Bynum tomorrow, might be great. His low effort level does not bode too well, but who knows.

Bynum, now, is not, I repeat is not on a level with Gasol and/or Odom.

There will be the occasional game where he outplays them. But for each of this games, there´s five where he´s outplayed.

Christ, if Bynum had gone 20pp +, 19 rebouds, 5 blocks, 4 assist + for two consecutive games, while leading the team against two elite teams (Jazz were scorching hot before last night), people would be going BERSERK in the forums claiming him to be the next Shaq.

But the one who did it is old “finesse-soft-whitey-nonmuscular” Gasol, half the forum ans writers downplay it or grudginly acknowledge that it was “good”. It is the present, and the present is never exciting… gimme some uncertain future.

Lets be realistic, lets enjoy what we have. When Kobe and Gasol fade into the sunset, we will go through rebuilding an probably will struggle even get to the playoffs with Bynum (remember the bulls post-Jordan… or our beloved lakers post Kobe and pre-Gasol).

And we all will reminisce the olden times… that we didn´t enjoy at the time because we took Kobe AND Gasol for granted

The Lakers gave him his max contract so the expectation of Bynum need to adjust. He isn’t a rookie anymore. There is no excuse for him not being a beast on the boards. It sickens me when I see him letting shrimps box him out or when he tries to box others out using his arms. I also get frustrated with him being late on rotations and picking up stupid fouls. Where is his energy? Look at what Noah has been doing and even Dejuan Blair.

Shoot, Dejuan Blair is like Rudy and Bynum is like O’hara (Vince Vaughn’s character). I can just imagine Bynum’s career being similar to O’hara’s:

“You just summed up your entire sorry career here in one sentence! If you had a tenth of the heart of Ruettiger, you’d have made All-American by now! As it is, you just went from third team to the prep team! Get out of here!”

All I want from Bynum is energy and some smart defense. That’s the maturity and initiative that he lacks. We haven’t seen it yet and my prediction is that we probably won’t ever.

That’s it.

http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/02/10/fast-break-thoughts-morning-links/

@92
It’s safe to say everyone likes a 20-10 legit center with 2bpg. The problem is that if the 20 isn’t happening, Bynum’s energy, effort or whatever you want to call it, isn’t there. His focus also gets a shot when the 20 isn’t happening, leading to a few dumb fouls which coupled with official bias leads to the bench. What is implicit in not needing Bynum, I think or always thought it was, is trading him for someone more consistent. It’s a bit alarming when you have no idea what 2 of your top 6 players are bringing in a game in a night-in night-out basis

@95
Andrew Bynum, C 22 3-8 0-0 3-4 3 6 9 0 0 1 0 4 +9 9
Andrew Bynum, C 16 2-5 0-0 1-1 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 5 0 5
Andrew Bynum, C 23 2-6 0-0 0-1 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 2 -3 4
Andrew Bynum, C 16 2-3 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 +8 6
Andrew Bynum, C 17 3-11 0-0 0-1 4 1 5 0 1 0 1 5 -6 6
unless you were counting hack-a-Howard as a solid contribution, those stats back exactly what I remember. A player looking for his shot first, a bit rusty(which is totally forgivable since bouncing back from a knee injury is no easy feat), foul-prone thanks to lack of focus+ a few unfair freebies for Howard and didn’t look for rebounds enough
I totally agree with the second part though, in that this year we will need him to bring his A game against most other contenders. Just not sure what exactly was there to underestimate in last year’s Finals

Although the offense is more fluid with Lamar and Pau together, Bynum’s importance is greatest against the teams that matter: Denver, Cleveland, Orlando, and Boston.

His size and skill is something that none of those teams, outside of the Cavaliers, can match. Against all of these teams, his defense (when he’s playing it well) will be vital. Especially against Dwight & Orlando, and LeBron & Cleveland. Our ceiling on defense is much higher when Bynum is out there, engaged and wanting to play D.

So, what do we prefer? Even if our offense isn’t the same with Bynum, it’s still not bad. It can still get better with him and Pau together. But it’s defense that will make us repeat. We don’t need to score 108 ppg like last year, if we hold teams to 95-96 ppg.

it’s about the teams that matter, and how Bynum fills that role. Not the result of 1 1/2 games in February with him out. It’s not going to be easy this year. If anyone thinks we won it last year with minimal production form Bynum is underestimating what he did in the Finals, and what the other contenders can do this year.

First off, Phil would not think twice on retiring if Kobe is not on board. These guys we have, Ron, Pau, Lamar these guys are good. Pau Gasol is VERY good. But to say these guys don’t need Kobe is out of the question.

If you have caught my drift from the last 2 paragraphs, I never mentioned Bynum in there. If anyone here does not like a 20-10 legit center with 2 bpg please raise your hand and I’ll have Gilbert Arenas shoot you with a machine gun.

The point is not about liking Bynum or not. I can guarantee you, 28 other teams would have Bynum start for their teams RIGHT NOW. I say that with a great deal of respect to the league’s only legitimate center in Yao Ming because he is injured, and the league’s best center in Dwight Howard.

Andrew Bynum on a good day gives you 20-10. On his worst days he gives you solid contributions via his blocking and rebounding. If he is unleashed, without conflict or having to worry about someone else in the post getting touches, he COULD be 25-12-3 easily. After all, he was 22-11-2 for us playing beside Kobe (and without Pau).

The problem about your post is that you are referring to the stereotype of “we don’t need Kobe and Bynum to win” which in fact is not the case of this post. If anything, Darius came up with this post because of 2 things:

a. The Lakers won beautifully last night without the top 2 characters…

b. The Lakers are shelling out effort whenever 2 of the best players are absent.

So try to look through the post as more than just we don’t need Kobe… although you could really make a case that more than half of the fanbase is clamoring we don’t need Bynum.