SPL Game 7 LA vs. WAS (7/18/2006) [Bynum 10-10 FG, 25 points, 11 boards]

[Laker's Fan]

The most important thing we have seen about Bynum this SPL is that he is IMPROVING. Most knowledgable posters have said the same thing. Bynum has the physical tools and he has the resources but the main question mark was his drive and desire to improve. If nothing else I think we have seen the answer to that question this SPL. Beyond that it is impossible to see where the ceiling is. Starter, All-Star, Superstar who knows. At this point you could make a case for any of those based most importantly on the fact he has shown a will to improve and succeed.

You won't find a player more athletic in the L than Stromile Swift yet he isn't worth much b/c he doesn't work at his game. Amare and Howard seem to work at their games also so they will be great. Bynum has the chance to join them.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[totoro714]

Seems like Bynum just has to work on consistency. It seems he has one good game followed by a mediocre game.
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Kobe Dunks

[PassiontoWin]

One thing is all that's needed to be told to the Bynum doubters....he's not even 19 yet...scary.

[Mege]

[Hector the Pup]

[loseyourname]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[baller]

[magic_bryant]

I wasn't going to post, but since it's you, DB, I'll respond. He CLEARLY said something along the lines of "Bynum focuses on his offense and his D suffers".

And I'm not putting high expectations on him in his 2nd SPL. Is it too much to ask for TEN rebounds per game in the WEAKEST SPL? I mean, come on!!!

But whatever.
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Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."

[magic_bryant]

If Bynum absolutely worked his ass off to a "Kobe level" and everything fell into place, he could be the next coming of Shaq.

Now, will he reach that level? Answer that and you have your reason to why I think Bynum will be nothing more than a quality starting C.
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Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."

[Mike@LG]

[Mike@LG]

[magic_bryant]

[Lakers#1Team]

This game day proved to be unique in many ways. Personally, I brought my granddaughter to the game and she was thrilled to watch a Lakers game (and to see the dancing cow). The game prior to the Lakers game was very weird because it ended up being just a scrimmage game between the Orange County Players team (OCP1 vs OCP2). One side had no bench and the other side had 1 reserve. The other team was a no show or forfeited for some reason unknown to me. At half time of that game the score was something like 78 to 67. The second half was then reduced to 20 minutes (ala college hoops) and, get this, there were no refs. Very strange game with a lot of bounce pass alley oops and other fancy and risky plays followed by ABSOLUTELY no defense. On defense in the low post everyone on both sides were strictly spectators. That leads us to the Lakers, Wiz game.......

Game Summary:

Lakers 132, Wiz 123

I am so happy because I finally saw an SPL game this year where most of the Lakers favored to make the roster showed why they are favorites. This game started out strange from the pre-game warmups because the Lakers had all 14 players warming up and the Wiz only had 6. Turns out everyone else, including that 7'3" Ramos dude, sat out todays game for reasons unknown to me. This appeared to give the Lakers an extreme advantage but all the Wiz players were ballers who can fill up a stat sheet (especially Blatche and McFadden). I must say a special word for Blatche. This is the second game I have seen him play and he is one special player. Blatche is no Magic but he is two inches taller (listed at 6'11" to Magic's 6'9") and can do just about everything, as a PG would do, that Magic did only not as spectacular as Magic. He can lead the fast break, dribble and dish, hit the 3 pt shot. His game is almost more suited as a PG or point forward rather than a traditional Center or PF. Now I'll look at the Lakers players....

Individual scoring by quarter:

Bynum: 8, 3, 11, 3 for 25
Farmar: 6, 4, 4, 2 for 16
Green: 4, 4, 8, 10 for 26
Pinnock: 0, 4, 5, 3 for 12
Wafer: 3, 0, 2, 2 for 7
Powell: 2, 6, 2, 2 for 12
Perkins: 8, 0, 1, 4 for 13
Slaughter: 3, 0, 4, 0 for 7
Douthit: 0, 0, 0, 2 for 2
Murry: 0, 2, 0, 2 for 4
Fey: 0, 2, 2, 4 for 8

Individual recaps:

Bynum: Bynum played a great game today and, unlike the prior 3 games, there was nothing for me that stood out as deficiencies to point out in his game. The effort was there as well as the execution. I had no idea he was 10 for 10 in FG's until after I got home. It does make sense though because he was mentally into the entire game. Granted, he had a few days rest and Ramos wasn't playing but the Wiz, out of necessity, had an ever present 2nd body within 4 to 5 feet of Bynum ready to double down. There were also several times where the guards should have been able to get the ball to Bynum but failed to. If Bynum could have gotten the ball on a fair share of those failed chances he would have been in the 30's easy. One time Bynum went through a double team starting at the high post position to score! Bynum scored as the "oop" to Farmar's "alley." Bynum got a couple offensive rebounds this game including one where he jumped up, bounced the ball off the backboard, then immediately went up again while the ball was in the air to slam it home. Bynum had a couple blocks and one really stood out. He took three quick, long strides and leaped up to swat the ball forcefully. It was definitely a "NOT IN MY HOUSE" moment reminiscent of the olden days when Shaq sometimes blocked a shot at the last second to save a win for us. One more very bizarre and very good moment for Bynum was with around 1.6 seconds to go in the 1st half. The Wiz previous jumper was stuck between the rim and the backboard for a jump ball at center court. A fan near me called for Bynum to spike the jump ball into the hoop. I'm not sure if Bynum heard the fan but he proceeded to spike the jump ball within 5 feet of the rim. Never seen that before in my life! Bynum has shown to me what he can do when given the rest before a game. It will be nice to see if he can develop his strength, conditioning and endurance enough to play like this consistently in the future.

