For the time being, however, they're going to have to stick to fighting against the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder, rather than a bunch of pinned-up bad guys ready to be knocked down with the flick of a wrist.
Los Angeles put this team together with the goal of winning a championship, obviously, especially now that Kobe Bryant's window of greatness is slowly closing. Bringing in one of the best offensive facilitators in Steve Nash and the best defender in the league in Howard wasn't a bad way to go about trying to bring the title back to L.A.
While there are quite a few games to be played between the beginning of the season and the playoffs, it's pretty safe to say that few things will keep the Lakers from the playoffs this season. Once there, it seems obvious that the biggest obstacle to climb over is Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Now that Howard's in Los Angeles, the Lakers have the slightest edge over the Thunder.
One thing that people are going to point to when it comes to this new blockbuster matchup is that, well, Kendrick Perkins knows how to handle Dwight Howard. Admittedly, he certainly does.
In 24 matchups against each other in their careers during the regular season, Howard averages two fewer points, shoots two percent worse from the field and gets to the line just a bit less often.
In 13 playoff games against each other, Howard does a bit better scoring, putting up nearly 19 points a game, but shoots 5 percent worse than his career playoff average, which is right at 60 percent.
Whether it's the physicality of Perkins or just that...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
