Is Andrew Bynum..

[HarlemHeat37]

The Lakers' best player, at this point?..

[IronMexican]

Obviously. 6 and 11 in a quarter. Without him, this game would be a lot closer to 15 points than 6. Bigs make the difference.

[elemento]

Nah

It's still Gasol.

[Ace]

Bynum is beast when healthy. Just to damn long.

[Warlord23]

To establish whether Gasol or Bynum is the best player, Kobe needs to sit out a few games so the bigs can get more plays run for them. Unfortunately that will also establish that Kobe right now is about the 4th best player on the Lakers.

[Spur_Fanatic]

Bynum is on a nice roll lately, but no.
Doubt he could carry a team for more than a few games.

[Jelloisjigglin]

Over the last week or so, Yes.

[ElNono]

tbh, even with his monster 10 mins in the 1st quarter, Lakeshow were still down... once Gasol started hitting against the Orlando bench, they catched up

[ChrisRichards]

Production wise? not even close. He needs to be much more consistent but then again he plays with . But in terms of value? He's 1B to Gasol's 1A.


Putting things in perspective. Kobe had a signature 6/20 game and the Lakers still grabbed a huge victory @ Dallas all because of his performance. Just tells you how important Bynum is.

[jjktkk]

Very good question. Could it be possible, that while Kobe is the best player, Bynum might the most important player.

[Mike D]

tbh, even with his monster 10 mins in the 1st quarter, Lakeshow were still down... once Gasol started hitting against the Orlando bench, they catched up

English is your second language?

[Daddy_Of_All_Trolls]

He's playing like he could be the Lakers best player. Beasting tonight in limited minutes.

[crc21209]

In order for the Lakers to win....Gasol & Bynum have to be the focal point on offense AND defense...

[Holden_Caulfield]

if the lakers threepeat, its because of bynum.

[mavsfan1000]

I think he is. Gasol is soft but Bynum is all muscle.

[usdane]

if the lakers threepeat, its because of bynum.

About fucking time he starts pulling his own weight.

[cobbler]

if the lakers threepeat, its because of bynum.

Great!!! It can be all Luke for all we care as long as the ship goes to the P&G.

[j.dizzle]

Drew is usually around 275lbs but said he's 290+ right now. He'll probably slim down a little bit in the offseason. I dont think Pau/Drew have ever looked better playing together. They finally realized that Pau will focus on offense & Drew will focus on defense & rebounding. Shit is a joy to watch. And Lamar will bring the energy off the bench.

[21_Dickings]

Best bigman in the league. Just doesn't get enough touches to stat whore.

[Giuseppe]

Great!!! It can be all Luke for all we care as long as the ship goes to the P&G.

Yep, yep.

[JamStone]

Kobe is still the Lakers' best player. However, in order for the Lakers to win another title, Pau is probably the most important player on the Lakers in terms of who they need to play well and Drew is probably the second most important.

[21_Blessings]

The Lakers' best player, at this point?..

Nope, not even close.

But I'd take him over any player on the San Antonio Spurs right now without thinking twice.

[quickerblade]

I think Bynum is very vital to the championship run this season

[admiralsnackbar]

Bynum is on a nice roll lately, but no.
Doubt he could carry a team for more than a few games.

But is he the best player on the team right now? No question.

[Giuseppe]

Nope, not even close.

But I'd take him over any player on the San Antonio Spurs right now without thinking twice.

Slap 'em in the face, 21!

[Koolaid_Man]

if the lakers threepeat, its because of bynum.


that would be great if he finally earned his keep two titles in...:lol

[Ashy Larry]

Bean had a good 5 for 8 stretch in the third ...... bench came through big and Bynum really made Dwight actually work for his points. Another good defensive game.

With that said, Ryan Anderson has serious range .......

[turiaf for president]

The fact that this is a debate is a good thing for the lakers. if bynum is truly better than gasol odom and kobe at this point should be a positive thing for laker fans

[mavsfan1000]

Kobe is still the Lakers' best player. However, in order for the Lakers to win another title, Pau is probably the most important player on the Lakers in terms of who they need to play well and Drew is probably the second most important.
Obviously you haven't been watching most of the games this season. The team actually did better when Kobe left against the Mavs. lol

[DeadlyDynasty]

The fact that this is a debate is a good thing for the lakers. if bynum is truly better than gasol odom and kobe at this point should be a positive thing for laker fans

This. If Bynum can stay healthy and if Kobe starts to defer a little more to the bigs in the next few years, this team's championship shelf-life just might be extended.


Two big "ifs" though...especially with the uncertainty of who the Lakers HC will be.

[turiaf for president]

This. If Bynum can stay healthy and if Kobe starts to defer a little more to the bigs in the next few years, this team's championship shelf-life just might be extended.


