Los Angeles Lakers expect to have better chemistry without Dwight Howard
By Josh Sanchez
The Los Angeles Lakers had a disappointing 2012-13 NBA season despite adding the big names of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the offseason. This season, the team has gotten considerably worse on paper, but head coach Mike D’Antoni seems to believe that the team will be better off without Howard.
While D’Antoni did not mention Howard by name in a lengthy interview over the weekend, he did hint that the team will be stronger moving forward now that they can have better chemistry.
From the Los Angeles Times:
"Addition by subtraction? The Lakers can only hope, despite their very public courting of Howard that started a mere eight weeks ago and crashed and burned barely a week later.“We’ve definitely improved our shooting and I think the chemistry will be better just because the uncertainty has gone away,” D’Antoni said. “A lot of people will know their roles better and what’s going on on the floor better. Dealing with free agency day to day, we won’t have those problems.”"
No one will argue that the Lakers will have less drama and that they will be more cohesive without the diva in the center of their front court, but it will be interesting to see how they make up for his defensive presence.
Of course, if D’Antoni has his way, the team will be running up the court and just outscore every opponent despite their lack of a dominant big man inside.