Farmar: Farmar played well today and did not appear to be slowed much by his injury. He made the alley oop pass to Bynum and had several other assists to Bynum. One time he stole the ball and finished it with a nice reverse layup in traffic. He also had a couple of those scoop shots go in. Farmar did make a couple turnovers on bad passes and missed most of his outside shots. Overall a very solid game from Farmar today.

Green: EVERY game I see Green play I come out more impressed with him. I am really beginning to think that, as good as Pinnock is, if it comes down to only one of them getting the roster spot, the no-brainer is to give it to Green and send Pinnock to Europe for 1 year. As good a game as Bynum had today, I would either give Green the game ball or share it between the two of them. Green showed it all today. He seemed to make all his outside jumpers today. Even though he didn't shoot a 3-ball he made some shots just within the circle. One time Green stole the ball, dribbled and made a behind the back pass for an assist. Green also made a great inside post move resulting in a slam. Green seemed to get better the longer the game went on. He had 10 points in the 4th qtr (while the closest Lakers were Perkins and Fey with 4). Green also played consistently good D today and didn't have any glaring mistakes.

Pinnock: Pinnock had a fairly good game but it was on the routine side. It almost seems like the last couple games Pinnock and Green have switched places with Green being the more impressive one lately. Reminds me of the tortoise and the hare fairy tale story and we all know how that one turned out. The one standout moment I remember from Pinnock was when he dunked the ball on an alley oop. Otherwise, compared to Green, he didn't shoot the ball as well, pass the ball as well or rebound the ball as well. Just like Green seemed to fade into the background for me last year, Pinnock seemed like a good player whose "good" game kind of fades into the background of Green's "great" game. Hopefully Pinnock can stand out more in tomorrow's game.

Wafer: Wafer had a slightly below OK game when even OK isn't good enough. He made the games first 3-ptr then it seemed like he couldn't make another shot and ended up 3 for 9. I was as high as anyone on Wafer at last year's SPL but after reality struck in training camp that he had to work within the triangle he seems to have lost his game all together. He is just not where he needs to be mentally and does not have the confidence he started out last year's SPL with. Talented and Athletic doesn't work in the NBA if it doesn't work within the team concept. Destined not to be on the Lakers roster this year.

The Rest: Nothing the rest of the Lakers players did stood out for me. The box sheet will give an indication of their games.

[KB0024]

[Mike@LG]

[DancingBarry]

MB - I don't see the Shaq comparisons. Shaq was about strength, power and explosion. Bynum will be about a combination of strength and finesse. The Robert Parish comparison earlier in the thread by Bambam seems maybe more similar of a game than a Shaq game. So, I don't agree it's Shaq or Quality Starting C and nothing in between.

I understand where you are coming from. I just don't think people can say a strength and finesse bigman will be either the next big thing...or that he will plateau at a quality starter... Why? Because we don't know just how money he can be on his finesse game and how strong he will get with his strength training. It's all up to Bynum with how much work he puts in the weight room, how much he refines those fundamentals and how much repetition he does to where ends up with a variety of go-to post moves.

As for the boards, I think that's still a tough call. Bynum says he wants to get to where he can average 12 or more...but he also looks like he's dragging at times and not getting to the level of effort that he will need. A lot of that has to do with his conditioning and his motor and being able to push through that. Rambis is certainly trying to work on that mentality with Bynum and has mentioned playing him extended stretches so that Bynum has to play through fatigue. This is certainly an area where improved conditioning will help, but there is a mental side to this. Sheldon Williams said he learned to break the game up into 4-minute stretches and just focussed on those 4 minutes so that he kept his motor going. Bynum will need to learn how to push himself in a similar manner, as well as keep improving that conditioning if he wants to reach that goal he set for himself. He also lacks some fundamentals at times that will let a board or two slip away...that, too, can be improved. But 8 boards vs. 10 at this point is not a done deal to cement where he will end up.

[DancingBarry]

Lakers#1Team - Can you post that in Mike's thread? I think that would be a better place for the recaps today.

[Lakers#1Team]

[DancingBarry]

Nah, it can stay here. I just didn't want those recaps to get lost in here as the Bynum debate will inevitably continue.

[10scott10]

I hope he will be vlade quality or higher. one or two all-star games. a good consistent center. without being so cheap. and being a better rebounder

[JM]

[lakers399]

[Mike@LG]