Andrew Bynum's Absence Noticeable in Los Angeles Lakers' Close Win over Blazers
The Lakers' victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday night did not only prove NBA jerseys are extremely durable when Kobe was ripping his own jersey apart after his clutch shot, it also reiterated the value of Andrew Bynum for the Lakers.
After Bynum was suspended for a wild elbow, the Lakers were forced to play without their big man for the first time since his injury.
Generally, the Lakers have the Blazers' number at Staples.
Not tonight.
The Blazers gave the Lakers all that they could handle. They led at halftime and could have had a seven-point lead going into the fourth, but Matt Barnes bailed out the Lakers with a huge half court buzzer-beater.
Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher lead the comeback in the fourth with some huge, clutch shots leading the Lakers to victory.
But why was it so difficult?
Let's look at the numbers. Here is where Andrew Bynum's absence becomes most noticeable.
The Lakers were outrebounded 45-35 in the whole game. They also allowed 17 offensive rebounds. Marcus Camby gave Pau Gasol all that he could handle down low, grabbing 10 boards and five offensive rebounds. Lamarcus Aldridge also scored 18 points as the Blazers manhandled the Lakers in the paint.
These are glaring numbers.
When Bynum is out and Pau is forced to play the center position, it turns out to be a huge disadvantage for the Lakers as we saw tonight.
It's not that Pau is terrible at the center position—he had a double-double tonight. It's that Lamar is forced to play the power forward position, so it becomes a two-headed monster the Lakers have to deal with.
This could be a huge mismatch for them when playing against tougher teams in the playoffs.
To make matters worse, the bench becomes thinner. When Derrick Caracter and Joe Smith get some minutes, that just shows how thin the bench is.
The Lakers obviously cannot rely on that kind of bench to win big games.
Offensively, the Lakers went on some huge dry spells in the third quarter. Instead of taking it down low to Bynum, they had to settle for outside shots against a team that has a very good perimeter defense.
The Lakers were bailed out by some majestic shots by Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant late in the fourth. If those don't go in, the Lakers lose and the talk tomorrow morning is all about the Lakers' lack of depth without Bynum instead of Kobe's heroics.
Bynum's importance is unbelievable. It gives the Lakers more depth down low, a deeper bench and an easier assignment for Pau. It's a lot easier for Pau to go up against the power forward of most teams rather than their center and this makes the Lakers a lot more dominant.
It really shows why they have been unstoppable since the All-Star break.
The Lakers luckily get Bynum back on Friday. But for now, they must focus on life without Bynum again on Tuesday vs Phoenix.
Until then, the Lakers could order a new, unstretched jersey for Kobe.
