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Last summer, Dwight Howard signed an unsecured contract with the Lakers to show the team (and himself) that he could contribute without having to be the star he was when he first played in Los Angeles in 2012. While he was there. There were many reasons to be skeptical at first, Howard quickly turned his skeptics into believers.
The irony, though, is that the Lakers really need Howard to play a big role in getting past Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Howard, 34, is not as strong or young as he used to be, but he has shown that he is still capable of protecting skilled post players like Jokic, of whom there are not many left in the NBA.
The problem is that Howard has a tendency to get into foul trouble early, a tendency that has made it difficult for Lakers head coach Frank Vogel to keep him on the court.
“Dwight is used to playing starting minutes throughout his career,” Vogel said before Tuesday’s game. “I feel like we can get more out of him. Fouls have been a problem. A couple of fouls weren’t fouls last game, but you know, we just have to make sure he plays with that energy without fouling. If he does that, we can get more minutes for him. “
Howard finished Game 3 with four fouls in 14:04. For the playoffs, Howard has averaged 11.1 personal fouls every 36 minutes, which is the most he has averaged in his career.
Vogel wants Howard to keep playing physically, but he also wants Howard to find a balance between being aggressive and fouling.
“The perfect scenario is that he has one or two fouls throughout the game, but he just brings a physical presence, toughness and energy to the game,” Vogel said after practice Wednesday. “I am very happy with the energy with which he is playing. It is really producing positive results on the court, but some of them are canceled out with fouls, for sure ”.
The Lakers have posted a 91.1 defensive rating with Howard on the floor the last three games and a 119.1 defensive rating when he has been on the bench. His offense has also been 8.1 points better for every 100 possessions with him on the court. The only Lakers player with a better point differential in the last three games is Anthony Davis.
Howard should probably start, and it’s something Vogel’s said it’s considering, but his lack of discipline when it comes to fouls is clearly a problem. Hopefully Howard has a better performance in that regard in Game 4.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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