The final months of the offseason were filled with stories about a contrite Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony looking to regain his place in the NBA. Six games into the season, the former of those is coming to fruition as Howard’s second chance with the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of triumph and redemption.
A major part of Howard’s success has been a change in mindset from Hall of Famer trying to be a star one again to an energy big man who can be a star in his role. But part of that evolution has been looking at his role as something more than that.
Via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin
“I don’t see it as a role, I see it as my purpose,” Howard said. “I think it’s my purpose to go out every single night and play hard defense, trying to block every shot, trying to be in the paint, get a lot of steals, go for loose balls. Whatever I can do for this team, be of service, that’s my mission. I don’t see it as my role, I see it as a purpose.”
Through the first six games of the season, the Lakers have outscored their opponents by 25.3 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. According to Cleaning The Glass, Howard’s points per 100 shot attempts is currently in the 97th percentile in the league. Cleaning The Glass, which eliminates garbage time possessions, also assess Howard’s impact as even bigger one with a plus-34.1 differential that currently ranks in the 99th percentile in the league.
