CON to Sixers re-signing Dwight Howard: Bad (maybe unplayable) in the postseason
While Howard minutes worked for their purpose in the regular season, they were pretty close to disastrous in the playoffs. Howard had the second lowest 2021 playoffs +/- with only Matisse Thybulle being ranked lower.
Doc Rivers’ rotations deserve some of the blame. Howard either had to play with Ben Simmons/Thybulle or all-bench lineups that hurt him in terms of spacing. At the same time, he is part of the reason that spacing doesn’t work. The constant fouling and lack of touch around the rim is magnified come playoff time. Simmons and Thybulle could still be on the team next year as well.
The offensive rating of Simmons-Howard offensive lineups was just 89.6 during this year’s playoffs.
Another sign of this not being just a Sixers-based issue is what happened in Los Angeles during the 2020 playoffs. Prior to Game 6 of the Heat-Lakers finals, Frank Vogel benched Dwight Howard in favor of more Alex Caruso minutes:
Good move. Dwight Howard has struggled all series. Anthony Davis has shared the court with Howard 14 minutes per game in the Finals, and the Lakers have a -10.8 net rating. In his 25 minutes per game without Dwight, Lakers are +14.5. Their defense is much better with AD at the 5. https://t.co/WUASbjUkvV
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 11, 2020
Howard is ultimately going to get paid the minimum or very close to it if he does return to Philadelphia, so value isn’t necessarily a concern. There’s room for a third-string center. However, I imagine that there will be teams that still offer Howard the same backup center role that the Sixers and Lakers have the last two seasons.
If he does return, the Sixers would have to define from the outset what the exact situation is with his minutes come playoff time. One could argue that figuring that out is more hassle than it’s worth.