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Kobe Bryant "Bynum now Lakers 2nd option"


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The Los Angeles Lakers have been through a lot of change since last season, from Mike Brown being hired to replace Phil Jackson to Lamar Odom being traded to the Dallas Mavericks and Ron Artest becoming Metta World Peace and the change is continuing with a major shift in the Lakers' offense.

 

The scoring pecking order is no longer former MVP Kobe Bryant, followed by former All-Star Pau Gasol, followed by up-and-comer Andrew Bynum. Now it's Kobe, then Bynum, then Gasol.

 

"It seems like it's changed a little bit," Bryant said after the Lakers' 97-90 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. "Andrew is thirsty to score and he can score. He has more of a scorer's mentality [than Gasol], so we'll take advantage of that."

 

Bryant is averaging 27.8 points on 23.1 shot attempts per game through the Lakers' 5-4 start to the season after pouring in 39 points on 13-for-28 shooting against the Warriors. Bynum is averaging 19.6 points on 14 shot attempts per game. Gasol is averaging 17.1 points on 12.2 shot attempts per game.

 

Gasol eclipsed Bynum against Golden State, scoring 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting to Bynum's nine points on 3-for-9 shooting, but Bryant said Bynum will grow into his position as second in command on offense as he gets accustomed to dealing with double teams.

 

"We will be going into him a lot," Bryant said. "He's kind of taking over that role. He'll just get used to the consistency of touches and dealing with double teams and stuff like that. He'll be fine. He's a quick learner."

 

Even though the 31-year-old Gasol is a four-time All-Star and his 18.8 points per game career scoring average nearly doubles the 10.6 points per game career average of the 24-year-old Bynum, Bryant said Gasol is "not a scorer by nature" and Bynum's development ultimately "takes a lot of pressure off of Pau."

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All he said is he has more of a scorers mentality than Gasol?

...and that they will take advantage of it.

 

He's the second option, even if Kobe doesn't come out and say it directly. It's pretty evident when you watch them. I really don't feel bad for Pau, either...and I think Pau wants it to be that way.

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The best part about this is...I don't know how many times I've stated that Gasol does not have that scorer's mentality. He has passed up so many shots, especially when we have needed them.

 

Countless times, I've had to sit and watch Pau get the ball in the post, hold it for 6-7 seconds, then make a soft move to the rim and dish the ball to Fisher or Ron, only to see it then go to Kobe with 2-3 seconds on the shot clock. People would just go to the boxscore after the game, see that Kobe took 20+ shots and Gasol at 12-13 shots, and say that the ball was not going to him enough.

 

Yeah...it was going to him. He was just reluctant to do anything with it, much like he was in Memphis. The guy took less than 15 FGA/G even as a primary option with few scoring teammates, never hit that mark.

 

Kobe has not had an aggressive second option scorer since Shaq. Drew is finally becoming that, and without problems, Gasol is stepping aside because it's exactly what he has wanted for years.

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The best part about this is...I don't know how many times I've stated that Gasol does not have that scorer's mentality. He has passed up so many shots, especially when we have needed them.

 

Countless times, I've had to sit and watch Pau get the ball in the post, hold it for 6-7 seconds, then make a soft move to the rim and dish the ball to Fisher or Ron, only to see it then go to Kobe with 2-3 seconds on the shot clock. People would just go to the boxscore after the game, see that Kobe took 20+ shots and Gasol at 12-13 shots, and say that the ball was not going to him enough.

 

Yeah...it was going to him. He was just reluctant to do anything with it, much like he was in Memphis. The guy took less than 15 FGA/G even as a primary option with few scoring teammates, never hit that mark.

 

Kobe has not had an aggressive second option scorer since Shaq. Drew is finally becoming that, and without problems, Gasol is stepping aside because it's exactly what he has wanted for years.

 

Amen

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The only thing I was confused about is that the title of thread has it quoted saying Kobe said this exact quote, I was just looking for that quote. Seems like what Kobe actually said can be open to some interpretation, as opposed to what the title suggest that he actually came out and said Bynum is 2nd option.

