The LeBron James ejection, Isaiah Stewart's reaction, and the Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis-led rally in the Los Angeles Lakers wild win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday overshadowed any other storyline from what was initially a drab, ugly affair. From a Lakers perspective, the only positive storyline of the first half was Dwight Howard drilling two three-pointers in the flow of the game.

First, he splashed one from the corner:

Shortly after, he confidently stepped into a triple at the end of the shot clock — to LeBron's chagrin — as the Pistons doubled AD and left Dwight free.

 

Howard is 19-of-95 from deep in his career. But he's 5-0f-7 this season.

This feels like more than a lark, at least for Dwight. Clearly, incorporating some degree of outside shooting into his game is something Howard genuinely cares about.

Check out this clip from the 2010 All-Star Game. Dwight swishes a three and looks over to the bench to indicate that it wasn't a fluke and he has plans for more — as if he wants to prove that he can hit them. Notably, Stan Van Gundy and the Orlando Magic coaching staff were helming the East squad. SVG looks less than amused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgoJxPXLoeA

Over the years, Howard has repeatedly used garbage time to make a case for him as a shooter. He hit 3-of-5 for the Lakers in 2019-20. Last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, he took 20 triples (making five).

During training camp, he joked on Instagram that LeBron gave him permission to attempt a three for every two blocks he gets — implying that Howard expressed his desire to take more 3s at some point.

If you've been around Staples Center before or after Lakers games, you'll see Dwight working on his perimeter shooting before and sometimes long after games. His pre-game warm-up routine is heavy on jumpers.

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From the eye test, his shot doesn't look half-bad. So should we expect to see more of it? Don't get your hopes up.

On Monday, I asked Frank Vogel about whether Dwight could legitimately incorporate three-point shooting into his bag. Vogel was less-than-enthusiastic about the idea, though he praised Howard for putting in the work.

“Not likely. He does work on it,” Vogel told ClutchPoints. “He does shoot it well. But we’re gonna be at our best with him dominating in the paint. So that’s what we’re encouraging with him. But to his credit, he has worked on it and does take pride in it. But his role for now for us is gonna be to dominate the paint.”

I can't seriously advocate that Howard should try to become Brook Lopez — or even Marc Gasol, who didn't shoot enough — and live beyond the arc. He's far too valuable inside and it's hard to imagine he has the quick-fire catch-and-shoot skills to be a worthy threat at anything more than low volume.

However, the Lakers are going to have inherent spacing issues with almost any lineup featuring Howard. Anything they can do to create breathing room for Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and/or LeBron James (and Talen Horton-Tucker) to get into the teeth of the defense is useful, even if only for a few possessions. Why not let Howard space out for a few plays per game? Who knows, maybe he'll hit a few more wide-open buckets.

The Lakers beat the Pistons by five. So, mathematically speaking, they don't win without Howard's two triples. More accurately, his threes arguably kept the Lakers afloat and upbeat during an otherwise uninspiring half. You never know when a couple of plays will have an outsized effect on a game. Let Dwight shoot.