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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends - Yahoo! Sports

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Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends - Yahoo! Sports
Apr 12th 2012, 06:27

Los Angeles Lakers fans clamoring for Dwight Howard need to take a good, long look at what they've already got in Andrew Bynum.

The 7-foot center manhandled the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night and grabbed an astounding 30 rebounds, lifting the Lakers to a 98-84 victory. Bynum has been a handful to deal with at times this season, but with along with the drama, he has produced at an All Star level.

He showed up even bigger in the absence of team leader Kobe Bryant.

Playing without Bryant for the third straight game was going to be a significant challenge for the Lakers going into the game against an elite team on the road in San Antonio. The bench has been a major issue for the team all season long, and in order to have any chance at success, players were going to have to take on more responsibility and step up.

Though he's not an emotional leader or mature enough to be considered a mentor at this point, Bynum led by example and elevated the play of the entire team. What was even more impressive was the fact that he was actually dissatisfied with the way he shot the ball and expressed as much following the game. "It's great to have 30 boards," he said. "But my shot's not working and I'm (a) little upset about it."

He finished 7 of 20 from the field, and struggled to find a rhythm offensively. What he did do, however, was rebound and play stifling defense, holding Tim Duncan to 14 points and two rebounds.

The defensive effort is the most encouraging sign from Bynum, because that shows the one thing that is critical for success in the playoffs - effort. It's been a question mark for him throughout the year, and he's even admitted to taking plays off in prior games.

Hopefully those days are over, and he realizes that the Lakers need to play with a true sense of urgency in the final games. It's no secret that they've struggled against the best in the west, and it remains to be seen just how competitive they could be in a series.

Despite the doubts, the triumph against the Spurs should be considered a signature win that speaks to the value of the Lakers frontcourt. They will need to rely heavily on them as they make a playoff run with an aging team. The team can't rest, though, since it has two more games against San Antonio.

The Lakers are top-heavy. This means that as the team's superstars go, so too will the organization this season. Bynum has been injury-free thus far, and that's a must moving forward. As the regular season nears its end, it's critical that both health and a hunger to win remain intact from he and all players.

The victory on Wednesday night without Kobe Bryant is a great sign of the team's mindset and focus at this point. As everyone knows, however, things can change quickly in Laker-land. The best thing to do as a fan is enjoy the journey and hope that they are able to build on these key wins.

Stay tuned.

Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and southern California native, following all developments related to his favorite sports franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers. For more insight on the team and the NBA, follow Michael on Twitter: @MikeJonesTweets

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