Chuck Person Helping In Bynum's Defensive Surge

[Anklebreaker702]

Andrew Bynum has improved his defense dramatically this season, whereas his game was largely dedicated to scoring in past seasons.

"You can always play defense versus offense is really the difference in the way I look at the game," Bynum said Sunday. "You can always play defense no matter what. Offensively sometimes you're not going to get the ball. It's too many variables offensively that can bother you. Defensively, it's just energy so you have to be pumped up to play it."

Bynum approached Phil Jackson after a film session a few weeks ago, which triggered the change.

"He felt he was inactive and he wasn't active enough and he needed to be more active on the defensive end," Jackson said before the Lakers practiced in Atlanta on Monday. "We didn't talk about the offense at all. I told him the difference between us being a good club and a great club is his presence on the floor defensively and rebounding. Andrew's a smart kid, he understands that."

Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person convinced Jackson on changing the team defense this season to keep Bynum in the lane on the defensive end, rather than amble out to the perimeter to help out guards contending with pick-and-rolls.

"He's a plug," Jackson said. "He's in there stopping penetration."

"The more active he is, the better we are," said Bryant. "We have a natural shot blocker, that's what he does. He has great timing and he moves his feet well and that's a big key for our team."

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPN
Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
Read the Full StoryDiscussSend FeedbackBuy Tickets


Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... z1G1LPvNKc
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... sive_Surge

Also check out this around the horn

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=6192141

[The Skyhook]

Thanks AB. The ESPN article was surprisingly a good read. Lots of quotes in there.

[semi-sentient]

It's good that Bynum is finally starting to get it and accept his role as our defensive anchor. He should NEVER let his offense determine the level of effort/focus he puts in defensively. That is where he can have his biggest impact and it will be crucial to our chances of winning another championship.

You really can tell the difference between our defense pre/post All-Star break, and Bynum deserves a tremendous amount of credit for our turnaround. It certainly couldn't come at a better time of the year.

In today's NBA, full of players whose offensive games are not refined enough to connect on pull-up jumpers on a consistent basis, it's a smart compromise by the Lakers.

"We live with those shots, 15-19 [feet], long twos, contested twos," Person said. "Maybe the only midrange guys left in our game are Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce."

And one of those guys plays in L.A.

+1, although I might throw Carmelo a bone as well.

[SashAlex]

We look like a legit contender again with Drew playing defense the way he's done recently.

[TruSkool]

happy to hear bynum embracing this role....hope he stays healthy...*knock on wood*

[kobe808lak]

He should have been focusing on defense since he entered the league.. either way I'm impressed by his effort lately.

[chefy]

He should have been focusing on defense since he entered the league.. either way I'm impressed by his effort lately.

Yea this is the role Phil always wanted for Andrew ever since he first came here. Mostly young players get interested more on playing and improving their offense only, early in their careers. But it's OK, usually you just let young players get loose out there and get comfortable. Later on they'll mature and they start realizing what it really takes to win, and they'll start adjusting/working on their games. So yea I would say Andrew is on the right path. And kudos to Chuck Person too.

[Anklebreaker702]

He should have been focusing on defense since he entered the league.. either way I'm impressed by his effort lately.

Yea this is the role Phil always wanted for Andrew ever since he first came here. Mostly young players get interested more on playing and improving their offense only, early in their careers. But it's OK, usually you just let young players get loose out there and get comfortable. Later on they'll mature and they start realizing what it really takes to win, and they'll start adjusting/working on their games. So yea I would say Andrew is on the right path.

None of this is true. When Drew 1st got here we had no inside presence whatsoever. At the beginning of his 3rd season he quickly established himself as the best post player we had offensively & defensively. Phil made sure the ball went inside because he started showing flashes of dominance.

Then the injuries started & we picked up Pau. Now he has excepted the roll because he sees the difference he makes, he has Pau, plus nobody won't throw him the dam ball.

[chefy]

Somewhat true, but those IMO are just his natural potential. He showed to have great natural instinct on blocking shots. But Bynum never had these play defense first and rebound first mentality before..esp like we saw in the Bobcats game.

[Anklebreaker702]

Somewhat true, but those IMO are just his natural potential. He showed to have great natural instinct on blocking shots. But Bynum never had these play defense first and rebound first mentality before..esp like we saw in the Bobcats game.

That's true Chefy but remember he's only 23. No matter what you do, if you keep doing it, normally you get better at it. A while ago Drew stated he liked the way Dwight Howard protected the basket & played "D" at that point your competitive juices start to flow because you want that same ascension in your game.

So fast forward to now. For the 1st time in 3 seasons he's not coming off of a major injury & he's close to being back to normal. As a result we're gettin what we knew we had all along.

[Atmanne]

The impact Person made on the Lakers last year resulted in a job offer from Nate McMillan to come to Portland and act as the Trail Blazers' defensive coordinator, but he opted to stay in L.A. and see what his system could do with the Lakers when implemented over the course of a full season.

[Anklebreaker702]

The impact Person made on the Lakers last year resulted in a job offer from Nate McMillan to come to Portland and act as the Trail Blazers' defensive coordinator, but he opted to stay in L.A. and see what his system could do with the Lakers when implemented over the course of a full season.

That's right Mr Rifle man!

[KhanAir23]

He's lucky hes in LA, and already has 2 rings under his belt without even being very healthy.
He should embrace any role they need him to take, hes lucky mofo

[Sedale Threatt]

It's good that Bynum is finally starting to get it and accept his role as our defensive anchor.

Amen. I'd put his game against San Antonio up against almost any in his career, and he took two shots. And that's why I've been frustrated with him in the past. It's not a matter of ability but mentality. If he makes up his mind, there's no reason he can't control the paint every single night.