Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Reasons Why Andrew Bynum's Return Means A Lakers ThreePeat
It wouldn't seem very fair for the two time defending NBA champions to magically add a 7 ft, 300 lb, 23 year old center (who averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds per game last season) to their roster a third of the way into the season.
But that's exactly what the Los Angeles Lakers have done. The rest of the league certainly can't be thrilled about the Lakers adding a potential All Star to a team already loaded with championship level talent.
Let's discuss the top three reasons why the addition of Andrew Bynum will lead to a Lakers Three-Peat in June.
Improved Team Defense
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Ask Kobe Bryant the one reason why the Lakers have won the NBA title the last two years and he will give you a one word response: "defense".
It was blatantly obvious when the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 2008 Finals that they were not on the same level as Boston defensively.
Losing to the Celtics in 2008 was the best thing that could have happened to the Lakers because it showed them exactly how they measured up against the NBA's best team and what areas needed the most improvement.
So what did they do about it?
In 2008, Pau Gasol hit the weight room and got significantly stronger, allowing him to bang with the more physical interior players (i.e. Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard) in the league. In 2009 they added Ron Artest to lock down the Kevin Durants and Paul Pierces of the world.
And finally, in 2010, they added Matt Barnes, another lock down perimeter defender who, like Artest, has had his fair share of past run-ins with a certain Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers currently rank 15th in the NBA in total defense, allowing 97.9 points per game. That's 6.5 more points per game than the league leading Celtics. The return of Bynum will significantly improve their team defense for a couple of reasons.
First, it allows Pau Gasol to slide back to the four and guard smaller players. It will give the Lakers' guards an opportunity to gamble more on the perimeter, knowing that they essentially have two seven footers behind them, ready to block or, at the very least, alter a shot.
Lakers fans can look for a pretty big up-tick in the Lakers' defense now that Bynum is slowly working his way back into the fold. Going forward, I expect that we will start to witness a defensive intensity that is much more along the lines of the championship caliber team defense we saw last year during the playoffs.
Finally, Some Rest For Pau
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During the Lakers' 17-7 start without Bynum, it seemed as if Pau Gasol was playing 44 minutes a night. His per game average was a little deceiving because he sat out a few 4th quarter blow outs.
Gasol played at least 40 minutes in 13 of the 24 games without Bynum. Since Bynum's return, he has topped the 40 minute mark just once out of five games, while averaging just over 34 minutes per game.
As Bynum's minutes continue to increase to up around the 30 minute mark, expect Gasol's to continue to decrease in an effort to keep the All Star big man fresh for their annual title run in April.
Gasol was noticeably gassed during the Lakers' four game losing streak that began in late November and it showed on the stat sheet. A career 52% shooter, he shot just 42% from the field during the four game slide.
Trust me when I say NO ONE is happier about the return of Andrew Bynum than Pau Gasol.
Improved Depth
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Once Bynum gets his conditioning back, he will return to the starting lineup, creating two very positive changes. Pau moves back to the four, where he is most comfortable, and Lamar Odom returns to his role as sixth man and leader of the second unit.
With this change, the Lakers officially become one of the deepest teams in NBA history. This depth was on full display during their 120-110 victory over the Raptors last Sunday, when the Lakers' bench scored 57 points, versus 63 points from the starting unit.
A second unit consisting of Steve Blake, Shannon Brown, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom and whoever else you want to throw in there could keep it close, if not beat half of the teams in the NBA today.
