Andrew Bynum to come off the bench; Odom as starter
The L.A. Times is reporting Phil will bring Bynum off the bench…
L.A.Times: It’s early, undoubtedly, but center Andrew Bynum is currently on the Lakers’ second unit.
Lamar Odom played with the starters in Saturday night’s scrimmage, along with Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher.
Apparently, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson is more comfortable going with a unit similar to the one that flourished in the playoffs last season, the obvious exception being Artest in place of Trevor Ariza.
Bynum doesn’t seem concerned by anything, be it a move to the second unit, even if it’s only temporary, or the fact that he’s in the first year of a lucrative contract extension that pays him $12.5 million this season.
Two words he said seemed to sum it up: “No pressure.”
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41 Comments
for most this would be a motivator, for some a confidence killer . . . we’ll soon see which camp he falls in.
I don’t know if I like this. We don’t really have a playmaker for the 2nd unit anymore. I hope Phil decides to mix up the units a bit and not only have a designated 1st and 2nd unit with no overlapping.
I love this.Make the young man hungry.
I don’t like it the idea either. Lamar was the spark plug off the bench when he came into the game. He was the other play maker. Hopefully this is just a pre-season thing.
Agreed. On paper, this doesn’t even make sense. Your bench should be versatile, having Bynum coming off the bench makes it less dimensional. I also agree that Odom was a great spark plug off the bench and made our team better and kept the focus going for the 2nd unit. If we changed it up to let Bynum play with the 2nd unit, we may not play as good. I say that this move doesn’t last long, seems pretty temporary.
this can be a good thing.
by andrew being in the second unit he’ll be able to get more touches.
IMO fisher/bryant/artest/odom/gasol sounds pretty epic to me!
lets make andrew EARN his starting position!!
Now give me a T-shirt with those starting five… i’ll get a lot of milelage for sure.
Boston big 3 what???
What out for L.A.’s ferocious five.
Andrew should be focused in – and if he is, he should indeed be a starter by the end of the pre-season.
This is great! Look at the ages of the starting lineup compared to the ages of the second unit. Bynum will undoubtedly flourish with the second unit!!!! This will work Laker Nation!
i really like this move..i hope it stays permanent..bynum seems to disrupt the offense of the first unit a lot thus it seems like a good idea to bring him off the bench playing alongside guys like sasha, farmar, luke, etc..guys who would be willing to get the ball downlow to bynum in which he could be the focal point…in the first unit kb, pau have to ball too much for bynum to be effective..this is a good idea
Starters/Bench
C Bynum/Mbenga
F Gasol/Odom/Powell
F Artest/Luke/Morrison
G Bryant/Shannon/Vujacic
G Fisher/Jordan
There are 3 pairs that Phil can use as “tag team” partners during the course of the season.
1. Kobe and Ron-Ron: most anticipated and talented offensive/defensive duo, best “defensive” wing in the league.
2. Pau and Bynum: beastly “twin tower”, has mid-range and inside game, deadly rebounding/shot-blocking force.
3. Jordan and Shannon: a surprising “tag team” but I really think it can work. Both are athletic and quick and can run circles around the opposing defense with Jordan at 1 and Shannon at 2.
I don’t really like it,
Bynum was utilized as a big body early in games so Pau wouldn’t run the risk of getting into foul trouble early, but the positive that can arise from this is Bynum’s offense game can flourish with the 2nd unit since he’ll be seeing more touches opposed to if he was was on the floor with Kobe, Pau and Ron-Ron.
Phil knows best!
I love it!!! It’s a BIG line up that can play with the energy of a small line up.
Drew off the bench will overwhelm any 2nd units 5, besides Drew needs to learn to skillfully reach/swipe for the ball without committing fouls, we are always in the bonus early when he starts.
A second unit of
Brown/Farmar,
Sasha/Artest,
Morrison/Walton/Artest,
Powell/Odom,
Bynum/Mbenga
Too much for any team to handle with the exception of BOS, & CLE IMO. Can’t wait for the season to begin. It will be classic no matter how it turns out.
this sucks!!! that mean we won’t see much him. he will send a lot of time on the bench. it will hurt his all star chance. i don’t understand phil.
anyone want a footlong?
Hey guys, I wouldn’t be too concerned about it, probably just Phil engaging in his motivational mind games. The great thing is, this team is stacked with enough talent to match up favorably with any team in the league.
This line-up will be great against teams that have centers that shoot well from the perimeter and the Bynum starting line-up will work well against more physical low post scoring centers.Can’t wait for Wednesday.