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Lakers Post Shaq Pre Gasol = 2 consecutive 1st round losses

 

Lakers after Gasol - 2 rings, 3 finals apperance

 

LMAO come play-off time we will see who will be playing and who will be hurt

Kobe + Shaq = 3 rings

Kobe + GaSOFT = 2 rings

 

Kobe + Shaq > Kobe + GaSOFT

Kobe + Bynum >>>> Kobe + GaSOFT

 

GaSOFT should just retire. Do it and do it NOW!

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Kobe + Shaq = 3 rings

Kobe + GaSOFT = 2 rings

 

Kobe + Shaq > Kobe + GaSOFT

Kobe + Bynum >>>> Kobe + GaSOFT

 

GaSOFT should just retire. Do it and do it NOW!

 

10-11 Gasol: 82GP, 23.3PER (led team)

10-11 Bynum: 64GP, 21.1PER

 

09-10 Gasol: 65GP, 22.9PER (led team)

09-10 Bynum: 65GP, 20.2PER (but was injured the last few rounds of the playoffs)

 

08-09 Gasol: 81GP, 22.2PER (2nd behnd Kobe)

08-09 Bynum: 50GP, 20.0PER (played less than half the minutes of Pau in post-season due to injury)

 

Basically what I am getting at is as long as Bynum keeps getting injured for 15+ games EVERY season, he won't be >Gasol. For all the hype Bynum is getting this year, Gasol has actually performed extremely well. Not the 20PPG scorer everyone wants to see, but he's doing everything well and efficiently.

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10-11 Gasol: 82GP, 23.3PER (led team)

10-11 Bynum: 64GP, 21.1PER

 

09-10 Gasol: 65GP, 22.9PER (led team)

09-10 Bynum: 65GP, 20.2PER (but was injured the last few rounds of the playoffs)

 

08-09 Gasol: 81GP, 22.2PER (2nd behnd Kobe)

08-09 Bynum: 50GP, 20.0PER (played less than half the minutes of Pau in post-season due to injury)

 

Basically what I am getting at is as long as Bynum keeps getting injured for 15+ games EVERY season, he won't be >Gasol. For all the hype Bynum is getting this year, Gasol has actually performed extremely well. Not the 20PPG scorer everyone wants to see, but he's doing everything well and efficiently.

I agree that Gasol has been more valuable over the years, but using PER is a bad deal. Gasol is one of those players where his numbers are so shady, it really hides what all he doesn't do for us on the court. You'd think all Lakers fans would be happy with him over those championship years, but watching 82+ games a year with this guy, seeing all of his mistakes...his scoring and rebounding numbers don't make up for the fact that, countless times, he was not there when we needed him to be. He has refused to take many, many shots...holding the ball for far too long in the post, then dishing it out to Kobe or a shooter with seconds left on the clock. His defensive lapses have been mind-blowing, and I distinctly remember a game where Bargnani slipped through with about 10 feet of room on any side of his body, open dunk...and he tore Gasol up that game, and we all created a topic over at TLN, bashing the hell out of him for what he was doing the entire season.

 

Drew isn't at Gasol's level. Pau is one of the best skilled big men in the NBA (and if we're talking true big men, he's probably #1 or #2 in regards to his skillset), but what he gives us is not as simple as a box score painting the picture. The things he has been doing wrong...those are what keeps him from being THE best power forward in the NBA.

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Kobe + Shaq = 3 rings

Kobe + GaSOFT = 2 rings

 

Kobe + Shaq > Kobe + GaSOFT

Kobe + Bynum >>>> Kobe + GaSOFT

 

GaSOFT should just retire. Do it and do it NOW!

 

Great point Shaliq but your equation is lacking one true element of research

 

Gasol and Kobe = 2 rings in 4 full seasons

Shaq and Kobe = 3 rings in 8 full seasons

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