Gasol and Odom Still Key

Even with the return of Andrew Bynum next season, there is going to be a lot of pressure on two players who didn’t seem to save their best ball for the NBA Finals this year, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Gasol and Odom will be keys to the Lakers’ success next season. Without consistent performances from these two guys, the Lakers could find themselves as the runner up for the title once again next year.

The team formula is mapped out as follows. Kobe Bryant is the superstar; he’s one of the most talented scorers ever to play the game and is unquestionably the first option on offense. The team’s second option could be either Gasol or Odom, but it seems like neither is quite sure that they want to take on that role. It would be better if Gasol was willing to be the second option because he scores exclusively from inside and would provide a balanced one-two scoring punch with Bryant ala the Kobe/Shaq years. Odom would provide the best third option in the league as he’s sort of the poor man’s Scottie Pippen to Bryant’s poor man’s Michael Jordan. Bynum’s role would be laid out as a defensive presence and most of his buckets would come from dunks and put-backs. He isn’t going to have to focus on scoring on this team just yet, but defense and rebounding and providing a presence in the middle are important. Derek Fisher is the locker room presence and is there to knock down open shots. In the triangle offense you don’t need a true point guard in the traditional sense of the word and Bryant, Gasol and Odom are all elite-level passers for their positions. The Lakers have energy off the bench with guys like Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Vladimir Radmanovic. I think their roster fits their offense incredibly well and they’ve got one of the deeper benches in the league. If Gasol and Odom perform to the level that they are capable of, there may be no stopping the Lake Show next season.

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Posted in General on June 23, 2008

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