How important are our players in terms of getting wins

[Farsi Man]

In terms of getting wins we know our most important guys are

1. Kobe
2. Gasol
3. Bynum
4. Odom

But what about after that? How do you rank the players who the Lakers could not afford to lose?

[rhp1990]

kobe
bynum
gasol
odom

[Farsi Man]

kobe
bynum
gasol
odom

Did you read my post or you just saw the title and those 4 names? I said after that. As in how important are Farmar, Fish, Radman, Luke and the rest of them.

[KB20]

1. Kobe
2. Pau
3. Andrew
4. Lamar
5. Fisher
6. Ronny
7. Sasha
8. Trevor
9. Jordan
10. Vlad
11. Luke
12.Mihm/Mbenga

[dockingsched]

since the start of february, in games the machine makes two or more 3's while shooting over 50% from 3, the lakers are 16-0. in games he doesn't meet that criteria the lakers are 7-6.

[Phil Jackson]

Kobe Bryant is the most important player.

[milesfides]

If everybody's healthy and playing together?

I would say after Kobe,

Bynum (defense and interior scoring)

Pau - key high post forward, scoring and passing

Sasha - consistent ability to spread the floor and prevent defenses from cheating, all without being a defensive liability

Odom - rebounding, moving the ball, scoring efficiently, but overall impact will decrease with both Bynum and Gasol back

Farmar - scoring and pushing the ball from the second unit - if he can regain the explosiveness earlier this year, he'd make the top 5

Fisher - one-dimensional streak shooting, but when he's hot he can make it rain

Turiaf - raising energy and impacting momentum on both ends of the floor, but overall impact will decrease with fewer minutes

Ariza - uptempo, defensive specialist on 2nd unit, but will see fewer minutes if Odom moves to SF

Radmanovic - similar to Sasha, minus the intensity and defense, won't see much PT

Luke - create ball movement when things get stagnant, matchup advantages against smaller players, won't see much PT

Mbenga / Mihm really our 4th and 5th string centers

Karl, for just being a rookie, but I see him being a top 7-8 player for us in a couple years

[Patterns]

1.Kobe
2.Bynum
2.Gasol
4.Sasha
5.Odom
6.Fisher
7.Farmar
8.Ronny
9.Radman
10.Ariza
11.Mbenga

[Tommy Trojan]

1.Kobe
2.Bynum
2.Gasol
4.Odom
5.Fisher
6.Sasha
7.Luke
8.Radman
9.Ronny
10.Ariza
11.Farmar

[ShowtimeFan]

No Players = No wins

everyone is important and if you watch the games, logically you know the answer..

[semi-sentient]

Top 4 in terms of importance:

1) Kobe - best scorer, best perimeter defender, draws the most attention, communicates effectively on the floor

2) Pau - consistent 2nd scoring option, efficient, demands attention, smart player

3) Bynum - best rebounder, defensive presence in the middle, efficient scorer

4) Odom - good rebounder, can contribute well when not forced to be a 2nd option


On a side note, I don't think Bynum deserves to be mentioned above Pau Gasol in terms of importance. Pau has been putting up these numbers for years, and Bynum has just begun to show what he can do -- but he needs to do it for an entire season before he should be mentioned in the same sentence as Pau. I think the lack of defense lately has caused some amnesia around here. Bynum, while being a good rebounder and shot-blocker, still has issues on the defensive end -- issues that he'll overcome as he gets more experience, as well as size/strength. Additionally, we're a pretty good defensive team even with Pau at center.

In games where Pau plays (not including the Hornets game), opponents are scoring 99 PPG. In 12 of those 19 games we held opponents to less than 100 PTS, and in 3 of those 12 games we held opponents to less than 90 PTS. While I wouldn't say that Pau is the best defender (rebounding is what hurts him, IMO), he has had a positive impact in that regard.

By contrast, when Bynum plays we give up about 101 PPG. I'm sure there are other factors involved, so others can feel free to point those out if they like, but I'll maintain my stance that Pau is 2nd in terms of importance because he is far more established.

[Sedale Threatt]

I couldn't agree more regarding Andrew.

Not only does he need to prove he can be consistent and durable over the course of an entire season, he's a long way off from being a legitimate defensive anchor.

I expect this to improve over time. I also expect his return should give us a major boost (provided he can get his bearings quickly) regardless of his inexperience. But not so much that we can breath a sigh of relief and consider our defensive woes magically solved.

[pooteeweet]

I'm of the opinion our players are very important in getting wins.

[milesfides]

Top 4 in terms of importance:

1) Kobe - best scorer, best perimeter defender, draws the most attention, communicates effectively on the floor

2) Pau - consistent 2nd scoring option, efficient, demands attention, smart player

3) Bynum - best rebounder, defensive presence in the middle, efficient scorer

4) Odom - good rebounder, can contribute well when not forced to be a 2nd option


On a side note, I don't think Bynum deserves to be mentioned above Pau Gasol in terms of importance. Pau has been putting up these numbers for years, and Bynum has just begun to show what he can do -- but he needs to do it for an entire season before he should be mentioned in the same sentence as Pau. I think the lack of defense lately has caused some amnesia around here. Bynum, while being a good rebounder and shot-blocker, still has issues on the defensive end -- issues that he'll overcome as he gets more experience, as well as size/strength. Additionally, we're a pretty good defensive team even with Pau at center.

In games where Pau plays (not including the Hornets game), opponents are scoring 99 PPG. In 12 of those 19 games we held opponents to less than 100 PTS, and in 3 of those 12 games we held opponents to less than 90 PTS. While I wouldn't say that Pau is the best defender (rebounding is what hurts him, IMO), he has had a positive impact in that regard.

By contrast, when Bynum plays we give up about 101 PPG. I'm sure there are other factors involved, so others can feel free to point those out if they like, but I'll maintain my stance that Pau is 2nd in terms of importance because he is far more established.

Fair analysis, but I think one factor that might explain how we gave up fewer points with Pau is that Odom has stepped up since Bynum went down. He's been better on both ends of the floor, while for most of the season next to Bynum, Odom had been disappointing.

Another factor might be the pace. For the first part of the season, our 2nd unit led by Farmar was one of the league's best scoring benches, and I believe they increased the tempo, and that might have played a factor in the total points.

Also, the scheduling might have played a factor, and sample size, 35 games with Bynum, 20 for Gasol.

I'm not sure if these are compelling enough reasons, and I would probably agree that Gasol right now is more important than Bynum, but in terms of "structural" importance, for a lack of a better word, I believe Bynum is the key to championships, because I can't remember the last championship team that didn't win with a great defensive big man.

Although Bynum does make certain defensive mistakes, there's no question he is a significant shot blocker and rebounder already, and he changes plenty of shots. He doesn't get pushed around, and he changes the way teams organize their offense.

On the other hand, teams go right at Pau Gasol, and he gets pushed around by smaller players. I think that's the thing for me, no matter what the numbers say, by my observation, Gasol is not a particularly good defender, while Bynum has all the signs of being a game-changer.

Offensively, there's no question Pau is the Yin to Kobe's Yang, there's just magic between the two. The way Pau passes is also a major advantage. Pau Gasol is just perfect as the offside forward in the triangle offense. I'm not sure you can create a better offensive 4 in the triangle.

Still, I think Bynum holds the key.

It's fun to talk about this, because I'm not sure the triangle offense had so much balance, so much talent and ability in so many positions.