LOS ANGELES — Every day in the NBA there is a lot to unpack, so every weekday morning throughout the season we will give you the three things you need to know from the last 24 hours in the NBA.
1) The Lakers may have a steal in… Dwight Howard? Yes, Dwight Howard. For the past handful of years, as Dwight Howard bounced from franchise to franchise — Houston to Atlanta to Charlotte to Washington, with fans cheering his exit in each city — the sentiment from front office types around the league has been the same:
If he would just accept a role he could still be an important part of a winning team.
If he could just accept that the offense is going to flow through others — stop demanding post-up touches — and focus on defense and rebounding, if he could stop being a distraction off the court, there is a role for him in the league. Howard, however, was not ready to accept that reality.
Until he got a second chance in Los Angeles.
Howard has thrived early in the season for the Lakers because he finally is doing what everyone has long asked of him. Sunday night in San Antonio he worked hard on defense and let the offense come to him — and it did in the fourth when he was 5-of-5 for 10 points, plus two blocks. For the game, Howard had 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting, with13 rebounds, helping spark a 103-96 Laker win in San Antonio.
🗣🗣 @DwightHoward rising to the moment 🗣🗣 pic.twitter.com/sW8UTr5Uob
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 4, 2019
Dwight Work 🏋️♀️ pic.twitter.com/Ja4w5DqIeh
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 4, 2019
What changed for Howard?
Being healthy (so far) is certainly part of it. Also, maybe he realizes that this really was the last stop in the NBA if he didn’t come around, no other team was going to take a chance on him. Maybe it’s because he has a non-guaranteed contract and can be cut any day the Lakers think he’s slacking off and not taking the craft seriously. Maybe it’s playing on a LeBron James team. On the court, LeBron’s gravity creates opportunities for bigs who roll to the basket; and off the court, LeBron and Anthony Davis are not going to put up with Howard’s antics (which goes back to the non-guaranteed contract).
Whatever the reason or reasons, it’s working. Howard was at the heart of the Lakers dominating the paint scoring 50 points there against the Spurs. Howard and company took advantage of the fact that LaMarcus Aldridge and Trey Lyles do not form an intimidating front line.
Howard has started to become a Lakers’ fan favorite, which may be the biggest surprise of the young season.
Another surprise: Los Angeles also has been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA to start the season. It’s a sign that their 5-1 start is sustainable.
The Lakers win Sunday shouldn’t completely overshadow the strong fourth quarter Dejounte Murray had — 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, getting to the rim and knocking down a three. Murray kept the Spurs in it, but it was just not enough.
2) Don’t call Houston’s defense this season a sieve — that’s an insult to sieves. As you read this, the Houston Rockets have the second-worst defense in the NBA, allowing 116.2 points per 100 possessions. For comparison, that’s basically the level the 19-win Cavaliers defense was at last season.
Sunday was a new low for that Houston defense. Miami scored 46 first-quarter points on Houston, which had a 117.3 defensive rating for the night.
This loss to Miami was particularly ugly all the way around. Houston came out flat — the South Beach nightlife remains undefeated — and if the Rockets’ offense isn’t covering up the defensive flaws the Rockets quickly end up in trouble.
Trouble like falling behind 59-23 to Miami in the first half. The offense woke up and the gap narrowed some, but the Rockets could not get enough stops to change the course of the game.
On offense, Houston got 29 points on 14 shots from James Harden, but Russell Westbrook shot 3-of-11, Eric Gordon 2-of-10, and when those guys are cold it’s going to be a long night in Houston.
The Rockets have had impressive stretches of basketball this young season, but it hasn’t lasted. It’s why the Rockets are 3-3 to start the season, and why if the defense doesn’t turn around — and they can’t just bring Jeff Bzdelik back this season (he’s in New Orleans) — they are never going to get far above .500.
3) Kawhi Leonard outduels Donovan Mitchell down the stretch and the Clippers knock off the Jazz. Here are some bullet point notes made while at an entertaining game Sunday in Los Angeles, one that ultimately ended in a 105-94 Clippers win.
• Utah held Kawhi Leonard in relative check for the better part of three quarters, but in the fourth Leonard had 18 points on 11 shots, getting to his spots and making plays. He finished the night with 30.
• What won the Clippers the game, however, wasn’t Leonard, it was offensive rebounds. The Clippers got the offensive rebound on 42.1 percent of their missed shots on the night, including six offensive boards on 12 missed shots in the fourth quarter. Montrezl Harrell had six offensive boards by himself in the game, including four in the fourth.
“[The loss happened because of] second-chance points and some fouls,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We had breakdowns of communication that resulted in fouls, but the biggest thing was just the defensive glass.”
• Rudy Gobert agreed, saying after the game his team needs to communicate better on the defensive glass, especially when he has to step out to defend a player driving the lane (which happened a lot in the fourth quarter).
• Donovan Mitchell will be an All-Star this season. He finished with 36 points against the Clippers, at points making plays that had the Clipper crowd buzzing.
📹| A sensational 36 for @spidadmitchell#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/VL8L4X96jj
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 4, 2019
• With Mike Conley still struggling with his shot — 2-of-10 on the night — the Utah offense late in the game became the Donovan Mitchell show, with him coming off picks and having to do everything. That was supposed to be different this season with the additions of Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, but so far the offense as a whole remains clunky and it needs Mitchell to take over to have a chance.
• Looking way down the road to a potential Utah playoff matchup with the Clippers (or Lakers), the concern that they don’t have a wing defender who can slow players such as Kawhi Leonard or LeBron is a legitimate one.
