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If the Lakers want to win a championship this year, the Lakers need to prepare for Bynum’s absence by considering him out for the season. Out. Gone. No mas.

Now, let’s revisit the team that made it to the Finals against Boston.

First of all, the Spurs will be a much bigger threat if Manu Ginobili is healthy. We handled them last year, but only after a controversial, game-deciding no-call involving Fisher. Bynum actually played extremely well against Tim Duncan in the last game, so losing Bynum would hurt us most in this series, where Bynum’s length and strength clearly bothered the Hall-of-Fame bound big man.

But the bigger challenge is still the Boston Celtics. True, Bynum has never played well offensively against the Celtics. Kendrick Perkins has outplayed him almost every time, except for the last game we won on Christmas, where they both played to a standstill:

9 (on 4-7 shooting, 1-2 free throws), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks for Bynum, and
8(on 4-5 shooting), 7 and 2 for Perkins.

However, Bynum did add something missing from last year: defense, specifically basket protection on drives. Last year, Boston’s guards had open layups after getting simple picks. Bynum alters a lot of shots due to his length, even without getting credited for a block. Andrew also has a bigger presence, which discourages post play from Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett, who himself has a tendency to shoot jumpers.

In short, Bynum is a big blow for our defensive potential.

Still, there are two ways to slice this pickle. 

Get another big man. Sacramento seems to be begging for an Lamar Odom – Brad Miller swap. It might not be bad, considering Odom is likely gone anyways after this season. Brad Miller has one more year on his contract, but Buss may be wiling to eat the tax on that for a chance to play his hand at the championship table. Getting another physical post player would take pressure off the finesse-oriented Gasol. If we were to get another big man, he must be able to protect the basket, rebound, and defend the pick-and-roll well.

However, these big men are rare. Thus, Mitch Kupchak may be best served by thinking outside the box: Find ways to upgrade at SF and PG. Defensively, the Lakers must do a better job on Pierce and Rondo. Believe it or not, Odom did play reasonably well against Perkins in the playoffs. However, our biggest deficiencies, in both the regular season and the playoffs, are at point guard and small forward.

Now, some are very high on Ariza. I’m not sold on him. His outside shot is inconsistent (32% on threes this year), he can’t create his own shot, and he’s an abysmal playmaker. His game is playing off the ball, shooting corner threes, and crashing boards. Defensively, he’s overrated. He’s not an individual lockdown defender. He has long arms and good anticipation, so he’s good at stealing the ball. He’s like a SF version of Smush Parker. He has the long, gangly frame, but there’s little power or strength in there, and he lacks essential triangle guard skills. 

On the other hand, Luke is injury-prone with an inconsistent outside shot and Radamn is absolutely deadweight on both ends of the floor. We don’t have a true starter, and Ariza prefers coming off the bench, which plays an uptempo game that fits his style.

Fish is just a pure point shooting guard in a point guard’s body, with the lack of speed or length to play adequate defense. Due to limited playmaking skills and drives-on-a-prayer, he’s a one-trick pony. On the other hand, Farmar has never been consistent throughout the year, including the playoffs, and is frequently exploited on the defensive end. He also doesn’t seem to fit too well with the starting unit and the triangle offense. Like Ariza and Odom, he thrives when pushing the ball and getting opportunities off the break. Sasha has been inconsistent at both guard positions so far this year. Again, there is no reliable starter at point guard.

As the trade deadline looms, we need to look for a point guard and small forward that are both starter quality and good fits with the team. They must make Lamar Odom, Radamnovic, Luke Walton, and even Farmar, and Ariza available.