Andrew Bynum's Beast Mode Effort vs. Spurs Should Scare Rest of the West

Calling Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum an enigma seems to be the understatement of the century. It’s almost impossible to figure the 24-year-old out, as one day he’s acting like a child and playing a role in costing his team games, and the next day he’s putting on performances as dominant as we’ve seen in recent memory.

However, if his performance Wednesday night in a win over the San Antonio Spurs is any indication, the rest of the Western Conference should be very afraid of what Bynum is capable of.

The seven-year pro joined George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in Lakers franchise history to grab 30-plus rebounds in a game as Los Angeles downed the Spurs, 98-84, sending a message to the rest of the west along the way.

Everyone in the Western Conference knows that the Lakers' superior length will be a handful to deal with in a seven-game series, but if Bynum can stay focused and offer up inspired efforts like the one last night, he will be next to impossible for teams to deal with.

He grabbed 30 rebounds and chipped in 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting, but it was his physicality that was a sight to see for coach Mike Brown and the Lakers, as Brown told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin following the game.

"

You like when they come out with the right focus and physical [nature] to pay attention to the game plan and the opponent and try to play the game the right way.

One of the ways we can control the tempo is by trying to rebound and Drew took it upon himself. Obviously, the 30 rebounds is amazing.

"

Bynum, though, didn’t seem too impressed by his effort on the glass and was more disappointed in his offensive game, also telling McMenamin, "It's great to have 30 boards, but my shot's not working and I'm (a) little upset about that.  For me, I'll remember shooting poorly."

But the big thing is that the aggressive day on the boards helped get Bynum involved in the offense, as he grabbed eight offensive rebounds on the night.

If Bynum allows the Lakers to get that many extra possessions a night, the Lakers will be very tough for any Western Conference team to deal with when the playoffs roll around.

Now the next test comes when Kobe Bryant returns.

The Lakers must take advantage of Bynum and their length and play the game from the inside-out. If they do, Bynum won’t be the only one to flourish in the postseason as everyone on the floor should get more open looks as a result of double teams on their two bigs.

Bynum holds the key. If he’s motivated and focused in the fashion that we saw Wednesday night in San Antonio, the rest of the Western Conference could be in trouble.