RealGM

I think when Bynum comes back the Lakers will have the best bench in the NBA.

When it comes to a good bench, I think talent comes second to oppurtunity and space. Out first string guys wear out any opposing team. Kobe and Gasol take the brunt of any teams defensive effort and once our bench guys come in, they have the oppurtunity and space to make plays and be super effective.

Regardless of how the lineup will look when Bynum returns, we're either going to have a bench of Blake, Brown, Barnes, Odom or Blake, Brown, Barnes, Bynum (holy ****, how many guys we got with surnames that start with B?). Odom is having the best, most consistent year since his sting in Miami and Shannon Brown is having a career year as well.

Actually, lets talk Shannon Brown for a second. This is a guy who has always been an energtic spark off the bench with his athleticism, but with his consistent shooting I think he could become extremely valuable to the Lakers. If only he could use his gifts for defense. Maybe.

I think for the first time in a long while, we have a bench we can fully utilise when Bynum, Kobe, Gasol is off and take oppurtunity when the defense is tired, OR take advantage of the massive space they have when they are on the court.

You can argue that some teams have a bench, but I believe a bench usually makes a name for itself not with its talent so much but what it does with its oppurtunity and space. Kobe is one of the most highly pressured players in the history of the game, PAu is no slouch either, Bynum has that dynamic as well because he is 7 foot and can score. Our bench should always face a defence that is fatigued and making mental lapses on defense.

Anyway, my two cents. We lack a couple of things, such as a dynamic perimiter scorer and a 3rd string power forward but we have addressed bench and 3 pt shooting. We've gotten better.

I agree that we're clearly better, but it's super early and we really haven't beaten anyone either...

I don't really think we have a clear idea what this team is yet.

Let's see how we matchup against the Spurs/Mavs/Hornets/Heat/celtics first before we start saying we're the best in the league at anything right now.

Frankly, I can't wait!

I agree our bench has much improved and just maybe the best in the league. However do you guys think upon Bynum's return Artest, and not Odom should hit the 2nd unit? Odom is on pace to have a career year and to be honest I can see him have a couple triple doubles easy this season if he stays with the starters. Also our bench as it is now allows us to function as two completely different teams which makes it almost impossible to prepare for us. I said it before and I'll say it again the Lakers are the only team that can beat the Lakers with very few threats out there Boston....Spurs and Dallas? Maybe

This is the Killer Bees theme song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqLKcIvere4[/youtube]

I'm not totally confident claiming we have the best bench in the league because we have no real backup big. We have three really, really good players coming off our bench that could all be starting for other teams this year, but even when Bynum comes back, we don't have a lot to speak of with a backup C unless we move Pau out of position, but that doesn't constitute as our "bench."

The Skyhook wrote:This is the Killer Bees theme song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqLKcIvere4[/youtube]

or this.....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAPyIiD7mtM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwxWz1ZL2mU[/youtube]

Kalidogg24 wrote:

The Skyhook wrote:This is the Killer Bees theme song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqLKcIvere4[/youtube]

or this.....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAPyIiD7mtM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwxWz1ZL2mU[/youtube]

two of my favorite songs of all time. Cream is in there as well.

i honestly think we have a solid bench, which will be amplified with the return of bynum. the only thing is, once bynum is back, i think that the amount of minutes for the bench will be shortened which makes it a lot harder to get into a rhythm out there, so they might not be as effective. also once kobe starts playing better, it will cut back on shannon's minutes

Plastered, it isn't about whether or not Kobe is playing well, it's about preserving some energy for him for the post season. He hasn't played terribly. At all. He's third in the league in ppg.

BROWN, BLAKE, BARNES = BEST BASKETBALL BENCH B*TCHES

thats a lot of B's

Our bench could beat the Clippers.

Jase wrote:Plastered, it isn't about whether or not Kobe is playing well, it's about preserving some energy for him for the post season. He hasn't played terribly. At all. He's third in the league in ppg.

ur telling me his defense has been up to par? i definitely dont think so. like last night the bulls started their run in the fourth on a bogans three that kobe had about 3 seconds to close out on but chose not to

Agreed. Lakers bench has improved. They're look like a starting line-up for most teams out there.

I believe they'll only get better as they continue to play with each other.

Plastered wrote:i honestly think we have a solid bench, which will be amplified with the return of bynum. the only thing is, once bynum is back, i think that the amount of minutes for the bench will be shortened which makes it a lot harder to get into a rhythm out there, so they might not be as effective. also once kobe starts playing better, it will cut back on shannon's minutes

Our 3 main bench players don't play the center position so their minutes won't be affected (much) by Bynum coming back. If anything, their penetration and passing will play into Bynum perfectly. He'll get easy shots/dunks and we all know his confidence goes through the roof that way. Blake is also the perfect PG to get him lobs and easy shots inside. I believe they'll be even more effective once Bynum comes back.

So Gutta wrote:Our bench could beat the Clippers.

and the Cavs
the Raptors
the Pistons
and now the Blazers with Roy and his latest injury struggles

Blake, Brown, Barnes, Odom, and Bynum

Lamar should just change his last name to Bodom with the whole B's thing lolz

LA Forever wrote:I believe they'll only get better as they continue to play with each other.

Plastered wrote:i honestly think we have a solid bench, which will be amplified with the return of bynum. the only thing is, once bynum is back, i think that the amount of minutes for the bench will be shortened which makes it a lot harder to get into a rhythm out there, so they might not be as effective. also once kobe starts playing better, it will cut back on shannon's minutes

Our 3 main bench players don't play the center position so their minutes won't be affected (much) by Bynum coming back. If anything, their penetration and passing will play into Bynum perfectly. He'll get easy shots/dunks and we all know his confidence goes through the roof that way. Blake is also the perfect PG to get him lobs and easy shots inside. I believe they'll be even more effective once Bynum comes back.

you are right, but this year we have been seeing ron at the 4 and that increases barnes minutes. with bynum coming back that becomes less of an option. also it will increase kobes minutes because he will become more effective on offense with the pick and roll with bynum/pau. i would look for fish's minutes to come down even more and see more of shannon at the point.

When you can say with a straight face that you have 4 guys coming off the bench that could start on most teams, yeah your pretty good.