After watching the last two games the Lakers were consistent in their scoring approach. They made an effort to get Bynum going early in both games against the 76ers and Pacers. In the Philly game it was by default since Lamar Odom was suspended, but in the Indiana game it was by design. Did Odom's suspension open the door for Bynum to step in and elevate himself as the second option? Last night Lamar Odom only had 1 field goal attempt in the 1st half. He finished the night strong with 13 points and 13 rebounds, but only after PJax got in his ear again about looking for his shot more. Bynum finished with 11 shot attempts and Odom only had 7 last night. Bynum didn't do much in the second half with Kobe catching fire and the second unit playing a bulk of minutes after the Lakers took a commanding lead. Will this trend continue? Should this trend continue? I'd say it should because Bynum is delivering and if you noticed last night he's figuring out how to pass out of double teams and find a slashing Odom. They connected on a couple of plays last night for easy, high percentage shots. Bynum is learning to be patient on offense and his teammates seem to be gaining more trust the past two games by giving him a re-post pass after the initial double team comes. Great to see the recognition out there. The Hornets will be a real test for the Lakers, but I hope they continue running Bynum early and giving Kobe the ball to close a team out in the second half. Then Odom doing the other little things on the court to help the team succeed, passing, rebounding, and defense.
Kobe needs to get hot early imo against the hornets to suppress the shooting of Mo pete and Peja... While shooting efficiently from the field Kobe should keep on feeding Bynum for assists at the same time he is shooting the ball well, that should put the Hornets away.
I'd rather the Lakers attack Tyson Chandler and get him in foul trouble. Without him on the floor the Hornets are a completely different team and their rebounding goes south.
They should look to get Bynum involved early and often. I think he should be a 2nd scoring option. Odom seems to play better when he's not under pressure.
