First, Andrew has improved immeasurably from last year so I wouldn’t use that as a reference (Kwame is the same).

Second, the opponents scoring 110 may have more to do with Chris Mihm than Bynum. When Kwame sits down he has a very productive Bynum coming in. Right now, when Bynum sits down is has an injured Mihm and an injured Turiaf. Kwame going down and Turiaf getting hurt has limited two our our main post players. Now we have to rely on Mihm. It doesn’t surprise me that teams are scoring more, and they may not have much to do with Bynum.

Third, I agree Bynum’s (+ -) stat may not have much to do with his defense, but only if you exclude defensive rebounds (Bynum’s rebounds help our defense b/c they prevent second chance points). But Bynum’s defense isn’t the point, it is his overall production.

The (+ -) stat paints a full picture because it combines offense AND defense. The best defensive team with the worst offense isn’t going to win near as much as the best offensive team with pretty decent defense.

Similarly, Kwame (best post defense but terrible offense) may not be as productive as Bynum (best post offense with decent defense), and thus the lower (+ -) stat.

Bynum’s overall contribution this year puts him among the best centers (even best players) in the league. That kind of production is going to impact the team’s (+ -) significantly. Keep in mind, as of recently Bynum’s (+ -) stats was +99 and Kwame’s was -9. That is a huge difference. And Bynum has been just as productive against the first units since Kwame went down.

Either way, I agree we need Kwame back. I just think Bynum needs to get 30 minutes a game and Kwame needs 18 for us to be most effective.

In the 5 last games in which Kwame played before his injury, the opponents scored 90. In the next three games, the opponents scored 110.

In all of last year, Kwame had a better +- than Andrew by far.

Andrew’s +- in direct comparison to Kwame this year was when Kwame did the work with the starting center, and Andrew came in with the second unit and they scored like mad. It doesn’t speak to his defense at all.

Against the Celtics, his “man” had a career night (more than 20 points), and Phil was heard to ask Bynum if he could stop the guy “just once.” At Utah, the team had a layup drill, with Millsap going wild. Against Orlando, Bynum did not defensively handle Howard.

Bynum does not know how to physically control the opposing center if he is big and strong (like Kwame does)–it is obvious.

However, I’m not sure that we should blame Andrew that much. Considering his age and experience, Andrew is incredible. His presence on offense can be awesome, and his overall defense has improved. He desperately needs complementary players, and neither VladRad nor Odom play that role–and Ronny is not 100%.

The thing that brings Andrew down the most is being paired with Lamar on defense–just as it used to be with Cook.

Ronny Turiaf did not practice today and will not travel with the team today when they fly to Minnesota. Turiaf left last night’s game in the fourth quarter after taking an elbow from Magic Center Dwight Howard.

“We’ll see what the evaluation is tomorrow and he’ll join us in Denver if he’s okay,” said Phil Jackson.

Chris Mihm sat out practice due to inflammation in his foot.

Jackson added, “We’re just kind of holding back with both those guys. We only had ten guys out there today and it was a pretty short group.”

Kwame Brown remains injured after sustaining a moderate sprain of his left knee and ankle against Chicago on November 18th and is expected to remain in LA as the team hits the road.

But you just killed LO. I just hope that he finds some peace in his life and his game soon. If not with the Lakers than with another team. He is just too good a guy and player for me to really hate on the guy.

Seems to me it has worked pretty well with Farmar, Bynum, and possibly with Turiaf. They look like they are off to a good start towards maximizing their potential. Do you think another coach would be getting more out of Walton?

Lamar is a beast in the playoffs…but that can be explained with 2 reasons. 1st: We have played the Suns in the playoffs every year. Lamar matches up superbly against Marion. LO is bigger, longer, is a smooth athlete, and a very good player around the basket. This gives Marion problems as he can’t handle Lamar on the inside, and LO has the athletic ability and skill to play an all court game, so Marion does not hold any advantage in the matchup. 2nd: The playoffs are a time when the game planning becomes specific to one opponent. Lamar now has a singular focus on how he is going to attack that particular team. That singular plan and his focus on 1 or 2 matchups allows him to dial in to the opponent and bring his best game every night. This decreases his inconsistency and allows him to just go out and play with the same plan as the night before. In the regular season LO just has not figured out how to attack every team in the same way (unlike Kobe) and maximize his effectiveness against any team. I don’t know if this is coaching or just something that is *wrong* with LO, but it leads to his inconsistency. We all know that Lamar wants to win, that he is extremely talented, and that he cares about basketball (look at all he’s been through and he still competes hard).

I’m not going to start with the trade rumors or anything like that, but it seems that after 3 full seasons and now into a 4th that Lamar is not the answer as the second scoring option that this team needs. So if the Lakers could get a slightly less versataile player who is more consistent in what he brings to the table it would bring dividends to this team. If that player is a natural 4 man, all the better as Luke can be a starter and we will have more balance with an inside/outside game. If we can get a very good 3 man, that works too as the front court depth is solid and that player can just replace LO in the lineup. My dream guys are still Gasol or Artest. But I don’t know how we could even get those players and don’t want to speculate.

Phil Jackson’s approach doesn’t seem to be the best way to work a young team. It’s the same story every year, nothing ever changes. Don’t you think if Jerry Sloan was in charge this wouldn’t be as much of an issue?

Here’s his comment from yesterdayg:

“I’m not optimistic right now,” Jackson said. “I didn’t like the practice today. I didn’t think we practiced well today. We only had 10 guys and we were coming off a bad game. We tried to get some things accomplished, to grow as a basketball club, but I chided them about their energy this morning.”

Chided. Ok, fine. But are there ever any consequences?

Then he gives me a headache, saying oh we need that Kwame “toughness” to right the ship. Good Lord.

Rather, it simply means our team fares better when Drew is in the game. That may be becasue of Drew’s offensive production, rebounding, defense, or some combination thereof. Or it may have more to do with Kwame’s offensive liabilities and poor rebounding.

The season (+ -) stats so far clearly indicate that Bynum has more of a positive impact than Kwame. That said, Bynum/Mihm and Mihm/Bynum is clearly inferior to Bynum/Kwame and Kwame/Bynum, which explains our recent bad record to a certain extent.

Another cause for inconsistency may be Kobe himself. Kobe has scored in bursts and has had several very bad shooting nights, including at least 6 terrible second halfs that were covered up by stellar first half production. Even though Kobe’s stats are good this year, I wouldn’t describe his play as consistent.