After Anthony Davis, the Lakers entered the 2021-22 campaign with just two traditional big men on the roster in Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan. With Davis missing more than half the season and DJ’s eventual banishment from the rotation (and then the roster), the Lakers were entirely dependent upon Dwight’s ability to win battles against Father Time in order to get viable minutes at the 5 on a nightly basis.
And although the three-time Defensive Player of the Year was able to summon superlative efforts on a handful of occasions, the Lakers’ roster construction more often than not forced the team to play games without any of the rim protection or vertical spacing provided by a merely replacement-level NBA big man.