Andrew Bynum's Post Game Leads to High Percentage Shots

The most frustrating thing about watching a Lakers game is not Metta World Peace taking a plethora of jumpers; it is the Lakers shooting perimeter shots over driving to the paint, or better yet passing it there.

Center Andrew Bynum, at 7' 0" has the second best shooting percentage in the NBA with 58 percent. Only Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks beats him at 67 percent. Dwight Howard, Nikola Pekovic and Marcin Gortat round out the NBA's top five in shooting percentage. It's no coincidence that each of the top five in shooting percentage are centers. So, logically, there's a trend here: high percentage shots come in the paint, by the biggest men on the court.

The Lakers have one of the tallest starting rosters in the NBA. Bynum stands 7 ft, Pau Gasol isn't far behind and they have a bench with players who are nearly as tall, (Murphy, McRoberts and Hill) albeit not as skilled. This begs the question, why aren't the Lakers pushing more to the paint?

Their team shooting percentage is eighth in the league at 46 percent, but of course a large portion of this is due to the fact that Bynum is second on the individual list while Pau Gasol is 16th. According to the Lakers website, Bynum, Sessions and Morris have the highest shooting percentage on the team, while Kobe is ninth with 43 percent. Numbers do not lie but they hardly tell the whole story.

Morris never really plays and Kobe has changed his game to stay productive in this new offensive system. Sessions’ high percentage can be directly attributed to his speed which allows him to finish at the rim in pick-and-roll situations. Even with Bynum and Pau putting up big numbers, the Lakers still have weakness in the shooting department. You can't teach height, so teams have focused on doubling the big men and leaving perimeter players open for the shot. It’s as if The Lakers haven't heard the old NBA saying "If you're left open to shoot, it's probably for a reason".  

Bynum's play has greatly improved since last year. It shows in his stats and in conversations among NBA veterans. Shaquille O’Neal has even used his spot on TNT to speak up and boast that Andrew Bynum is the best center in the league. So why don't the Lakers pass the ball inside more?

Part of this is that Coach Brown is more concerned with the team learning the system than winning (which may explain Kobe's renowned benching). According to the LA Times,

I've never put any goals like that on our team in terms of how many games we need to win or where we need to finish. Obviously, it would be great to finish first if it happens. I don't think that's of the utmost importance because I felt the season was going to be wacky. I just wanted us to be at our best at the end. If we're at our best at the end, I really don't care if we play at home or on somebody else's court. We'll get it done.

So until the Lakers can learn to make the system work for them and penetrate the paint, they will continue to struggle to win games.