Los Angeles Lakers: Is Andrew Bynum the Next Great L.A. Big Man?
By
Matt Smith
The Los Angeles Lakers have been blessed with the greatest collection of centers any NBA franchise has ever had.
Most basketball aficionados are aware of this great lineage, George Mikan the first dominant NBA star and five time NBA champ, Wilt Chamberlain who re-wrote the record books and won two NBA championships, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the all-time scoring leader and six time NBA champion, then came Shaquille O'Neal, aka Superman, the self proclaimed "Most Dominant Ever," and four time NBA champ, and we can add power forward and center and seven footer Pau Gasol to this list of great Laker bigs.
Can the Lakers current young center Andrew Bynum fill these shoes and take his place as the next dominant Laker center?
Bynum has shown he has the skills. This postseason he proved his toughness playing hurt, he has had flashes of dominance, and has statistically improved every year. He is the youngest player ever to be drafted and had limited high school experience, but incredible potential.
By the age of 22, Bynum already has won two NBA championships and is on a team that should contend for the next few years. So far the biggest obstacle in young Bynum's career has been injury, so remaining healthy will play a huge part in how much better Bynum will be.
The comparison to the past great Laker bigs is difficult, Mikan's era is not really comparable, and Wilt, Kareem, and Shaq are (along with Bill Russell) in the uber-elite almost untouchable level. Gasol is a hybrid power forward and center whose game is much different than his younger teammate.
I do see Hall of Fame potential in Bynum, it just remains to be seen if his health holds up and if he has the work ethic and hunger to be the best. So if Bynum is not Wilt, Kareem, or Shaq level, what is his upside, his ceiling, what player could we compare him to as an example of how good he can be? For me the player that came to mind was not fortunate enough to win any NBA titles, but he was blessed with good health and a long productive Hall of Fame career...that would be Patrick Ewing.
I'm not saying Bynum is identical to Ewing, I'm sure their are many differences, but when I look at their size and their skill sets I think Bynum could potentially put up numbers similar to what Ewing did. Bynum has played five years in the league and is now 22 years old, Ewing's pro career started at the age of 23, so we can look at Bynum's career so far but also take into consideration that these were in effect, his college years.
Let's compare their numbers:
Andrew Bynum
Age 18) 1.6ppg 1.7reb 0.2ast 0.5blk 7.3min per game
Age 19) 7.8ppg 5.9reb 1.1ast 1.6blk 21.8min
Age 20) 13.1ppg 10.2reb 1.7ast 2.1blk 28.8min
Age 21) 14.3ppg 8.0reb 1.4ast 1.8blk 28.9min
Age 22) 15.0ppg 8.3reb 1.0ast 1.4blk 30.4min
Patrick Ewing
Age 23) 20.0ppg 9.0reb 2.0ast 2.1blk 35.4min
Age 24) 21.5ppg 8.8reb 1.7ast 2.3blk 35.0min
Age 25) 20.2ppg 8.2reb 1.5ast 3.0blk 31.0min
Age 26) 22.7ppg 9.3reb 2.4ast 3.5blk 36.2min
Age 27) 28.6ppg 10.9reb 2.2ast 4.0blk 38.6min
As you can see Bynum with five years of NBA experience is still younger than Patrick Ewing was as a rookie. Ewing came in at age 23 on a team where he was required to play big minutes and be the main option, Bynum is asked to do neither. I am about to play the "IF" game so play along with me...if Bynum were able to stay healthy for a long stretch (say five or more years) and the Lakers increased his minutes and went to him more, I could see his statistical progression looking a lot like Mr. Ewings numbers.
