L.A. Lakers: Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol, Who Will Be More Important in 2011-2012?

The Los Angeles Lakers bid adieu to Phil Jackson's triangle offense when the team decided to hire Mike Brown as the next coach of the franchise, but what changes can be expected once the team finally hits the court whenever the current lockout ends?

The Lakers will certainly try to address their need for help at the point guard position, while simultaneously trying to adjust to new coaching strategies and philosophies.

Brown is an even more defensive-minded coach than Jackson, and he prefers an uptempo style of play that emphasizes dribble penetration and early entry passes to the post.

His style is much more conventional than Jackson's triangle, and the play of the team's point guard is much more important than it was during Jackson's tenure.

Under Brown, the lead guard will often find himself isolated on the perimeter, so the ability to get past defenders off the dribble is a must. Entry passes in the post are also made more with the intention of scoring rather than initiating the offense.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol was the perfect post player for the triangle offense because the scheme utilized his court intelligence, as well as his physical talent.

Gasol was the focal point of the Lakers' interior offense, and the team benefited from his vision and passing ability in the paint.

But much of the responsibility Gasol held under Jackson will now be directed toward the point guard, who will be expected to lead the offense in a more conventional manner.

Gasol's role will certainly change under Brown, but could his level of importance dip below that of teammate Andrew Bynum, who could see his touches drastically increase in a dribble-drive motion offense?

In the motion offense, Gasol will likely play on the high post while Bynum will start each position closer to the basket. On most plays Gasol will be the trailer once the point guard penetrates the defense, but Bynum will be directly in his line of vision.

This should account for a lot more open looks for Bynum, and it will also mean that a large portion of Gasol's offense could come from the perimeter.

Gasol is comfortable shooting the ball at least 15 feet away from the basket, but his field goal percentage will suffer if he is not as free to roam the post, and he could actually end up losing minutes to Lamar Odom because of his versatility.

Bynum is stronger than Gasol and is more willing to accept contact in the paint, which is a huge advantage when it comes to playing isolation offense, and it doesn't hurt that Bynum has the blessing of Jim Buss.

Buss has long shown favor toward Bynum, and as the main person now running the Lakers' show, it seems feasible to think the move to hire Brown was also a move to more prominently feature Bynum.

At season's end, Bynum was clearly the Lakers' most aggressive post player, and he was arguably the team's best player overall during the 2011 postseason.

He finally showed the type of assertiveness and development in his game the Lakers have longed for ever since Buss discovered him, and there is a general feeling Bynum could take off next season if he manages to avoid injury.

It was a different story altogether for Gasol, as he had the most disappointing postseason performance of his career on both ends of the court. Gasol was a non-factor on defense, and on offense he looked uncomfortable and unsure of himself and his game.

Lakers fans can only hope Gasol's season-ending funk was only temporary, and that he enters next season with a renewed sense of responsibility and motivation.

As far as motivation goes, Gasol should really have no problems at all, especially if he is forced to watch the touches he used to get in the paint shift to Bynum instead.