>>>BynumBeliever,
>>>
>>>From one to another. The Era of the Beast is about to begin.
>>>
>>>Tom

Amen brother. I know that you've been accused of hyping a player past their worth, but in this case I think that you're right on the money. Last season Drew got a taste of success and was left hungry for more. I'm glad to see that his offseason workouts are going according to schedule and I fully expect him to begin this upcoming season with the same level of dominance that he was showing before his injury in January. A lot of AB17's success was based on the defensive ideas taught by Kareem that seemed to "click". Even if Drew enters this season less physically prepared than last (which I don't expect), that basketball IQ of his hasn't gone anywhere.

I was fortunate enough to be at the game on Christmas day when Bynum gave Stoudemire fits and scored his career high 28 points. It just looked so effortless and natural. A rebound here, a block there, dunks and putbacks everywhere... The dudes got some serious skills and we have yet to see him reach his full potential (as scary as it sounds, I think we've only seen him scratch the surface).

I can't wait for the season opener against the Trailblazers. I fully expect Bynum to significantly outplay Oden, showing him what a few seasons under your belt can do for you. The kid is destined to be a star in this league (he's flat out gifted) and sooner or later everyone's going to realize it.

What is "LAist.com"? Never heard of it.

Now that's leadership: http://goldenarmor.wordpress.com/

Kobe comes prepared to play. Whether or not he did the scouting himself, he knows his opponents, their names, and their tendencies, even in the Olympic Games.

"Your boss is cool with it. We checked."

Good one, AK.

Bynum Believer,

Now that’s the way to start a thread. A great post and many thanks for your effusive comments. Of course, get ready for all of the doubters who are going to remind you that Drew only played half of last year, that his knee is still a question mark, that he didn’t play well against the Celtics, that he is not the answer to the Lakers defensive problems, that he needs to prove he is worth a max contract before we sign him to an extension, et cetera, et cetera.

I really don’t get all these people who keep complaining that I am hyping Drew too much and too early. Obviously, they know by now that their complaining generally leads me to post even more aggressively about Drew. I understand that Drew is still only 20 years old and much of my projections are necessarily speculative, but these people act as if my expectations for Drew are without any basis. Maybe they never saw Wilt play at Kansas or for the Warriors or Sixers before he came to the Lakers or Kareem at UCLA or Shaq at LSU and Orlando. At any rate, I don’t see how every Lakers fan out these cannot help but be thrilled that the Lakers have the best young center prospect in the NBA and the next great Lakers center.

As everybody knows, I am one of the older posters on the blog and have personally seen every Lakers championship and every great Lakers center since the team moved to Los Angeles. I remember Mike Dantoni laughing after the Christmas game when a reporter said that Andrew was going to be a great player when he finally gets it all together. All Mike could say about Drew’s performance is that he has already “arrived.”

I’m also looking forward to the Bynum-Oden matchups but mostly to the Bynum-Perkins matchups, where Drew is going to prove that he is the most physical and dominant center in the NBA. After those matchups, the media is going to stop any talk about the Lakers being soft. Instead, they will start replaying what would have happened if Drew had been available for the Finals last year. The talk will then shift from the Lakers being soft to the Celtics being lucky.

Tom

Posted by: LakerTom | August 13, 2008 at 11:35 AM

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I am JustaLakerFan and I approve this post.