You’re probably right. But I watched Jackson’s interview and if he is trying to motivate Lamar by insinuating he might come off the bench, he did an awfully good job of acting the part.

I want to see Lamar come off the bench. But I don’t look at it as a demotion. And if it happens, I hope Lamar doesn’t look at it that way either.

I think it’s in his, and the Lakers best interests.

Let’s start with the player development side. The Lakers are committed to Andrew Bynum, and will probably develop him much like last year–gradually increasing his playing time from 24 to 36 minutes.

The Lakers are almost as committed to Trevor Ariza, but maybe not for as many minutes. Trevor and Andrew are the X factors this year.

Under these conditions, Lamar no longer has a clear starting position like before. At first, it won’t matter that much, since Bynum and Ariza will both start the season with fewer minutes than later on. Lamar might even start at the 3 or the 4. As the season ticks away, however, Lamar is likely to be one of the most unusual 6th men of all time. Of course, there might be major injuries like last year, and Lamar could once again save the day. He might once again be the guy who gets us back to the NBA championship.

But cap realities and expiring contracts might well send Lamar into a different life away from the Lakers before the season is over.

As a loyal LA Lurker I’ll keep a lookout.

I am referring to dominant both offensively and defensively. The one major thing that stands out about this lineup is the length. I said a couple months back that our length and height is going to cause a lot of deflections, blocks and havoc, especially with any penetration into the paint. Phil undoubtedly sees that potential:

“But we’re going to have the potential for a very tall, lanky, strong front line and if they can learn to play defense together they’re going to be a very formidable opponent to score against.”

Those are mighty words. Scary words for opposing teams cuz Phil wouldn’t just toss out mere possibilities of defensive dominance to the media. Imagine Tony Parker trying to penetrate into a trio of trees with long arms. Or Chris Paul. The Lakers are just gonna have to practice their help D and rotations to the open shooters in the corner or the big man after the initial penetration. Easier said than done.

If Odom (especially at the 3) earns Phil’s trust on D, it’s cuz he’s closing out on the 3 point shooter. Same with Pau and Bynum and the opposing big in the paint (or in David West’s case – that 15 footer Pau is going to have to close out on).

As has been said, this lineup has to be given a chance, at the very least. The ceiling of this lineup with all the talent involved (seriously – one of the top 2 players in the world with the league’s premier front line on paper) is scary. I am not trying to promote hyperbole. It’s a more than possible reality.

Kurt is saying we’re only gonna go as far as our D takes us. That D (the starting lineup w/ LO especially) has the potential to take us really, really far.

One more thing: basketball players aren’t stupid. The Laker players realize how much talent this team has. I am fully expecting a different level of intensity on defense from the get-go (a la Boston last year) . These players realize how close they were last year and aren’t gonna take health and time for granted. It’s part of the “mental toughness” we keep hearing about. I fully expect to see players diving on the court for loose balls and such – all the hustle plays and a renewed sense of vigor from GAME 1 of the season.

All I want to say about the LO/Pau/Andrew line-up is that I hope Phil gives them enough time to try the group out before making changes. Certainly, if we aren’t winning and that group seems to be the core of the problem, we should mix things up. But otherwise, I hope he is patient enough to wait until at least a month into the season before benching LO.

I think we all know he isn’t a perfect player, but he is very versatile. He does too many things well to hide him on the bench. Combine that with his fragile ego, I’m concerned about what making him come off the bench might lead to.

I too believe that Odom deserves the chance to see what a starting five of Kobe, Bynum, Odom, Gasol and Fisher can do. In a contract year Odom will probably need numbers and he can achieve that easier as the 6th man.

PJ is blessed with multiple possibilities as he said in his news conference , it will depend upon the match ups as to who will get extended minutes and the team as a whole must be pliable.

One advantage of having him come off the bench that I haven’t seen anyone mention yet is that it cushions against his getting into early foul trouble – I can remember a lot of games when Lamar would pick up two or three cheap fouls early and it would affect the rest of his game (as well as the team’s rotations). Having him enter the game 8 or 10 minutes in with a full 6 fouls to use might help him to play more freely, which is when he’s at his best.

It’s an effort to picture the best overall rotation for the team.