It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers will be down a man to start the season as Dwight Howard continues to rehab from back surgery. D12 will miss training camp, preseason and according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, he may miss the season opener on Oct. 30.
So just how long can the Lakers stay afloat without Howard available? Well, given their roster loaded with talent, keeping their heads above water shouldn’t be an arduous task.
In Howard’s early absence, Pau Gasol will be able to play center and return to the post where he’s most effective. Even though Howard will be sidelined, this bodes well for Gasol in the early going.
While Gasol is expected to slide to the center position, Howard’s likely replacement in the starting lineup, Jordan Hill, should be able to keep the engine running.
Although Hill suffers from the dreaded small sample size, he was very effective for the Lakers a season ago. In the second-to-last game of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Hill played 35 minutes, scored 14 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added three blocked shots. Not a bad day’s work for a reserve.
In addition to Hill’s solid performance against OKC, the former University of Arizona Wildcat notched two double-doubles in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. He’s no Dwight Howard, but as a substitute fill-in option, the Lakers could do much worse (see: Slava Medvedenko or Samaki Walker).
The Lakers’ frontcourt depth will be hindered with Howard sidelined, but considering their frontcourt depth last season included workloads from Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy, a trio of Gasol, Hill and Antawn Jamison is nothing to sneeze at.
The Lakers’ frontcourt will have no problem staying competitive while Howard recuperates, but where the Lakers are truly formidable is the backcourt.
Even th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
