Will Gasol minus Bynum really be the difference?

[Cyclical]

wait a minute, how bout we let you win this year and then we do another Three-Peat?(at being in the Finals)..

Seriously though I think that is going to be the main talk from Lakers fans after this series. Just keep that statement in mind. I don't think people are aware of the huge mismatch in the paint in this series. Yes, Gasol helps the Lakers open up the offensive game and score more points at ease. That's a given. But no team in their playoff path so far has taken advantage of their soft core -- the lack of Bynum. Denver is a joke; the jazz has no interior D, and SA's Oberto's skills are no where near Perkins'; not even close. Bynum's presence will be missed in this series and will be used as an excuse at the end of it. The paint will be the difference.

[Cyclical]

wait a minute, how bout we let you win this year and then we do another Three-Peat?(at being in the Finals)..

Seriously though I think that is going to be the main talk from Lakers fans after this series. Just keep that statement in mind. I don't think people are aware of the huge mismatch in the paint in this series. Yes, Gasol helps the Lakers open up the offensive game and score more points at ease. That's a given. But no team in their playoff path so far has taken advantage of their soft core -- the lack of Bynum. Denver is a joke; the jazz has no interior D, and SA's Oberto's skills are no where near Perkins'; not even close. Bynum's presence will be missed in this series and will be used as an excuse at the end of it. The paint will be the difference.

[hermes]

Odom only has 1 year left on his deal anyways, right? I could see him getting traded for a guy like Mike Miller or something. Memphis gets cap relief & a talented PF and the Lakers get a versatile 3 point shooting SF who Kobe has worked with through Team USA.

if the grizz want to deal with the lakers again

[davidse]

I think LA is far tougher with Bynum than Gasol.

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708LAL.HTM

If you look at how the two played, it is clear they both add a lot to the team's differential. At center they both played at about a +10 PER. Gasol did it overwhelmingly on offense. Bynum did it on defense too.

In the playoffs defense counts more than offense. Bynum would have closed the center of the court to Pierce, Rondo and Allen's drives. He's a force multiplier. The Lakers have loads of offense with or without either of these two. Only Bynum brings any defensive power.

I think defense with quite a bit of offense is much tougher than lots of offense and little defense, especially in a playoff situation. At playoff time Bill Russel is the ideal at center and Russel is defense. Perk is actually closer to the ideal than Gasol.

in principle, i would agree with you, however, what you're missing in this case, is the impact that gasol has had on lamar odom's game.
he's a completely different player since he's been playing with gasol, and that's a huge part of the lakers being a much better team with pau - not just his own contributions vs. bynum's, but what has happend to odom's game.