The Lakers should play Andrew Bynum more often with the reserves, and surround him with shooters. With Bynum down low and surrounded by the likes of Andrew Goudelock, Jason Kapono, Matt Barnes, and Troy Murphy, the floor will be well spread. Bynum can still be featured in the offense, but perhaps his time with the bench can be more of a facilitating role. Most teams’ second units have no one to guard Bynum one-on-one, and will be forced to send a double team. Bynum can pass out of these double teams to the shooters around him. Troy Murphy has proven he has range, and can hit open threes. Similarly, Jason Kapono is a career 43 percent shooter who thrives on hitting three point shots. Barnes and Goudelock have also proven they can hit open three point shots, and can cut to the basket on occasion as well. Tuesday night proved that the Lakers’ bench is willing to swing the ball around the perimeter and find the open man. Bynum should still be aggressive and look to score first, but should make the defense pay should they decide to double team him, much like Howard does in Orlando.
This will benefit the team because it will enable Bynum to practice playing against double teams, and practice reading and reacting to various defenses. He will learn how to play as the sole “go-to guy” on the floor, which he has shown flashes of in the past. The added responsibility could be monumental for his growth as a true center; he has already shown his wide variety of post moves, but the next step is to consistently display his dominance inside. Additionally, it will switch up the style of play against the opposition and make it harder for them to stick with a defensive game plan. If Bynum is logging more minutes with the bench, Pau Gasol can get a few extra minutes playing at the center position with the starters. Gasol is already a great passer, and if paired with an athletic forward such as Josh McRoberts, Gasol at center can find his power forward cutting to the basket for an easy bucket much like we have seen in the past between Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.
And if one of the bench players gets hot, Mike Brown can leave said player on the floor when the starters come back. Again, say Troy Murphy gets hot, this will give the offense different looks. Instead of Gasol passing to a cutting Josh McRoberts, he will be kicking out to a sharp shooting Troy Murphy, which will also allow Gasol more room in the paint to operate. Gasol plays well with Bynum, but it is obvious he plays more of a facilitator’s role when he is playing alongside Bynum and is moved slightly out of his comfort zone, which is close the basket. He has an excellent mid range game, but why not allow him to utilize his complete arsenal if he can?
It’s the same thing if Kapono, Goudelock, or Barnes gets going. Leave one of them out there to help spread the floor so Kobe has more room to operate in the post.
The most consistent bench player as of late has been Goudelock, whose confident demeanor on the court has translated into offensive production (Kobe even nicknamed him the “Mini Mamba” because of his aggressive nature). If he can stay aggressive with his shot, he can set the tone for his bench mates and help them create an identity. Kapono is a spot up shooter who has been looking to get bigger minutes and play his style of game. With this style, he can definitely get comfortable and become more productive. Barnes plays well with the starters and the bench, but can play this style of ball better than Metta World Peace can and will possibly get more shots and get in a better rhythm than he will as the fourth option as a starter. And Murphy is a hard-nosed forward who is “money” with his outside shot. With these four guys on the floor together, or perhaps a combination of them mixed in with Devin Ebanks, they can be a dangerous outside shooting second unit. Steve Blake is still out for a couple more weeks, and should look to create more with the reserves, but has also been a solid knockdown shooter thus far this season.
This combination of players is perhaps not the best defensive unit on the floor, and will have some holes in it, but they can still stick to Mike Brown’s defensive philosophies. They all appear willing to play defense, and perhaps with an added offensive role, they will be more enthused to play defense.
One downside of this, however, is the fact that long shots lead to long rebounds which lead to easy fast break points for the opposition. The Lakers already have problems with allowing opponents offensive rebounds, so they will have to focus on this more, especially with the second unit.
But if all else fails, and the second unit is shooting horribly from outside, force Bynum go to work down low. Or perhaps let Gasol log a few minutes with the bench instead, if Bynum is having an off night.
With no true point guard currently on the team, and Kobe Bryant not on the floor, the bench has been struggling to get open shots and points. This style of play can prove beneficial for the team as a whole as it focuses on ball movement to get open shots instead of a single playmaker. The Lakers may not blow every team out by 30 like they did the Bobcats, but they should take away the positives from that game and continue to utilize those advantages.