Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol: Frontcourt Duo More Important Than Kobe Bryant?

Contrary to some people's opinions, the Los Angeles Lakers will contend for next season's NBA championship because they still have Kobe Bryant, and more importantly, the Lakers have what is arguably the league's top post tandem in center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol.

The Lakers were humiliated in the 2011 NBA Playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, and even though that loss opened up a flood gate of issues surrounding the team, it doesn't diminish the fact that the Lakers will still be one of the NBA's most talented teams in 2011-12.

The Lakers certainly have some work to do in order to re-establish themselves as a clear Finals favorite, but the most crucial task for new head coach Mike Brown may be to make it crystal clear that the offense will revolve around Bynum and Gasol in the middle.

And that's no shot at Bryant, who is still the Lakers best player, but it will be easier for the team to transition to Brown's new offense by focusing on their greatest strength.

Last season, Gasol and Bynum averaged a combined 30.1 points per game, 19.6 rebounds and shot 54 percent from the field.

All of those numbers could increase next season if Gasol can find his mojo, Bynum can stay healthy and Brown makes his interior duo the team's primary offensive option.

I'm not sure what was bothering Gasol during the postseason, but his career-worst playoff performance should inspire him to work harder to prove that his 13 points per game and 42 percent shooting percentage from the field was just an anomaly.

The Lakers' championship hopes for 2011 were centered around the theory that Gasol would perform in the postseason just as he had in 2009 and 2010, and if you really peel back the layers, the team's loss to Dallas can be traced back to Gasol's disappearance.

Gasol was not the sole reason for the Lakers' loss because point guard defense did play a part, and Bryant was nowhere near as dominant against Dallas in the postseason as he had been in the regular season.

But a focused and aggressive Gasol could have stemmed the tide—at least a little—and if Gasol could have played with half the passion as Bynum did, then maybe the Lakers could have won a game in the series.

Bynum was probably the Lakers' MVP of the second half of the regular season and the playoffs, but as always with Bynum, the threat of injury is just around the corner.

But in the playoffs Bynum seemed to throw caution to the wind, and despite tweaking his knee late in the regular season, Bynum remained aggressive and ended up having the most productive postseason of his young career.

Bynum averaged 14 points and 9.6 rebounds in the playoffs, and finally began to prove that he can be a consistent offensive threat, provided he gets enough touches in the paint.

Brown should really explore the concept of the Lakers as a post-oriented team because if the team hopes to contend for a championship, Bryant cannot be the focus of the offense.

In Phil Jackson's triangle, Bryant was given more freedom to initiate the offense from the perimeter, but that was because Jackson's scheme called for constant motion on the court.

In Brown's offense, the post positions will be more defined, and Gasol and Bynum will likely be given more time to establish position in the paint.

The Lakers may also play a more traditional high-low post scheme, which would maximize the perimeter skills of Gasol and force opponents to defend Bynum with one player.

A focus on feeding the post could actually even help Bryant become a more efficient player, since he will likely benefit from less defensive pressure once opponents realize that he is truly a secondary offensive option.

There is some question if Bryant's ego will allow him to accept a lesser role than he is accustomed to, but Bryant has reached the point in his career where championships should be his primary goal.

The Lakers can definitely win some games with Bryant as the team's leading scorer, but they will only compete in the 2011-12 NBA Finals if his points are a result of a determined effort to feed the post.