To do this will also take hard work and dedication from Bynum, he should never average below two blocks a game for the next decade and he needs to continue to improve his range and offensive repertoire, he is already more advanced than the reigning best center in the league Dwight Howard. If some of Kobe's work ethic rubs off and some of Gasol's finesse and if he can channel that inner beast we've seen on occasion when he dunks on his opponents with Shaq-like authority (as a 18-year-old NBA baby he did this to Shaq), we then may need to make a new place at the table among the pantheon of great Laker centers
拜纳姆会是洛杉矶的下个伟大中锋嘛？
洛杉矶湖人队历史上拥有了NBA任何球队都没有的众多强力中锋。
很多篮球迷都发现了这点。麦肯，第一个具有统治地位的NBA球星，五届总冠军；张伯伦，改写了NBA众多记录，两届总冠军；贾巴尔，空前的得分领袖，七届总冠军；然后又奥胖，自称最具统治地位，四届总冠军；我们也可以把大前锋兼中锋，7尺的加索尔加到这个湖人大个子的名单中。
湖人的现任中锋安德鲁-拜纳姆能够达到这个水准成为下一任湖人的内线霸主嘛？
拜纳姆已经表现出了他的能力。这个季后赛，他证明了他战胜伤病的坚强，他已经闪现了统治力，并且他的数据每年也都有提升。他是最年轻的新秀，在高中里并没有得到多少经验，但是却很有天赋。
拜纳姆，22岁，已经得到两次总冠军，并且在一支接下来几年都很有竞争力的球队。到目前为止，年轻的拜纳姆职业生涯中最大的障碍就是伤病，所以保持健康将在拜纳姆以后的成就上占有重大的地位。
难以和过去湖人的大个子们比较，麦肯的时代不能拿来比较，张伯伦、贾巴尔、奥胖（和拉塞尔）在一个无法触及的精英层面。而加索尔是大前锋、中锋摇摆，他的比赛和他年轻的队友是有很大不同的。
我的确在拜纳姆身上看到了明星的潜质，只是要看他的健康是否能够保持好，还有他是否有成为最好的渴望和行动。那么，如果和张伯伦、贾巴尔、奥胖不是一个水平层次，那么他的优点是什么，我们可以拿谁来和他比较，他最好能够达到谁的水平？第一个出现在我脑海中的人虽然不幸没有拿到任何总冠军称呼，但是他有健康的身体和一个伟大的职业生涯---那就是帕德里克-尤因。
我并不是说拜纳姆和尤因相似，我确信有很多不同点，但是当我看到他们的体型和技巧特点，我认为拜纳姆有潜力达到尤因的数据。拜纳姆已经在湖人打了五年，现年22岁，尤因的职业生涯开始于23岁，所以我们可以来看看拜纳姆到目前为止职业生涯的数据，但是将它算作他的大学时间。
下面来比较以下数据：
安德鲁-拜纳姆
年龄 场均得分 场均篮板 场均助攻 场均盖帽 场均时间
18 1.6 1.7 0.2 0.5 7.3
19 7.8 5.9 1.1 1.6 21.8
20 13.1 10.2 1.7 2.1 28.8
21 14.3 8.0 1.4 1.8 28.9
22 15.0 8.3 1.0 1.4 30.4
帕德里克-尤因
23 20.0 9.0 2.0 2.1 35.4
24 21.5 8.8 1.7 2.3 35.0
25 20.2 8.2 1.5 3.0 31.0
26 22.7 9.3 2.4 3.5 36.2
27 28.6 10.9 2.2 4.0 38.6
我们可以看到，拜纳姆作为一个新秀已经有了五年的NBA经验，但仍然比尤因年轻。尤因23岁进入NBA，在球队中就被要求每场打很长时间，而拜纳姆两者都不需要。下面跟我一起做一些假设。如果拜纳姆在较长的时间内能够保持健康，比如五年或者更久，而且湖人增加他的上场时间给他更大的空间，我可以看见他的数据将上升，达到尤因的数据水平。
要做到这些要求拜纳姆更加努力、付出，他接下来的十年场均盖帽不应该低于2.0，他需要继续加大他的活动范围和侵略性，他已经比联盟的顶级中锋霍华德有优势。如果有一些科比的职业标准，一些加索尔的技巧性，并且他本身更有野性一点，像他偶尔在面对奥胖之类的权威时的扣篮一样（他在18岁时就在奥胖头上暴扣过），我们也许需要在湖人历史伟大中锋上为他留一个位置。 |
發表於 2010-8-8 04:07 AM
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