Food for thought: A lineup change

[Jajwanda]

Odom for Gasol in the starting lineup (minutes remain the same) :

You know it's unlikely but if I'm the Lakers one of these days I seriously consider starting Odom-Bynum eventually, while keeping Gasol's minutes right about where they are now. Those long gaps in scoring would quickly go away if the Lakers had Gasol in there for all the minutes that Kobe is out of the game.

1)With Odom on the floor you're looking at a guy that defensively should be about as effective as Pau is defending starting PFs (even better against Nowitzki and a few of the more athletic players).
2) Most important point.This lineup allows the team to put Kobe in the post or Artest in the post to start the game rather than having Kobe have to take the ball from the three-point circle to attack or go into isolation and break the triangle. Kobe is much more effective when this is the case.
3) When Gasol-Bynum end up playing together they have a much more agile lineup to cut off the ball from them in Blake-Brown-Barnes. Gasol is one of the few guys that Brown actually defers to when he's in the game. Blake plays well with Gasol and Barnes cuts very well off of him.
5) I know the Lakers have two championships with their traditional lineup but they could possibly be even better if they can just be more cohesive with that starting lineup not only as far as defensive rotations with Odom but also allowing Kobe to play aggressively from the get-go in the post and perhaps even finding a place for Artest rather than as a mediocre spot-up 3 point shooter. Against a team like Dallas this would mean immediate trouble for the Mavericks as Artest is either being guarded inside by Kidd or Kobe is being guarded in the post by Jason Kidd rather than Kidd playing these two from the outside where he can stay in front.
6) When Gasol comes into the game with the backups, he comes the immediate focus of the offense commanding the attention of the Laker backups rather than Odom who isn't looked upon as a primary offensive threat in the same way.
7) The Lakers can still finish the game with the same lineup they've used throughout series after series.

[snaquille oatmeal]

not hungry thanks though

[Jajwanda]

I had a feeling someone would say that. One of the best things about the lineup is that allows Pau to attack backup defensive big men. Rather than Chandler he faces Brendan Haywood. Rather than Garnett he faces Nenad Kristic and so on and so on. Not only does he get that advantage but Pau also gets to choose his spot against whatever big man is guarding him. Without Kobe or Bynum on the floor Pau can choose whether he wants to attack perhaps out of the high post against a larger man or the low post against a smaller defender. While Bynum and Kobe are in the game you're very likely to see Bynum in the 5 spot down low (he's not all that effective out the high post for obvious reasons), which pretty much dictates where Pau is going to be playing (shooting that mid-range, which is a waste for Pau considering how good he is).

Say against New Orleans:

- Game begins by Kobe and Artest pounding the ball relentlessly in the post against the much smaller Bellinelli and Ariza respectively. Landry is out on the perimeter watching Lamar while Okafor is pretty much helpless to give help defense with Bynum a quick feed away.

Against OKC:

This is among my favorite match-ups with this lineup because not only do I have Gasol attacking Collison and Mohammed off the bench for more minutes, but in the starting lineup I can pull Ibaka out of the paint leaving Perkins more vulnerable. On the other end Odom can handle Ibaka's energy, rebounding and hustle effectively. That's not even mentioning that perhaps for the first time Kobe isn't taking on an excellent defender like Sefolosha and the two shot-blockers for the Thunder, but rather just Sefolosha in the post (still a good defender) and a fairly slow guy like Perkins who must keep Bynum off the boards. OKC's defense will be in a bit of confusion as to how to best check Kobe while keeping Perkins out of foul trouble.

One last note: Most teams when preparing for the Lakers use their two best defensive big men to start the game (both their best PF defender and best C defender). Their backups are smaller. Facing Gasol and Bynum for a backup group could be absolutely overwhelming. Consider Boston. Would you rather Garnett-Shaq face the duo or would you rather have Baby-Kristic?

[Base]

To me, Pau Gasol isn't the kind of player to set a spark for the team. The bench this year needs sparks for them to even look like they are playing a game. Lamar Odom is that spark this year. He has been consistent and he has been a true baller. Odom is what the bench needs. Pau Gasol isn't aggressive, Pau Gasol isn't a great jump shooter. Pau isn't a heavy rebounder either, Odom is what the bench needs. Basically, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Jajwanda]

I'm not sure what Odom is sparking though when he's out at the three-point line and neither Brown, Barnes, or Blake is effective in the post and yet Bynum is still out there being called to set screens for Brown. Gasol at least is respected for his post presence more so than Bynum by the bench players.

[chefy]

not gonna happen, Gasol is a bona fide all star big man who's a great 2nd option. if you can't take advantage of him being in the starting line up, then your coaching is the problem.

[Speedlot]

This food tastes like crap.

[RamonSessions7]

Darn, I was hoping this was about a new point guard.

[ALL HAIL]

Agreed Jajwanda ... 100%

Gasol as a sixth man would be exactly like Kevin McHale with the Celtics in the eighties.

[Gek]

[Jajwanda]

Ron Artest 16 points, 4-8, 6-6 FTs on limited touches. Those misses were out in his mid-range. In the post for a few minutes he was a very tough cover. More so than that bitch Gasol.

[Doormatt]

Ron Artest 16 points, 4-8, 6-6 FTs on limited touches. Those misses were out in his mid-range. In the post for a few minutes he was a very tough cover. More so than that bitch Gasol.

yeah but he also had like 1 or 2 offensive fouls in the post. if the lakers have to start running anything through artest over gasol, we're not winning a championship let alone getting out of the first round.

offense really isnt much of a problem, its defense.

[Jajwanda]

Wait what? When did he have 2 offensive fouls in the post? Are you confusing Bynum.

[lakerz12]

I don't know...I think Pau gets a lot of his points from Kobe creating for him. Odom, on the other hand, is better at creating his own shot.

[Slava]

Pau is a confidence player and he's a major part of what we establish right from the beginning. He's going through a bad patch right now but demoting him to the bench will only make it worse for his confidence. Sticking with Bynum paid dividends for us so I see no reason why we need to pick on Pau, no matter how frustrating it is.

[Jajwanda]

So then let him get his confidence coming off the bench against mediocre big men...

What difference does it make if the minutes are the same?

[Slava]

As much as Odom's looking impressive now we do not have a savvy enough 2nd option that can replace Pau in the starting line up. This will only put more pressure on Kobe to start controlling the offense from the go. If Bynum cannot demand shots from the bench players, there's no way Pau will do any different with Shannon and co.

[Jajwanda]

True. I do agree with that. Perhaps we'll see Kobe expend his energy on defense guarding Paul or at least limiting him and then see if Pau wakes up along with perhaps Artest and Bynum (with Gray out especially) to carry the offensive load.