The Los Angeles Lakers put their trust in Dwight Howard for Game 4. He rewarded them early to spark the win that gave them a 3-1 series lead.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ 114-106 Game 3 loss to the Denver Nuggets signaled the need for change. JaVale McGee had played just eight minutes, all in the first quarter. His limitations could not keep pace with Nikola Jokic, as the Nuggets scored 11 points in under six partial possessions the two were matched up against each other.
Sliding Anthony Davis down to the center seemed like the logical answer given all the benefits it provides. The move did wonders in helping LA get by the Houston Rockets in five games, but P.J. Tucker is no Jokic. Asking that of Davis would extract too high a toll, especially considering the load he has to carry at the other end.
So, Frank Vogel opted to swap McGee for his backup, Dwight Howard. This was the same Dwight Howard who started the second half of Game 3 and whose strength is the only combative the Lakers have to the husky size of Jokic.
This Dwight Howard was also the one who picked up 13 fouls in 43 minutes through the first three games (4.3 a game) and whose chatter in Game 3 was both comical and loud enough to draw the parental ire of the referees.
A risky proposition for Vogel, yes, but an adjustment in an attempt to accentuate LA’s size advantage and keep Denver from knotting up the Western Conference Finals at two games apiece.
Howard wound up playing over 22 minutes in the 114-108 victory that gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead. He only required the first nine and change to imprint a mark that would set the tone until the final buzzer.
During the opening frame, Howard put up eight points and eight rebounds. He chipped in an assist and a steal as well. Better yet, he picked up just a single foul and finished the game with only two.
His eight rebounds in nine minutes were more than what Denver could corral in those first 12 and helped LA finish a plus-eight on the boards. Half of those eight came at the offensive end, where Dwight put himself in position and scored his eight points all on his own merit.
Teams have spent the better part of the last half-decade begging Dwight to abandon his dreams as an offensive focal point in the post. He never really had the touch or footwork during his best years. The appeal further diminished as he aged and the game changed around him. Interest still remained for the work Howard could put in on the glass and as a roller if he was willing to embrace that drab work.
Whether out of the most severe form of desperation or a genuine desire to change (or both), the Lakers offered the chance that wound up sticking. Howard became a surprise bench contributor in all the ways people thought he couldn’t, finishing whatever passes came his way with a singular commitment to playing around LA’s stars, not trying to usurp them.
When needed, those attributes were on full display in a pivotal Game 4 that brings the Lakers oh-so-close to the NBA Finals.