Okay, it’s time to confess. Who watched Carmelo Anthony’s dominant offensive performance against the Celtics and thought how great it would’ve been had the Lakers traded Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest for him?
You don’t have to answer that. Not now, not ever.
Just know this. When the Lakers’ two offensive juggernauts Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol went a combined 5-for-22, totaling 19 points, it was Bynum, Lamar Odom and Artest that produced the bulk of the team’s offense in the Lakers’ 87-78 win over the New Orleans Hornets.
Bynum’s no stranger to having big games. He’s shown in the past that he’s more than capable of taking on the team’s offensive load if necessary. Most of his break-out performances have happened in the regular season, Bynum hasn’t exactly gotten a chance to show fans how effective he can be during the playoffs because of his various injuries. He enters these playoffs closer than he’s ever been to being 100 percent healthy, and the Lakers are reaping the benefits.
“Everybody is going to have their chance and this is his time as far as the arrival of Andrew Bynum,” Lamar Odom said. “This is like his time to kind of show everyone what he can do … He’s doing everything at a high level and he’s doing it with kind of this ferocious style.”
The Lakers’ center ended the night with 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Aside from his contribution on offense, he was also the main catalyst in the points-in-the-paint disparity between the two teams. The Lakers had 50 to the Hornets 32. The number was virtually switched from the previous game wherein the smaller Hornets out-scored the Lakers in the paint. Credit Bryant for running Chris Paul off his spots all night long, but Bynum changed shots and did his best to plug the paint and protect the rim.
“We stayed in front of [Paul] for the most part,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “He made some big plays for them … but I think we did a better job being attentive to him, and that’s as good as it gets right now.”
Next: Artest and Odom contribute, make up for Gasol’s second consecutive lack-luster game
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After Bryant challenged Gasol to step-up in Game 2, Gasol took the blame and the call-out to heart claiming he would put forth a better effort against the Hornets. While his stat line doesn’t speak volumes to that, it did appear that his body language improved, although it still appeared he was bothered by Carl Landry and Aaron Gray.
“Losing the first game, that put it right back on us,” Bynum said. “When we have that sense, everybody goes out and plays a harder game. [But] our go-to guys are Kobe and Pau, and this team is doing a good job of stopping them right now.”
The Hornets are one of the better defensive teams in the league, but it’s hard to say how much longer the Lakers can survive, should they make it past the first round without Gasol getting into an a grove on offense. The Lakers have options, but Gasol and Bryant will have to shine on the road, a place where most opposing benches–even this veteran bench, have been unsuccessful.
The night began with Odom receiving his well deserved NBA Sixth Man of the Year award and the Lakers needed him to increase his production on offense to negate the lack of scoring from the team’s two superstars. He scored 16 points to go along with his seven rebounds and was pivotal down the stretch to secure a much needed win that sends the series tied at one-a-piece to New Orleans.
“Whenever we lose it’s never just one person so we all got to look in the mirror and come back and play harder,” added forward Matt Barnes.
Artest has perhaps been the most consistent player in the series thus far, in game two he scored 15 points and scored the team’s dagger three-point shot with 40 seconds to go that all but cemented the Lakers victory. The Lakers ability to win even with little scoring from Bryant and Gasol are a testament to the team’s depth.
“We got a full team here,” Barnes said.
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