Bynum needs to smash this year. No more Kareem finesse now, so he better play Hulk ball! Ring or BUST!!!!
The Second Unit is our future people. Pray for them.
This dude dosent deserve a starting spot.
They tried it hes a weak punk.
If you idiots dont know bye know who calls the shots his number is 24 .
Kobes team he calls the shots.Bynum is a kid with no heart everyone on that team sees it.
Thats why the logic is if this punk dosent come out with heart desire why do we need him.
Get it this ass hole might get traded
Your dumb if you think Kobe calls the shots. Kobe himself said he stopped trying to play “general manager” and let the Laker front office do their job – You know the Laker front office – they are the ones who built a championship team. Not Kobe. The front office quit listening to Kobe A LONG TIME AGO!
whatever works. dam this shit is lagging.
Your dumb championship team was adding Pau
for Kwame. Thanks To Jerry West because asshole Mc hale screwed the trade up for K.G .So Jerry
burned Mc hale .with that trade.
Kobe if you notice dip shit in every hudle talks with Phil and confirms play calls coverages etc.
You think Kobe did not realize that farmar was a piece of shit compared to Shannon Brown who Jordan him self said he didnt really want to trade You honestly think Kobe all time one of the best Lakers dosent run the show?
Ass wipe let me guess Magic did not call the shots.
Ask Norm Nixon why he got ran or Paul Westpaul why he got replaced by Riley
you need to get your facts right.
F*ck Head – YOU NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!! With all of your stupid b*tching, you prove that you know SH*T about the Lakers. Jerry West had nothing to do with the Gasol trade. Jerry West even said so himself. Jerry West wasn’t even working for Memphis at the time of that Gasol was traded. WAKE UP YOU F’N IDIOT!!!!
Of course Kobe is going to be talking in the huddles, he is the star player, BUT to say Kobe is the one who built the Laker team is BULLSH*T. Kobe wanted Bynum traded for Jason Kidd – what a f’n disaster that would’ve been. Look at Kidd at Dallas – He does nothing there.
Furthermore, you f*ckhead, Kobe is the one that wanted Radmonovic – REMEMBER THAT!!! Yea, Radman did real good here (sarcasm). What did Mitch do, sent his as** packing.
You need to get your sh*t straight idiot and read more on the Lakers. You don’t know sh*t. All you know how to say is Kobe is great, Kobe is fantastic, etc, etc. but the fact is Kobe is not the one who created the current team. The front office is done listening to Kobe’s advice for player acquisition.
Give credit where credit is due – Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak
You jackass that was jerry west parting gift to memphis. If you dont know that you dont know shit.
Rad man was hot at one time after the sking accident he was for shit and yeah he was a space nut you are right it was a good trade.
As for j kidd kobe wanted a guard that could make good passes in which j kidd can.
Fisher still was in utah. And Kobe thought for sure farmar or smush was not happening dick head.
So sure he forced the trade. Watch this guy get the biggest payday with out any bullshit from the front office.
Look ass hole wiyh out Kobe there would not be a Laker team worth watching.
Even Magic agrees with that.So your wrong fuck head.
Parting gift to Memphis??? What the f*ck are you talking about? JERRY WEST WAS NOT THE GM OF MEMPHIS WHEN PAU WAS TRADED TO THE LAKERS!! What don’t you understand about that stupid ass? Gasol was traded to the Lakers in 2008. Jerry West stopped being the GM of Grizzlies in 2007. God you’re f’n stupid!
The Laker front office knew that you don’t trade a 20 year old 7 foot center for an aging point guard who has a $20M per year contract, which is what Kidd was being paid at that time. It’s a good thing the Lakers front office didn’t listen to Kobe on that trade or else the Lakers would have been in bad shape. Kobe knew he said something stupid and that is why he said he’s done trying to play general manager – Beacuse Kobe’s not good at it. Kobe’s a great basketball player and he should keep his mouth shut about player acquisitions and do what he does best – THAT’S PLAY BASKETBALL. Kobe learned that, why can’t you d*ckhead?
Look stupid sh*t, its obvious you are a Kobe only fan and not a true Laker fan. True Laker fans support all players who wear the purple and gold. You talk sh*t about Bynum, LO, Sasha, Farmar, the list goes on, everyone except Kobe – therefore you are a Kobe-only fan (i.e you are NOT a real Laker fan). Why you have “laker” in your name is even beyond me, because from all your b*tching, it’s clear you don’t like the Lakers, you only like Kobe.
