I have a lot of thoughts but my gut says JaVale starts G1. He played well vs Miami regular season. Vogel seems like a reactive coach, defensively esp. Guessing he goes with the baseline starting group and adjusts from there… https://t.co/nD7TXrXbfP
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) September 28, 2020
I can’t believe Frank Vogel would be that stupid!
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September 28, 2020 4 Comments
Bam would destroy McGee. How he played 6 months ago has no relevance to how he’s played the second half of the regular season, in the bubble, and in the playoffs. Howard should start. Period. Jeesh!
One huge reason why Vogel should start Dwight Howard and play him big minutes besides it being the smart thing to do to win is it would increase the odds Dwight would want to stay with the Lakers next season. He is going to get offers for more money and a starting role from teams like the Celtics and the Lakers would be smart to do what they can now to insure Dwight stays. Pandering to McGee, who has played terribly in the playoffs, would probably ensure Dwight moves on. Right now, based on what we’ve seen from him, he’s clearly the Lakers best option at center defensively. Sure hope these rumblings about Frank starting JaVale are fake news. I would be very disappointed in Vogel if they turned out to be true. Start Dwight. He’s deserved it. Let JaVale prove himself off the bench.
While I think starting Dwight is the smart move, and frankly one Howard has earned at this point, I also think Frank goes with JaVale in game 1 and further if we win. If only because I feel like the one thing Frank has done consistently is go back to what worked in the getting them here. Every adjustment has come after a loss, generally in game 1. But we’ll see, I personally would hope for Dwight but am expecting it to be otherwise.
Only problem with your version of Frank’s thinking is it’s been a long time since JaVale did anything to help us get to where we are. Imagine where we might be without Dwight at this point?