Lamar Holds The Key

Published by lakers-fan.com on March 25th, 2010 | Tagged Uncategorized

Lamar Holds the Key

By Ramneet Singh

Déjà vu for us Laker fans…again.  Just as he was beginning to shine and finally find that groove playing with Pau, seven foot center Andrew Bynum came down with an injury.

During  Friday’s game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bynum left the court in the third quarter and never returned; he put up 11 points and 5 rebounds. Although Bynum had a mediocre game, his early departure was a far bigger concern that any stats for the Lakers.

“I felt a really sharp, really quick pain,” Bynum said after the game, “[It was] maybe one, two seconds of sharp pain.” A MRI on Saturday showed a sprained Achilles’, but luckily no tear.  However, once again Andrew Bynum will miss some game due to injury, and just like before, it occurred late in the season.

“An Achilles’ or a leg injury is something you can’t really stay in great shape with,” Jackson said. “Taking off and landing, all your power moves, are something you’re going to have to adjust.”

With the absence of Bynum a familiar face will enter the starting lineup, Lamar Odom.  Lamar has been in and out of the starting five due to injuries of Pau, Kobe and now Andrew.

As a starter Odom has averaged 11.8 points and 11.8 rebounds, which are all of course higher than his numbers off the bench.  Most importantly the Lakers are 19-7 with Lamar starting and have beaten team like the Jazz and the Blazers, on the road.

This upcoming five game road trip is based on how efficient and how dominant Lamar can be. Wednesday’s game has Lamar going up against Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess; who we all know are old and slow, which means that Lamar has to be aggressive down low and has to run up and down the court.

The upcoming weekend has the Lakers playing the surprising Oklahoma City Thunder and their all-star Kevin Durant. Expect Mr. Odom to guard Durant and try to limit him with some size and length.  And looking at the Thunder’s front court, their size is nothing compared to the Lakers; this means that the Lakers must pound the ball inside.

Seeing the last game this weekend, the Lakers will matchup with a familiar face, the Houston Rockets.

In order to express how small the Rockets are, let’s just say their center is as tall as Kobe.

Lamar has to step-up and use his length to punish and dominant any defender the Rockets throw at him.  However, the Rockets do get up and down the court, so Lamar has to be willing to try to catch up with Houston and their fast lineup.

The most challenging games are coming up next week when the Lakers face the Hornets and one of the best teams in the east, the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hornets are 34-38, but could escape with a win of Lamar does not show up. His match up David West is a very capable scorer and can over play Lamar.  Taking their second best player out of the game will depend on Lamar, and if that is the case then the game will be over early, very early.

Finally, the last game of the five game road trip ends in Atlanta, where the Lakers will play a team that is 28-7 at home.  In this game Lamar will have his hands full, as he will try to defend the high flying Josh Smith.  Smith has been a key feature in the Hawk’s success this year; Smith averages 15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 4.3 ppg, and 2.1bpg.

Lamar has to keep Josh out of the paint and try to limit his game to the perimeter. The Hawks may not have size, but they still find a way to grab rebounds.  So it will be the job of Lamar and Pau to keep the Hawks off the glass and try to dominant the paint as much as possible.

With Andrew Bynum out for at least a couple of games, the success and failure of the Lakers depends on the play of Lamar Odom.