Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel Willing to Give Dwight Howard More Minutes But Only on One Critical Condition

Published 09/24/2020, 5:58 PM EDT

The Western Conference Finals have been a delight to watch so far. While the Lakers currently hold a 2-1 lead over the Nuggets, that could all change in Game 4. After going down 2-0 initially, the Nuggets were breathtaking in Game 3 with Jokic and Murray’s efforts.

But for the Lakers, the situation is getting slowly out of hand. If they lose Game 4, Denver will have the momentum moving forward. Head coach Frank Vogel needs a solution to stop the Nuggets’ momentum, and the answer could be none other than Dwight Howard.

Howard played an excellent role in the first game of the series, but ever since he is causing more trouble for them than helping them. In the last two games, Dwight found himself in constant foul trouble while defending Nikola Jokic.

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Frank Vogel wants to start Dwight, but right now he won’t be of any help to the team in a starting role.

“I feel like we can get more from him. The fouls have been an issue. A couple of fouls weren’t fouls last game, but you know, we’ve just got to make sure he plays with that energy without fouling. If he does that, we can get more minutes for him.

“The perfect scenario is he has one or two fouls throughout the game but just brings a physical presence and toughness and energy to the game. I’m really happy with the energy that he’s playing with. He’s really producing positive results on the court, but some of it is negated with the fouls, for sure.”

If Howard can control his foul troubles, then it will be a win-win situation for the Los Angeles Lakers. He can be the defensive force that the Lakers need to stop Jokic inside the paint.

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How important is Game 4 for the Lakers?

In simple terms, the purple and gold need to win this matchup. Otherwise, they will lose all the momentum they have built in the series. Meanwhile, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will take care of the scoring duties.

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Role players need to step up their game in the final stretch of the games. However, it is easier said than done and the Nuggets are playing tremendously in this postseason.

But do the Nuggets have what it takes to stop James and the Lakers? Or will the historic playoff run finally end in the WCF?

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Aikansh Chaudhary is an NBA columnist for Essentially Sports. Previously, he helped rank various websites using the latest SEO techniques, and wrote over 2000 articles during his stint as a freelance writer. A die hard Lakers fan, Aikansh will forever uphold LeBron James as the GOAT.

Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel Willing to Give Dwight Howard More Minutes But Only on One Critical Condition

How important is Game 4 for the Lakers?

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