Dwight Howard
Even without Kawhi Leonard for the entire 2021-22 season and despite Paul George missing 51 games of his own, the LA Clippers had no issue getting it going on the offensive end. Reggie Jackson, their de-facto leader last season, assaulted the rim at will as benign opposing defenders stood by, unable to impede his perpetual drives.
When Jackson didn’t have it going, he relied heavily on the sharpshooting abilities of Luke Kennard and midrange shooting of Marcus Morris Sr. With both George and Leonard set to return next season, LA will have a plethora of weapons. However, their offensive prowesses won’t serve as a panacea for their lack of rebounding and interior scoring. While Dwight Howard isn’t the scoring threat he once was, he should be able to plug the gaping hole in the Clippers lineup.
At 44 boards a night, LA finished the year ranked 19th in that particular stat line. Their rebounding woes only worsened on the offensive glass, as they finished the year ranked just 26th in that department, grabbing 9.1 a night.
Howard, a former five-time rebounding champion, isn’t up to the task in terms of his offensive production, but with his big bulking shoulders, he’s more than capable of nudging defenders out of the way on his way to the basketball.
This past season, even at the age of 36, Howard grabbed 19.7% of the total rebounds available in ball games he participated in. Meaning, even with his best days behind him, Howard still has plenty left in the tank.