Pivot Points: Minus Pau Gasol, Lakers Post Game Stuck In Neutral

For anyone that ever questioned the value of Pau Gasol, the play of the Los Angeles Lakers is making the answer painfully obvious. In his absence, the team has suffered mightily on both ends of the floor.

Their latest display against the Houston Rockets highlighted their various post troubles, and made his return paramount to returning to their oiled-machine-like ways.

That's not to say that center Andrew Bynum hasn't performed admirably in his absence, but the team's play in the paint has lacked the fluidity that Gasol provides.

Although Bynum has risen to the challenge by averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, the Lakers are in need of Gasol's knowledge of the triangle offense and superior instincts on defense.

While Bynum did have a game-high 17 rebounds against the Rockets, the Lakers were still out-rebounded by the much smaller Houston team. L.A. was one of the best rebounding teams in the league with Gasol. They are average without him.

It's not like Pau is a banger in the middle, but he is able to use his lateral movement and elusiveness to make him a decent rebounder. He is aware of all the defensive switches, and is the last line of defense once the perimeter has been penetrated.

And penetrated the Lakers have been, as Rockets guard Aaron Brooks often looked like he was in a pick-up game with his many unimpeded forays to the rim.

Bynum looks as if he is still moving gingerly on his frequently injured knees and has yet to master the intricacies of the Laker defense.

He is often caught out of position and his failure to understand defensive switches has left him subject to frequent early fouls. It's something that will improve with his time on the court, but the return of Gasol will surely speed up the process.

Most teams would be content with a 4-1 start, but the Lakers are not most teams. They are the defending champions and their play has inspired a lot more questions than answers.

For one, none of their victories has been an easy task. They have either found themselves struggling to protect a lead or scrambling to catch up.

Road games against Houston and Oklahoma City have both gone to overtime and the Lakers have been lucky to escape both games with wins.

The bench is partly to blame for providing a lack of significant contributions. The absence of Gasol indirectly affects that too.

It's clear to observers that Laker forward Lamar Odom operates best when starring in a relief role. When relegated to the bench, he provides an instant spark on offense and defense.

When forced to start, his complacency becomes more evident and it leaves the Lakers without a relief-role spark. Right now, the reserves are doing no more than providing extra bodies when the starters get tired.

Their six-point performance against Oklahoma City was horrible, uninspired and quite possibly one of the worst bench performances in Laker history.

Coach Phil Jackson has said that Gasol could return to practice as early as today. Even that may not be soon enough. The Lakers, once dominant in the post, have become slow and abysmal without him.

Fellow Laker columnist Andrew Ungvari penned an article that asked whether or not the Lakers should add an extra body for the front court. His forethought was like the Ides of March.

He had the vision to see the how the absence of Gasol hindered the Lakers on offense and defense, and after five games I could not agree with him more.

The Laker scheme has become a shell of itself without Gasol. Losing his rebounding, defense and scoring presence has left the Lakers in limbo, struggling to find their identity and stuck in neutral.