Los Angeles Lakers: Is Andrew Bynum a Casualty of Kobe's Offensive Outburst?

Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers' five-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers, but Lakers guard Kobe Bryant did manage to keep his individual scoring streak alive.

Kobe poured in 42 points for his fourth 40-point performance in a row, and once again he did it in an efficient manner going 14-of-28 from the floor with seven rebounds, four assists and only two turnovers.

The Lakers' loss to the Clippers was also their first defeat during Bryant's streak, but it also continued another trend for one of Bryant's teammates.

Center Andrew Bynum scored 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor and added 16 rebounds, but Bynum has seen his production decrease in both scoring and rebounding since Bryant's streak began.

In Bynum's first four games after his return from suspension, he averaged 23 points and nearly 17 rebounds per game, but in his last four, Bynum has scored 12 points per game and 12 rebounds.

Bryant's extraordinary scoring binge is another check-mark on a long list of accomplishments, but the first loss during his streak should be a reality check to fans caught up in the moment.

Scoring 40 points a night is good for Kobe, but failing to utilize the advantage Los Angeles has in the paint with Bynum and Pau Gasol could potentially doom the Lakers in the postseason.

Coach Mike Brown has made it known that the Lakers' intention on offense would be to pound the opposition into submission with Bynum and Gasol, which would theoretically free Kobe up on the perimeter for less-contested opportunities.

But it seems Bryant has scoffed at the notion.

How else do you explain Kobe nearly doubling the shot output of Bynum and Gasol combined for the past four games?

Bryant is a scorer by nature and judging by his body language and demeanor on the court recently, he has no intentions of changing that anytime soon, but he is certainly seasoned enough to know where his team's greatest advantage lies.

Bynum has appeared nearly unguardable in the paint since his return, and while his injury history remains a reason for concern, why not maximize his abilities for the time that he is here?

I know some of Bryant's fans will say that neither Bynum or Gasol can be trusted with the reins to the offense, and during last night's game, one of my friends used Gasol's miss on a wide-open eight-foot jumper to illustrate the point.

But I pointed out to my friend the fact that offensive players need the time to establish and maintain an offensive rhythm, and when Gasol missed that particular shot, it was his first attempt in nearly four minutes.

During that time, Kobe had firmly established his own rhythm, but he didn't allow his teammates to find theirs.

And eventually Bryant will have to share some of his field-goal attempts with his post players if the Lakers are to be taken seriously as contenders because that is the one advantage they have that no other team can match.

The Lakers are second in the NBA in rebounding at 45.7 per game and they are fifth in opponents' field-goal percentage at 41.3 allowed per game, which are two statistics that suggest they already have a playoff-style defense in place.

At 33 years of age, Bryant still has the ability to hold you in awe of his vast array of offensive skills, but I wish that after 16 seasons in the NBA he would also show that he understands what it takes to make his team better.