Los Angeles Lakers: Did Jerry Buss Get His Money’s Worth Tonight?

Instead of recapping tonight’s game, I decided to hook up the box score with salaries and see who put in a decent night’s work compared to the money Jerry Buss is paying them.

First off, only two players on the Lakers roster accounted for 64 percent of the team’s point total. The other 10 players only accounted for 36 percent.

Kobe Bryant, 36 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, $19,490,625...Sasha Vujacic, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, $1,756,951.

Vujacic gave Lakers owner Jerry Buss the most bang for his buck.

Another player who was very cost-effective was Jordan Farmar, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists for only $1,009,560.

Then, there were a couple of borderline players who were fairly cost effective, especially on the defensive end.

Derek Fisher, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover for $4,352,000...Trevor Ariza, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist (in 9 minutes, 4-month injury lay off) for $3,100,000.

And finally there are those players who need to think about really stepping up or returning some of their salary to Dr. Buss.

Lamar Odom, 4 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 5 fouls for $13,248,596—a real bust.

Pau Gasol, 9 points, 12 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls for $13,735 – I thought Gasol was dying for an opportunity to be in the Finals? Wake up, Pau! You’re here, where you wanted to be.

Vladimir Radmanovic, 3 points, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, $5,632,200—forget it, Vlad, you’re hopeless.

Luke Walton, 0 points (2 points total in 3 games), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, $4,000,000—give back the money, Luke. Give back the freaking money!

Rony Turiaf, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 fouls, $770,610—great energy cheering on the bench, but the Laker Girls are more cost effective.

Replacement possibilities for 2008-2009 abound. Here are just a few.

Ron Artest, 28, $7,400,000...Gilbert Arenas, 26, $11,954,000...Drew Gooden, 27, $7,100,000...Devin Harris, 25, $7,800,000...Elton Brand, 29, $16,400,000.

Back to the 2008 Finals.

If Gasol, Odom, Radmanovic, and Walton continue to play this poorly, then the Celtics will win in six. If Pierce and Garnett start hitting the mark again and Rondo is at 80 percent or better, then the Celtics will win in five.