Howard meets former teams Lakers and Rockets this week
It will be an interesting week for Dwight Howard as he goes up against two of his former teams in the span of four days.
On Wednesday, the Hawks host the Lakers, the team Howard played the 2012-13 season after he left the Magic.
On Saturday, the Hawks host the Rockets, the team Howard played with for three seasons before coming to Atlanta this summer.
I thought it would be interesting to go back and see how Howard fared against his former teams in his first-year return matchups.
- In his first game with the Lakers against the Magic, Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds in 39 minutes of a 113-103 loss on Dec. 2, 2012 in Los Angeles.
- In the final meeting between the teams that season, Howard had 39 points and 16 rebounds in 39 minutes of a 106-97 win March 12, 2013 in his first game in Orlando since leaving as a free agent.
- Now with the Rockets, Howard had 15 points and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes of a 99-98 loss to the Lakers on Nov. 7, 2013 in Houston.
- Returning to Los Angeles for the first time, Howard had 20 points and 13 rebounds in 28 minutes of a 134-108 win on Feb. 19, 2014.
- Howard had 20 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes of a 113-99 win on Jan. 18, 2014 in Houston. He did not play in the season-finale between the teams in an April meeting in Los Angeles.
After the Hawks host the Rockets, they will not travel to Houston until Feb. 2, 2017 where Howard will have another homecoming.
About the Author
Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.
