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Dwight Howard was incredible for the Lakers in their first significant minutes in two weeks. He was an irritant on defense, a relentless blocker and a ball threat on offense and overall, he gave the Lakers plenty of energy off the bench to help them beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Conference Finals. West.
Howard played so well that Lakers head coach Frank Vogel opted to start him over JaVale McGee in the second half on Friday night, something he’s thinking of doing from the jump when Game 2 starts Sunday.
“I’m considering that, but I won’t reveal our starting lineup until tomorrow night, 30 minutes before the game,” Vogel said after practice on Saturday.
Howard was clearly enjoying his role as a physical plague on defense, but after Game 1 he also didn’t seem overly concerned about whether he will start or come off the bench to advance. He is happy to help this team however he can.
“A lot of times, this is where people just fall, when they get straight to the finish line,” Howard said of playing in the conference finals. “To me, I just said ‘prepare for whatever. Five minutes, 10 minutes, one minute, however many minutes you play, just get out there and leave everything on the line. ‘
The argument for starting with Howard is pretty clear. Obviously, he was better defending and pestering the Nuggets, and his skill set seems to make him a smoother fit overall for this series. However, Vogel said in practice that he makes adjustments, whether they are tactical or rotating in nature, “on a case-by-case basis,” and said one of the challenges of making it into the NBA playoffs is making sure he doesn’t. Don’t do them too early.
“You always want to have moves to do,” Vogel said. “You don’t want to start with your plan C or D. First try plan A and see how it works and how it develops.
“Usually, I don’t cement any decisions until the morning of game day. After the game we will have a feeling of where we are, we will look at the tape, measure it again the next day, we will have an idea of where we are going without putting it in cement, and then we will sleep on it the next night and wake up. that morning with a plan. “
In that timeline, it looks like Vogel will know whether to put McGee back on the bench or keep Howard coming off the bench Sunday morning. The rest of us will know 30 minutes before the Lakers start Game 2, which will begin at 4:30 pm PT tomorrow night.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
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