Los Angeles Lakers: Andrew Bynum Gives LA Edge over Spurs in Playoffs

The San Antonio Spurs have proven they have little to fear from most of their Western Conference rivals. The Los Angeles Lakers are a different story, however.

We have yet to see what the Lakers can do to San Antonio when at full strength, but we do know they can beat them without Kobe Bryant, thanks, in large part, to a dominant performance by Andrew Bynum in Los Angeles' 98-84 win over the Spurs last week.

Bynum exploded for 16 points and 30 rebounds, .which is the most rebounds an opponent has ever collected against the Spurs.

The Lakers out-rebounded San Antonio 60-33, casting significant doubt on the Spurs' ability to control a front line featuring two exceptional seven-footers.

With undersized forwards like DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner attempting to hold their own against superior size, the results predictably favored Los Angeles.

You can expect to see Tim Duncan with more time guarding Bynum in the postseason, and you can also expect to see more than 15 minutes from Tiago Splitter. It's hard to believe that will be enough, though. Bynum is just too strong to earn anything short of a double-team, a last resort that Gregg Popovich will have to contemplate using.

And guarding him might be the easy part—it could take all five Spurs just to box him out.

Bynum also brings a compelling defensive presence to the table. He consistently scared Parker into taking mid-range jumpers and push-shots in lieu of layups. Parker responded with an uncharacteristic 2-12 shooting night, proving vulnerable against the length of Los Angeles' interior defense.

It's unlikely the Spurs will hand the Lakers too many double-digits wins in a second-round series, but there's no question they face an uphill battle.

That hill happens to be 7'0'' and 285-lbs and instantly conjures up memories of Shaquille O'Neal dominating the San Antonio Spurs in series after series.

Of course, Bynum won't be that good. He won't be posting 30 and 40-point games quite so often (if at all).

But, he might just be good enough to exploit an exceptional team's achilles heel. With Kobe Bryant's help, he might be good enough to derail San Antonio's championship hopes for another year.