Lakers Bench Mob All But Gone

The scrappy and energetic Bench Mob of the Los Angeles Lakers is all but gone.

A couple seasons ago, when the Lakers starters took a rest near the end of quarters, a young group of subs took the court. Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Luke Walton, Josh Powell, and DJ Mbenga were all counted on to spell the starters and provide a spark of energy on the offense. The bench never lacked the drive but often was too eager for its own good.

For every high-flying Shannon Brown Dunk or Jordan Farmar fast break lay-up or Sasha Vujacic three-ball, there were ill-advised shots, turnovers, and poor shooting. Fans cheered and groaned at the inconsistency of the Lakers bench.

But in the upcoming season, the Lakers bench is no longer the Bench Mob. Of the players in the group, only Vujacic and Walton are under contract. And Luke Walton will likely be playing very limited minutes because of a sever back injury. Brown is still under contract negotiations, and the rest are going to play elsewhere.

The new bench now features veterans Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff, plus in all likelihood, rookies Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter. The rookies might get limited tick, but the veterans will take a lion's share of the back-up minutes.

This new crew will not be as energetic as the previous bench teams, but will be tougher on the defensive end and hungry to win a championship of their own. We'll see less of the bonehead plays, but we probably will also see less of the hustle and speedy basketball.

So my hats off to the Lakers' Bench Mob. You had your moments in the regular season and playoffs, excited fans during garbage time, and provided a lot of off-court humor.



Photo: Jordan Farmar (1) splits the defense of Boston's Paul Pierce and Michael Finley (40) for a layup during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times


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Lakers Frontline Out

Now the Los Angeles Lakers know what 90% of the other NBA teams feel like-- A smallish frontline with no good combo of 7-footers.

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum will see extended absences due to their respective injuries and both still have no definite return dates as of this writing. Gasol has yet to play this season with a hamstring injury (feared to be torn) and Bynum has a strained elbow he sustained two games ago.

The absence of the two Lakers frontline stalwarts means that Lamar Odom will be seeing time at the center and power forward positions, and Ron Artest will be moonlighting in the 4 position. Of course, Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga will have to say goodbye to the pine for the meantime. While the bench frontline combined for 18 points (8 for 18 shooting), 17 rebounds, and 4 blocks against the Memphis Grizzlies, I'd still prefer to see less of them on a regular basis.

But despite the loss of the talented Gasol and Bynum, the Lakers are 2-0 on games with the two out. The reason? Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has been scoring like a monster and he is shooting a career best 48% from the field in the season so far. His 34.5 points per game is tops in the NBA and his points have come off being the primary offensive option for the Lakers.

The champs will be hard pressed in the next few games without Gasol anf Bynum, but I think they will still keep their winning ways with one weapon the rest of the league doesn't have-- Kobe.


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Lakers Sweep Rockets for the Regular Season

The Los Angeles Lakers notched their 60th win of the season with a victory over the Houston Rockets, 93-81.

Reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant played facilitator for most of the game, scoring 20 points efficiently and dishing out 7 assists. Pau Gasol led the team with 23 points.

With the win, the Lakers have swept the Rockets for the regular reason in all of their four meetings of the season and have gained ground on the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA (The Lakers now only trail the Cavs by one game). If the Lakers can get the best record, that will be huge for their title chase.

The growing concern for the Lakers now is the poor play of the bench. Only reserve center DJ Mbenga provided a spark off the bench. Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Josh Powell all combined for a measly 13 points and shot 18% as a unit. Seeing Luke Walton blow jumpers and Jordan Farmar make defensive lapses really irks me because I've seen these guys play at their best.


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Lakers' Depth Comes in Handy

I just read the NBA news today and the injury bug has hit the league, particularly the playoff contenders. Here's a list of the injured players:

• Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
• Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
• Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
• Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers
• Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
• Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers
• Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers

This is really time the Los Angeles Lakers' team depth comes in handy-- the Lakers didn't need to make a major move to offset Bynum's absence at this point. Lamar Odom has been able to up his rebounding and scoring numbers ever since Bynum's injury. Josh Powell has played nicely off the bench as well.

As for the other teams, I'm sure they'll try to manage, but they will be hard-pressed to replace their injured players.

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The Lakers' Frontline Issues

Andrew Bynum is down, so who does the Los Angeles Lakers tab to pick up the slack?

Josh Powell.

Seriously.

In the last two games since Bynum went down, Powell has averaged roughly 13 minutes a game, almost the double his PT this season so far. Everyone was expecting Chris Mihm to take on the lion's share of Bynum's minutes.

Actually, the minutes are distributed to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Powell and Mihm-- not exactly a front line that will scare teams out of their Nikes.

With the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavalier Coming up, the front court better stup up. Big Time.


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Lakers Defeat Wafer-led Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers struggled to beat a depleted Houston Rockets team.

How depleted, you ask? No Tracy McGrady and no Ron Artest.

With the absences one Rocket stood taller than Yao Ming-- Von Wafer. Yup, Von Wafer. The same guy the Lakers drafted in 2005, bounced around the league the past few seasons, has found a home in Houston. Wafer scored a career high 23 points in the 105-100 loss to the Lakers.

The Lakers were bailed out by a deep three courtesy of Kobe Bryant with 27 ticks left in the game. The Rockets failed to execute down the stretch and it enabled the Lakers to win its 31st game of the season.

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The Lakers have been suffering a lot of injuries as of late and Lamar Odom's return in the Houston game was a breather. The Lakers have been without Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic. Thanks to the Lakers' depth, the team is still winning games with three key players on sickbay and Josh Powell getting extended PT.

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Lakers Body Slam Warriors

Talk about bouncing back.

After a letdown performance in the loss against the New Orleans Hornets, Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers had a monster game against the Golden State Warriors. His stat line: 33 points, a career-high 18 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 100% from the stripe. En route to his game high, Gasol made minced meat out of the defense offered by Andris Biedrins, Brendan Wright and Anthony Randolph. The Lakers' inside game was on display as Gasol's frontcourt mate Andrew Bynum had a double-double himself: 18 points and 11 boards.

The injuries that have befallen the Lakers have given extended minutes to Josh Powell and Sun Yue. The results? The Lakers were up 17 when the two reserves entered the game. The Warriors methodically sliced the lead to five as the Powell and Sun played. The pair contributed the same number of turnovers as points. Thankfully Lamar Odom could be back in uniform soon with only a bone bruise.


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