Basketball Pass

17 April 2008 | Los Angeles Lakers | Shooter

I got a ton of traffic and love/hate comments when I posted the Andrew Bynum = Elden Campbell article. So many Bynum Lovers got there hearts broken, feelings hurt and made excuse after excuse as to why Andrew Bynum is supposedly better than Elden Campbell (which in itself is not a huge accomplishment). Anyway I read every excuse: He is younger, has done more at a younger age, blah blah blah and so on until my eyes could not take the pitiful excuses the Bynum Brigade was sending.

Well today I would like to thank Johnny Ludden who writes for Yahoo! Sports for sharing the truth with the masses and clarifying the insignificance of Andrew Bynum on the Los Angeles Lakers squad. Lets dissect Mr. Luddens most recent article where he talks about what in his opinion are questions the Western Conference playoff teams should be asking and focus on the very last team on the list the Los Angeles Lakers.

Opening Line:

1. Los Angeles Lakers: When will Andrew Bynum return?
A better question: Do the Lakers care?

Right from the opening line I was hooked! The Lakers could care less what Andrew Bynum is doing or when he is coming back. WHY? Because Andrew Bynum would crumble in a playoff series facing the Clippers! Lets all get on the same page and realize this is the Playoffs we are talking about. The last thing Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom want is a clumsy injury prone young unproven player out there making mistakes that could cost wins in the toughest Western Conference in recent memory. But don’t take my word for it lets read more from Mr. Ludden.

“If Bynum does eventually return, he’ll need time to regain some rhythm and adjust to playing with Gasol. Trying to do that in the playoffs won’t be easy.”

Mr. Ludden was being rather generous here with his use of the word “time”. Andrew Bynum would need a SEASON or two to get used to playing with DFish, Kobe, Pau and Odom. Lakers have found there stride despite all of there injuries and WITHOUT Bynum. If Bynum gets on the floor to play for the Lakers in the playoffs I will go on record and say that Andrew Bynum will cost the Lakers the playoffs.

“So, are the Lakers better off without Bynum? No. At the least, he’ll provide a little shot-blocking and rebounding, and he’ll have six fouls to offer should Los Angeles meet up with Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal. But the last couple of months have proved that while Bynum would still be a welcome addition to the Lakers’ rotation, he isn’t a necessity.”

Oh Mr. Ludden you are to kind! Let me give you my take on that last paragraph. Andrew Bynum is worth the value of six fouls and the occasional rebound and block. That’s it! No more and maybe less. Andrew Bynum was hyped beyond his abilities in my opinion due to the Lakers not having a real center. Once a real center acquisition was made with Pau Gasol the Lakers became not only playoff contenders but NBA Final’s contenders. If the Pau Gasol trade never took place and Bynum was healthy the Lakers would probably make the playoffs but would not even be a viable consideration for the Finals.

Now lets take a look at the last few words by Mr. Ludden:

“he isn’t a necessity.”

One more time:

“he isn’t a necessity.”

Thank you Mr. Ludden!

You can read the complete article by Johnny Ludden at Yahoo! Sports.