With the NBA Restart on the horizon, we are going to take stock of who is on the Los Angeles Lakers, what they did, or didn’t do this season, and what to look for as the Lakers look to march towards their 17th championship banner in the most unprecedented circumstances in NBA history.

Dwight Howard

The addition of Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, following the injury last summer to DeMarcus Cousins, was widely met with snarky responses and memes. And even while lately, Howard himself has done himself no favors in terms of his perceptions by being disciplined for not wearing his mask at the Disney World bubble, as well as telling Instagram Live he doesn’t believe in vaccines, that does nothing to take away from the fact that Howard has been an integral part of the Lakers success.

Perhaps the biggest concern coming into the season about Howard, signing late in the summer on a team with championship aspirations, was his health. He had just lost a season due to lower back/gluteal problems with the Washington Wizards, but this season his health has been spectacular. The Lakers have also done a good job of not overextending his minutes, splitting center time fairly evenly between him and starting center JaVale McGee.

Howard’s efficiency has been incredible this season, shooting just a hair under 74% from the field. Heck, Howard even made a couple of 3-pointers this season. Howard appeared in 62 of the Lakers 63 games this season and he was also incredibly important in keeping Anthony Davis both happy and healthy.

The Lakers entered the season with the plan to listen to Davis’ desires of playing more at power forward. That decision to listen to Davis and construct the team with two centers in McGee and Howard has proved fruitful. Davis is having one of his most efficient seasons on offense while also being an incredible defensive player.

While LeBron James has had a large hand in Davis’ play this season, the play of Howard, as well as McGee, has also allowed the Lakers to thrive in that form. But it does beg the question, if teams force the Lakers to go small, whether the Lakers will stick to the plan as they did in the regular season. If they don’t, Howard’s playing time is at risk of going down in the postseason.