks when Howard was in his second season with the Orlando Magic.

So, yeah, it had been awhile.

But he’s been everything the Lakers could have wanted after they signed Howard in the wake of DeMarcus Cousins sustaining a torn ACL during a summer workout. He’s averaging 7.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 20.2 minutes per game while shooting 72.2 percent overall. He’s also made a career-high three 3-pointers, hitting 3-of-5 so far this season.

Howard returned to the ladder after being ineligible three weeks ago, when his playing time slipped below the 20-minute-per-game threshold. But in 10 games over the last three weeks, Howard averaged 10.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 22.7 minutes per game, shooting 66.2 percent overall and going 2-for-2 from deep.

His best performance came on Jan. 13 in a blowout of the Cavaliers, when he scored 21 points with 15 rebounds in 25 minutes. Howard has an active streak of seven straight games with 10 rebounds or more and his 7.7 rebounds per game off the bench is third-best in the NBA.