bynum is shooting .400 without kobe

[hugeneious]

just an observation, esp comparing him to d12.
i think we'll see these next couple games if hes a franchise player or a 2nd option.
he's still young but so far imo bynum has a long way to go before he can be on d12's level.

[regal]

just an observation, esp comparing him to d12.
i think we'll see these next couple games if hes a franchise player or a 2nd option.
he's still young but so far imo bynum has a long way to go before he can be on d12's level.

to be expected.  Gasol's not shooting that much better than Bynum either.  there's no real balance without Kobe.  opposition is just squeezing the post area.  Artest is playing much better, moving around better, but the opposition is still leaving him open.  same goes for Sessions.. they're going under the screen and squeezing the lane on him.  luckily for LAL, Sessions is creative and it's not Fish out there.  but yeh when Kobe gets back there will be better balance.  if you compare Drew to Dwight you still have understand that ORL has quite a bit of shooting around Dwight.  LAL doesn't have that kind of shooting

[Glassman]

just an observation, esp comparing him to d12.
i think we'll see these next couple games if hes a franchise player or a 2nd option.
he's still young but so far imo bynum has a long way to go before he can be on d12's level.

I notice you don't bring up the fact that Bynum is 4-1 against some really good teams without Kobe. Notice how well our perimeter shooters are doing with Bynum getting all that love in the middle? Artest and Barnes look like Steve Kerr and Ray Allen out there. Bynum hasn't had years to practice being a #1 option on his team but if he played somewhere as the primary offensive option the team would be built around him with people who could stretch the floor for him.

Taking Kobe out of the picture for LA takes almost 1/3 of LA's roster away money-wise. A guy who draws the double and who defenses collapse on when he penetrates. Go through Orlando's roster and take 27 million worth of players out of it and see how well they stretch the floor for Dwight when he gets doubled and tripled the second he gets the ball.

The next couple games isn't likely going to decide anything as far his ability to adjust to the extra focus. Without such a major component of the team in there, it's going to be a struggle to get good shots. If you aren't noticing his immense impact on the game right now you are just reading stats and not watching the games.

[polycaddy65]

Adande just wrote an article on Bynum:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7817335/nba-andrew-bynum-shows-one-step-superman

I think the team is really growing without Kobe.  They are NOT a better team without him, but they are learning how to play without him and play through a little on court adversity.  Sometimes the Lakers use Kobe as a crutch, and the ball movement becomes stagnant and players don't move around.  Not to mention that Kobe will have some more faith in his teammates now.

As for Bynum, I think it is great that he is getting guarded even tougher now.  It is going to accelerate his already fast pace of growth.  Then when Kobe comes back and the attention and space go back to normal, I think his percentages will go up and his decision making skill will have really grown. 

[regal]

count me in as somebody who's impressed with the way that LAL's been winning without Kobe and these games are obviously important.  thank God for Sessions because if Fish was running point for the Kobe-less Lakers they would've already lost home court advantage and probably be the 5th or 6th seed.  the bleeding would've never ceased after the beatdown in PHX.  Sessions has played his ass off.

BUT.  in the grand scheme of things, because LAL is a grand scheme franchise, i'd rather see LAL win these games with all of their working parts going strong.  and Kobe brings the balance that allows Bynum and Gasol more space inside so they get better looks in their high % spots.  as happy as i am to have Ron and Barnes going strong right now... they've been playing well since before Kobe went down, so it's not as though Bynum's making them tons better.  we already know that Sessions kick started Barnes' confidence by picking up the pace and allowing him to run and get going.  and the bounce in Ron's step has nothing to do with Bynum and everything to do with his health and his in-season work ethic.  

it's great to have those two as a SF tandem right now, but LAL needs it's 7 footers to be rolling and shooting well in their high % areas on the floor going into the all-important postseason.  so hopefully Kobe does get a few games under his belt before the playoffs start so the bigs can start seeing the usual coverages from the opposition and get back to business.  but i do disagree with the Dwight/Bynum comparison as it's really unfair to both players.

[Glassman]

nah my point is just observing if bynum is capable of being a franchise player.  i don't think people realize the difference between being no.1 on the scouting report vs no. 2/3 its a huge jump.  personally i think people underrate dwight because his game is ugly but they don't understand his impact to the game esp defensively.  you also have to give credit to artest and barnes they look alot healthier and in basketball shape.  both have stepped up themselves in kobes absence, i don't think it necessarily has to do with bynum making them look like steve kerr.

I don't see Dwight being underrated anywhere. Most have him in their top 3. He has room to improve offensively and if he doesn't, when he hits 30 and starts to lose that athleticism his game will suffer.

Quite simply, if Bynum were out right now, Barnes and Artest's defender go back to man coverage and they don't hit at the clip they are, so yes you can say he is making them look like Kerr/Allen.

I don't disagree that Bynum should improve his % even with such a major force out of the game, I believe he absolutely would given a little more time. He has too much talent and drive not to. And it's a testament to what Kobe brings to the game if anything. But the guy flat-out has a better offensive skill set than Howard and a more of a killer, closer instinct so why should I assume that he wouldn't get it together given a season as a #1, particularly as I said, with a team built around him? Honestly the Lakers are kind of weak as far as perimeter shooters go in comparison to other teams. I mean our 3 point shooters are Barnes/Artest?

Some of Artest's and Barnes improvement is, as Regal points out, a result of Sessions who can get them the rock quickly when they're still open, let them set their feet and get a shot in rhythm instead of just playing hot potato around the perimeter like they did with Fish and Blake but it doesn't hurt that their man is always playing off them on Bynum, further away than when they play off of Kobe and can switch back and close in a little faster.  

Adande just wrote an article on Bynum:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7817335/nba-andrew-bynum-shows-one-step-superman

I think the team is really growing without Kobe.  They are NOT a better team without him, but they are learning how to play without him and play through a little on court adversity.  Sometimes the Lakers use Kobe as a crutch, and the ball movement becomes stagnant and players don't move around.  Not to mention that Kobe will have some more faith in his teammates now.

As for Bynum, I think it is great that he is getting guarded even tougher now.  It is going to accelerate his already fast pace of growth.  Then when Kobe comes back and the attention and space go back to normal, I think his percentages will go up and his decision making skill will have really grown.  

Yeah I agree this stretch will be good for Drew, once Kobe is back it'll be like a weight lifted on him offensively and the beast will feast. Either that or Kobe will be open. Probably both.