With Yao out, I think Bynum is the best center in the west, Dwight is #1 in the East. Although Dwight despite being 2-3" shorter than Bynum, he is one hell of a force. It's hard to say who is the best center though, neither guy gets all that many touches on offense, although Bynum for sure has more offensive potential because of his height and length.
I am shocked by the 50th state Drew has come a long way though. I said this after the last game, Drew is at a point where he can put up 20/10/2 in his sleep. These numbers don't come as a shock anymore. What he has to do is work on his game defensively, and all the little things such as boxing out and continuing to understand the offense. When to attack, when to pass, etc. But beyond Dwight Howard, I wouldn't take any center over Andrew Bynum. And yes, I would trade Drew for Dwight if that were ever possible.
A lot of the knocks on Drew when it comes to defense aren't his fault, IMO. I think a lot of them come from his man scoring because he's rotated over to try and stop guard penetration. That requires someone rotating over to his man, which we haven't seen much of.
I thought Bynum and Kobe were starting to build a very nice chemistry together. With all these new pieces (Ron, Pau coming back, maybe the PG rotation changing) I think we've yet to peak though, imo.
Like I've said before the Lakers have ridiculous talent. The best or 2nd best C in the league I'd probably rank Gasol as 4th or 5th best PF (Behind Duncan, KG, Dirk, and maybe Bosh (Pau has better defense, and passing, Bosh has a better jumper, and is more aggressive (he also gets a shitload of star calls))) Artest a top 30 SF Odom a top 30 SF or PF. The best SG in the league Followed by the best or 2nd best coach in the league.
There must be someone in Maine that changed ips 27 times to vote for Oden and put him just ahead of Bynum.
I think Bynum's defense has been very good. HE hasnt been over extending for the blocks like he used to which keeps his fouls down. He is constantly forcing players to change their shots at the last second. That doesnt get recorded in the box score, and it keeps him out of position for the rebound, but is an excellent defensive play and what you want from your center. My criticisms of Bynum right now are: 1. he has a one track mind on offense. He doesnt change his mind based on what the defense does. If he is down low, he will take the shot regardless of how many defenders collapse on him 2. HE whines too much. Hey, its the NBA I guess.
same old debate, bynum is playing exactly 50% more minutes than greg. 36.6-24.4 until greg can stay on the court for 36 mpg, bynum wins in the stat department hands down. gregs per 36 17/12.6/3.45 now if he ever got to that id be very happy.
why is bynums blocks so far down this season? he is playing more minutes and getting less blocks by far.
Blocks and mpg are inversely related. More block attempts = More fouls = less minutes... Or something like that.
He's altering more shots this season and not going for the highlight blocks. He's finally learning to just extend his arms up to make shots difficult. I think Bynum is doing just fine on the defensive end this season. Lakers are playing a lot more zone defense this season than prior years and Artest makes it a lot easier to defend in the post. Artest is great at funneling players right into the secondary defender and makes use of the baseline to limit what a player can do with the basketball.
I imagine most Blazer fans would be happy with that production. However, I think his production would be at least a little less than that. I don't know if he has the stamina to sustain for 36+ mpg at a decent level.