Two big "ifs" though...especially with the uncertainty of who the Lakers HC will be.
agreed

[JamStone]

Obviously you haven't been watching most of the games this season. The team actually did better when Kobe left against the Mavs. lol

I don't watch all their games. I don't have league pass anymore. I watch the games that are nationally televised. But that doesn't change my opinion. Kobe has his bad games and bad stretches during games and he's still a chucker. But are you really using one example in one game to make that point?

I saw Pau Gasol in the first quarter getting nothing done on Ryan Anderson. Yes Ryan Anderson. Now he ended up with a good game after a much stronger second half. But every player in this league has their bad moments. Kobe, LeBron, Dirk, Derrick Rose. All of them have bad games. You can blame Kobe if you want to, but there are plenty of times Pau is a bitch on the court with or without Kobe.

I'll say this. In order for the Lakers to legitimately compete for a title this year, they need Pau Gasol to play well. If Bynum plays well also, then I think they have a great chance of winning it all again. Something you don't worry about with Kobe is whether he'll bring it. He might suck shooting the ball. He might go 6-for-24 in a game. He might lose a game because of his selfishness, but he's going to put his imprint on each game. He's going to bring it. Even when he plays poorly, you don't question his desire to win. You do that with Pau. Pau can get drowned by Kobe's aggressiveness. Pau can get lost in the game. And Bynum is the same way when he isn't involved.

Kobe is the best player on the Lakers. But he's not the most valuable or most important player for the Lakers to win. And a big part of the reason is because you know what to expect from Kobe. Pau is more valuable. Kobe is better.

[mavsfan1000]

I don't watch all their games. I don't have league pass anymore. I watch the games that are nationally televised. But that doesn't change my opinion. Kobe has his bad games and bad stretches during games and he's still a chucker. But are you really using one example in one game to make that point?

I saw Pau Gasol in the first quarter getting nothing done on Ryan Anderson. Yes Ryan Anderson. Now he ended up with a good game after a much stronger second half. But every player in this league has their bad moments. Kobe, LeBron, Dirk, Derrick Rose. All of them have bad games. You can blame Kobe if you want to, but there are plenty of times Pau is a bitch on the court with or without Kobe.

I'll say this. In order for the Lakers to legitimately compete for a title this year, they need Pau Gasol to play well. If Bynum plays well also, then I think they have a great chance of winning it all again. Something you don't worry about with Kobe is whether he'll bring it. He might suck shooting the ball. He might go 6-for-24 in a game. He might lose a game because of his selfishness, but he's going to put his imprint on each game. He's going to bring it. Even when he plays poorly, you don't question his desire to win. You do that with Pau. Pau can get drowned by Kobe's aggressiveness. Pau can get lost in the game. And Bynum is the same way when he isn't involved.

Kobe is the best player on the Lakers. But he's not the most valuable or most important player for the Lakers to win. And a big part of the reason is because you know what to expect from Kobe. Pau is more valuable. Kobe is better.
The whole game it seemed like the less Kobe was involved, the better it was for the Lakers. I think the Kobe legend has continued because his teammates got so much better. They are almost a championship team without Kobe now.

[John Basedow]

The whole game it seemed like the less Kobe was involved, the better it was for the Lakers. I think the Kobe legend has continued because his teammates got so much better. They are almost a championship team without Kobe now.

w/o Kobe the Lakers are essentially a (very) poor man's Mavericks.

They would have no reliable scoring options outside of the 4 and 5. No one else besides our 3 bigs are capable of creating their own offense either.

[Baseline]

Depending on the night, either Bynum, Gasol, or Odom is LA's best player. If Bryant actually ran the offense, I don't know how many games LA would lose - but not many.

Phil won six rings in Chicago without a dominant big man, and now he has two, and the third guy (Odom) is the league's most versatile big. Granted, Jordan was the best player ever to play, but big man-wise, all he ever had was a good 4 in HoGrant, and then Rodman. But obviously neither of those two were offensive forces. And obviously neither was Bill Wennington, Will Perdue, Luc Longley, or Bill Cartwright. So all six of those Chicago championship teams got very few points from their 4-5 holes.

The point I'm making is that Phil has way more dominant bigs now than he's ever had in his career, and we all know that if they got more touches, opposing teams would be decimated.

Honestly, the Spurs' best chance against a healthy Laker team is to bait Bryant into 25 shots a game. If he does that, we'll beat them.

Why do you think Bryant tried to play against Orlando on a sore ankle at this point in the season? Because he was terrified that the team would run more smoothly without him. Honestly, his own selfish play is making him more and more obsolete.

[Giuseppe]

They are almost a championship team without Kobe now.

That "almost" shit is how you ended up O & Forever.

tee, hee.

[HarlemHeat37]

So, is he?..