Is Andrew Bynum..

[Koolaid_Man]

if the lakers threepeat, its because of bynum.

that would be great if he finally earned his keep two les in...

[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 le, 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 on the court with or without Kobe.

I'll say this. In order for the Lakers to legitimately compete for a le 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 on the court with or without Kobe.

I'll say this. In order for the Lakers to legitimately compete for a le 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" is how you ended up O & Forever.

tee, hee.

[HarlemHeat37]

So, is he?..