NBA Playoffs 2011: Andrew Bynum's Knee and Other Los Angeles Lakers Problems
The Los Angeles Lakers have some very realistic weaknesses right now.
Personally, I wasn't ready to abandon ship with the Los Angeles Lakers, even when they stumbled to five straight losses. Losing streak included, the Lakers are still 18-6 since the All-Star break.
To put that number into perspective, the "slumping" Lakers' post All-Star break record is identical to that of the Denver Nuggets, who most people consider to be the hottest team in the league.
Also, the Lakers didn't exactly come into last year's postseason playing their best basketball either. Los Angeles finished the season winning four out of their final 11 games, but once the playoffs began, the Lakers got down to business and won another ring.
This year is different. Limping into the playoffs on poor play is one thing, but literally limping into the playoffs is a much bigger deal.
The Lakers have realistic concerns and weaknesses right now that could prevent them from winning the title.
5. Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff
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With a healthy Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are fine in terms of depth in the front court.
What Lamar Odom provides is a sixth man who gives the Lakers the production of two players.
Look at it this way, Pau Gasol usually gives the Lakers around 36 minutes a night and Andrew Bynum, when healthy, is around 27. That means Gasol is off the court for 12 minutes and Bynum is off the court for 21 in nearly ever Lakers game. This is not a problem, because Lamar Odom is more than capable of playing those combined 33 minutes, and gives the Lakers just as much production.
The issue arises when Andrew Bynum is not healthy. In the case that he's not, the Lakers will put Odom in the starting lineup and give him and Gasol around 36 minutes a night. That leaves 24 minutes of question marks.
Their other backup big men are 36-year-old, Joe Smith, and 38-year-old, Theo Ratliff, who is the dreaded combination of old and injured. Relying on these two players for 10 to 15 minutes a night might work, but against teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers would not be able to count on these veterans for a full 24 minutes of help.
What the Lakers will probably end up doing, if Andrew Bynum is injured, is use Joe Smith/Theo Ratliff for part of the time, but use a lineup where Ron Artest shifts down to power forward in the minutes that Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol are off the floor.
Ron Artest is a physical guy and the matchup actually works in the Lakers' favor for their likely second round pairing. If Artest is asked to shutdown Gerald Wallace or Dirk Nowitzki, I think the matchup works out pretty well. If they play the Oklahoma City Thunder, Artest would do a good job on Serge Ibaka who is more of a mid-range jump shooting big man.
The problem would be against the San Antonio Spurs. The size of Tim Duncan, Dejuan Blair and Antonio McDyess could prove to be too much for this make-shift Lakers lineup.
4. Matt Barnes' Knee
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The Matt Barnes situation could cause a lot of problems for the Lakers.
If Matt Barnes is not healthy for the playoffs, the Lakers will have to rely on Luke Walton for the 15 to 20 minutes that Ron Artest is off the floor.
In terms of small forward play, the dream scenario for the Lakers is playing the New Orleans Hornets, followed by the Dallas Mavericks, followed by the San Antonio Spurs, then the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. If Matt Barnes is not healthy, they will want to avoid Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Paul Pierce at all costs.
The Lakers brought in Matt Barnes to deal with Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Durant and James are both young enough and in good enough shape to play 40 minutes a night in a series without wearing down.
Ron Artest is not.
Artest might be able to up his minutes to 35 for the playoffs, but as a Laker fan, would you feel confident with Walton on James for even three minutes of action in the NBA Finals?
3. Steve Blake's Chicken Pox
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The idea of a 31-year-old NBA basketball player being sidelined for chickenpox seems almost comical.
However, for the Lakers, this virus is far from being funny.
Without Steve Blake, the Lakers have no backup point guard. Their starting point guard, Derek Fisher, is 36 and can not be relied on for more than 30 minutes a night.
If the Lakers play the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, Chris Paul will wear down Fisher. While the New Orleans Hornets have little to no chance of actually winning this series, a tired Fisher does not set the Lakers up well for success if they play Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
Even worse, a potential nightmare scenario has emerged with the news that Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest have never had chickenpox. The chickenpox is highly contagious, and locker rooms are very tight quarters where viruses can spread fast. Just look at the Orlando Magic earlier this year when five or six guys came down with the same stomach bug.
Could you imagine Kobe Bryant, face and body completely covered in the little red dots, glaring down his defender with a look of, "Did you really think I was going to sit out a game for this?"
I can just picture the Lakers now with Blake, Artest, Bynum and Kobe all passing around the calamine lotion at timeouts and taking postgame oatmeal baths rather than showers after their victories.
I assume that Kobe, Bynum and Artest will be vaccinated from the virus, but there is still a chance that this nightmare scenario could come true.
2. Kobe Bryant's Health
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I watched Kobe Bryant grab for his shoulder a lot during last night's game against the San Antonio Spurs. We already know about his knee, and we all know he has a lot of miles on those legs.
However, we also know he's played through injuries before and may be the best player at fighting through pain, and simply willing himself to victory, since Michael Jordan.
The truth is, with all the other injuries around him, Kobe will have even more pressure on himself this year than last year to consistently produce monster games in the postseason.
He's done it before, but considering he might meet the young Oklahoma City Thunder, and possibly the combination of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in the finals, Kobe will have to find the balance of doing almost everything for his team, while somehow still trying not to do too much.
1. Andrew Bynum's Knee
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When Andrew Bynum went down last night, the entire playoff picture became a whole lot blurrier.
If it was only a scare, and Bynum comes back at full strength for the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers are still the favorite to win it all.
If he comes back, but only at half strength, the Lakers fall into the mix of four or five other teams who have a legitimate shot at winning the championship.
If he isn't able to come back, I don't think the Lakers can return to the NBA Finals.
With a healthy Andrew Bynum, the Lakers have something that no other team in the league has; two dominant big men. Without Bynum, suddenly both the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are bigger, and if they were to get to the Finals, their size advantage over the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls is now gone.
Without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers become the 2008 team who failed to win the NBA championship. Unlike 2008, the Western Conference has teams that can legitimately knock them out.
