Bynum coming off the bench for the lakers? (per la times)

[Sedale Threatt]

True, but at least Fish can knock down a 3. The Finals could have turned out drastically different without him.

LO at the point would be nothing more than a gimmick. He's not a shooter, he's not a playmaker. He's just got above-average handles/vision for a big man. That's it. It would take away from his most valuable skills, which are rebounding and out-maneuvering other bigs with his quickness. He'd be a mistake at the 3 (the occasional mismatch notwithstanding) and a complete waste at the 1.

[desertlakerfan]

I don't want Bynum coming off the bench once the regular season starts.

Main reason? Having Pau go against opponents starting centers for a sizable chunk of the game will put excessive stress on the guy who's already been playing year round ball for at least the passed 2 seasons. I'm not saying Pau can't defend them effectively(I believe he could if needed), I just feel that it would be much wiser keeping Pau at the 4 for most of the game.

[Sedale Threatt]

I tend to agree. We keep waiting for Pau to wear down by playing heavy minutes in the middle but it just hasn't happened yet. That said, I'd love to do anything we possibly can to keep him fresh and not continue to tempt fate.

[Kilroy]

Gasol is a better Center, and Odom is a better PF... And Gasol/Odom is a better combo than either Bynum/Odom or Gasol/Bynum....

Until any of that changes, Bynum SHOULD come off the bench...

I don't know what will happen at the start of the season or as the season progresses, but from what I've seen so far, Bynum is a bench player...

All in all, I really don't care... I think the much bigger issue is where Artest plays...

If Artest plays well and fits nicely with the Gasol, Odom, Kobe, Fish?????, lineup, I think we go far this season and having Bynum for special minutes throughout the year will take us to the finals...

If Artest can't find his groove, Bynum better step up... Then we can have Gasol, Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Fish or have Lamar and Artest off the bench together with Walton in the starting 5.

Anyway... Let the Bynum situation work it's way out... We have bigger issues to figure out... Artest and who's playing point...

[Danny Darko]

I don't like the possible mental problems for Drew this could cause if it really isn't "no pressure"

I might like for him to be a second unit focus, though Lamar really needed to handle to make the bench mob go because Farmar is a horrible passer, so where do we make that up?

[96 Til Infiniti]

^ People will say Luke, but I agree the bench really lost its flow last year when Lamar moved to the starting 5.

[USA]

Gasol is a better Center, and Odom is a better PF... And Gasol/Odom is a better combo than either Bynum/Odom or Gasol/Bynum....

Until any of that changes, Bynum SHOULD come off the bench...

I agree that the Gasol/Odom combo is better than the Gasol/Bynum combo but I do not agree with Bynum coming off the bench over Odom for several reasons.

1. It significantly weakends our bench which was big advantage over a majority of the league.

2. The Gasol/Odom combo is best left for late game rotations. If you have Gasol/Odom starting games it gives the opponents time to get adjusted to them defensively and it allows the other teams coaches to draw up more defensive scheems against them. If the Gasol/Odom combo is saved for late game situations, it throws the opponents defense off balance because they won't be used to playing against them.

3. I think Lamar's diverse skill set would be able to be better utilized coming off the bench during games against the other teams bench or worn out starters then it would playing with Kobe/Artest/Gasol. Artest is going to have the ball alot more than Ariza did because that is just they way he plays. Having Kobe/Gasol/Artest/Odom out there for long periods is going to cause one or more of their games to take a back seat. I think that combo might be the best for the playoffs and/or late game situations but not for the daily grind of the regular season.

[Edrees]

honestly this will get him more minutes because bynum will be competing with other bench players. he's going to get minutes to get back to the old bynum pre injury when he was on that tear, and what better way to build confidence and momentum than playing bench centers and having a low risk of foul trouble? Once he builds all that i have no doubt he'll be moved to the starting lineup.

[Kilroy]

^ People will say Luke, but I agree the bench really lost its flow last year when Lamar moved to the starting 5.

The Lakers are a much more dynamic offensive team with Luke in the starting 5... Defensively they aren't as good though and when teams are able to slow the pace down and clog Luke's passing lanes, the advantage seems to go away... That is unless he gets his deadly touch behind the arc back...

I agree that the Gasol/Odom combo is better than the Gasol/Bynum combo but I do not agree with Bynum coming off the bench over Odom for several reasons.

1. It significantly weakends our bench which was big advantage over a majority of the league.

2. The Gasol/Odom combo is best left for late game rotations. If you have Gasol/Odom starting games it gives the opponents time to get adjusted to them defensively and it allows the other teams coaches to draw up more defensive scheems against them. If the Gasol/Odom combo is saved for late game situations, it throws the opponents defense off balance because they won't be used to playing against them.

3. I think Lamar's diverse skill set would be able to be better utilized coming off the bench during games against the other teams bench or worn out starters then it would playing with Kobe/Artest/Gasol. Artest is going to have the ball alot more than Ariza did because that is just they way he plays. Having Kobe/Gasol/Artest/Odom out there for long periods is going to cause one or more of their games to take a back seat. I think that combo might be the best for the playoffs and/or late game situations but not for the daily grind of the regular season.

I think the theory that bringing a better player off the bench is some big advantage 'because he compete's against the second string of the other team' is largely over-rated/stated...

Teams pick players to match up with the opponents other players... No team's starting 5 is set in stone... If Lamar coming off the bench was killing them, good teams would answer in some way...

The key is it speaks to our depth that we could do that. So whether it's Odom or Bynum coming off the bench, it's still a matchup problem.

Also, our 'bench mob' was at it's most deadly a couple of seasons ago when Bynum was part of it...

Most second strings don't have a potential all-star 7'er that can run like Bynum... So I actually think that's more of an advantage than having Odom out there.

But even if Bynum starts, he'll likely be used like he has been before... Where Phil puts him in for the first few minutes to try to get out early... And then pulls him for a while to let the more dependable unit handle their buis....

[iamworthy]

Sorry Fellas, but I didnt want to start a new thread just for this but here is the practice report for today, Tuesday. Check out the first few seconds where bynum passes the ball down the floor, then receives a pass and throws down a monster dunk. Nice.

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/091006practicereport.html

[dockingsched]

phil said he expects bynum to start and LO to keep coming off the bench, so i think the article did jump the gun on a lineup that was only for practice balance.

[96 Til Infiniti]

The Lakers are a much more dynamic offensive team with Luke in the starting 5... Defensively they aren't as good though and when teams are able to slow the pace down and clog Luke's passing lanes, the advantage seems to go away... That is unless he gets his deadly touch behind the arc back...

The deadly touch he had for half a season, three years back? No, Luke needs to stay on the bench and provide some leadership for the two knuckleheads we have running the 2nd unit backcourt. Luke and Lamar's ability to handle the ball and initiate the offense make up for Farmar and Sasha's inability to do so.

[ALL HAIL]

Gasol off the bench.

Just like Kevin McHale.

-- ALL HAIL

[Mamba Venom]

The Lakers will have a great second unit!!!

If its LO or Bynum. There will always be some talented players out there

[CX44]

I guess we will see more of Powell on the 2nd unit PF.