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Los Angeles Lakers: Three reasons why Dwight Howard will be great

By Jason Reed

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Dwight Howard #21 of the Washington Wizards reacts after a play during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Capital One Arena on November 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Dwight Howard #21 of the Washington Wizards reacts after a play during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Capital One Arena on November 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for Laureus) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for Laureus) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. He is quietly still one of the best centers in the league

Is Dwight Howard an all-star or an All-NBA player? No. Does he have the potential to emerge as an all-star reserve this season with strong play? Absolutely. Has he quietly been one of the better centers in the league? No doubt.

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Howard gets a lot of criticism for his off-court antics and the way he carries himself, and rightfully so. Everywhere Howard has gone in his career a headache has followed and we would be unjust to absolutely ignore that facet of the game.

However, because of the off-court things, Howard’s on-court production has been criminally underrated and as he still quietly been one of the best centers in the entire NBA.

I covered this in a different article about Howard but in his last five full seasons (not counting last year, where he has an uncharacteristic injury), Howard is the only player in the entire league to average 15 points, 12 rebounds and one block per game.

In that exact same time frame, Howard ranks eighth in win shares for the center position. To put that into perspective, Marc Gasol ranks 10th and has one more game played and almost 1,000 more minutes in that time frame.

He might not be a DeMarcus Cousins-type center that shoots three-pointers and stretches the floor but that is fine, the Lakers already have a big that can do that in both Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma.

Next. Ranking each Laker role player by importance. dark

Howard is someone who can get the Lakers a dozen points, a dozen boards and a block and a half on a nightly basis, at the very least. There were only seven players in the league that did that last season — six of them have been an all-star in the last two seasons.

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