Real Laker fans, HATE, with utter passion, Kobe-only fans.
Lastly, because you are a Kobe-only fan, I find it surprising that you talk sh*t about Bynum, because Kobe (remember the only Laker you like) said “We’re a championship-calibur team when he’s (Bynum) in the lineup”. I’m going to keep reminding you of that d*ckhead.
ASS wipe you know that you would not be a laker fan if they were not winning.
Thanks to Kobe its the best team in the NBA. Without him there the Clippers.
So as much as you hate Kobe with out him this team dosent roll you FUCKIN
JACKASS.
Also theres dead weight are maybe you like these queers Sasha Farmar luke Bynum they dont show shit. They just happen to be on a team that players help to make them look good.
On any other team these jerks would nt get any play.Maybe Bynum but thats about it.
So go Fuck your self
You guys are too funny, but I just had to comment on LakersFirst point about Kobe-only fans. B/c I HATE HATE…. HATE those type of fans. Just like all the people who say they don’t like the Lakers b/c Shaq is gone or they don’t like the Lakers b/c of Kobe. Stfu. We root for the name on the jersey. I’m tired of all these bandwagon fans. I get tired of everyone on this blog bashing all the players on the team too.. as long as they rock the purple and gold they get my support. Whatever makes the team better and gets us that Championship.
Trust in Phil! Period!
this doesnt make sense. this takes gasol out of is natural position, power forward, and moves him to center. gasol is more effective as a pf, not a center. i dont see odom starting when the regular season starts, it just doesnt make sense.
Its Phil making ass wipe Bynum hungry to play.
Laker Raja – Unliked YOU, I have been a Laker fan my ENTIRE life. I support the Laker team, whether they win or lose. If the Lakers win 0-82, I would still support the team. It’s obvious that you are a bandwagon fan and only support Kobe and no one else.
And no no, thanks to Jerry Buss, the Lakers are winning championships (you know the Lakers have won 9 world championships under the ownership of Jerry Buss). Because we have an owner that is willing to dish out the money to acquire high talent players with huge contracts, we are winning championships! Remember, Kobe couldn’t win anything on his own, he needed the Lakers ownership to seek good trades (i.e. taking on Gasol’s huge contract), signing Artest, resigning LO, even though the salary of the roster was over $80M. Let’s not forget, we have owner that is willing to pay the luxury tax!
In the end Kobe-only fan – F*ck off and die. Kobe-only fans are NOT wanted on a LAKER site (go to the Kobe web site). Support the team, not one man.
LakeShowFaninATL says: Well said. I can tell YOU are a LAKER fan. Like you said, support the name of the front of the jersey and whatever wins the LAKERS championships the better.
Dont agree with this ass wipe.
We support the team Fuck you .You know with out Kobe that team isnt shit ass hole.
“You know with out Kobe that team isnt shit ass hole.” – THIS IS WHY YOU ARE NOT A LAKER FAN. You only support Kobe, not the entire team.
Quit saying you’re a Laker fan f*ggot! You aren’t
Hey lakerfirst you piece of shit,I was a laker fan going to the forum when you where sucking your daddys nuts.
You got punked twice tonite bye me and lakeratl
so go kill yourself you fucking jerk asswipe piece of dogshit.
Listen f*ggot, you didn’t punk me at all. I went to the games at the forum in the 70s, 80s and 90s, so don’t try and sound like you know anything about the Lakers, because you don’t know sh*t. I’m a true fan – I support them when they win and I support them when they ose.
All you know how to do is b*tch like a little girl. Every post that you said about the Lakers has been negative. How you can you say you are a Laker fan when all you do is talk sh*t about the entire team, oh except Kobe (because you’re a Kobe-only fan).
I’m not sure how I got punked by LakerAtl – he agreed with me you f’n idiot!! How is that punking me? LOL – not only are you a f*ggot, you’re f’n stupid too! – HAHAHA
Its obvious you are you are one of those bandwagon fans that say the Lakers suck when they struggle and then are proud when they win. Fans like you make me sick. Now f*ck off and die f*ggot.
Does your mother know you talk like that
Look ass wipe I call like I see it if someone sucks I say so. Like you
“Lakers’ starters
Jackson said his starters tonightagainst the Warriors will be Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Artest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
Forward Lamar Odom will come off the bench.”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-fyi7-2009oct07,0,4466765.story?track=rss
I am so confused now.
Wow!
No wonder why we riot after winning championships.
The C’s, Cavs, Spurs, and Magic are the enemy, not us fans.
You guys should just kiss and make up. LOL.