Yesterday the Lakers became the first team in the NBA to beat the Cavs in Cleveland this year. They did it on a day when Kobe Bryant had the flu and was obviously not himself, and Andrew Bynum was in street clothes with his injured knee. So, how on earth did they do it? The Lakers beat the Cavs yesterday on the strength of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, who combined for 46 points, 29 rebounds and eight assists to dominate the game. The thing is, it should not be shocking that the Lakers were able to ride their starting frontcourt to victory, because (even without Bynum) they have one of the best starting frontcourts in the NBA. And I don't think very many people give them enough credit for that.
I remember for last year's NBA Finals, I blogged about how the Lakers and Celtics each had "Big Threes" led by a generational talent in Bryant and Kevin Garnett. But from the majority of the coverage, you would have thought that it was Boston's Big Three against Kobe Bryant and a bunch of stiffs. Similarly, I spoke with my friend Cole last week about Bynum's injury, and his stance was that if the Lakers finished with the best record in the West even without Bynum it would be mainly because Kobe would be carrying them like LeBron James carries the Cavs. I just don't understand why so few seem to recognize just how great the Gasol/Odom frontline is, no matter who their teammates might be.
Pau Gasol is one of the best big men in the league. Outside of Garnett, Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard I can't think of any that are clearly better than him. The analyst for yesterday's game (Van Gundy?) had a great point: people say that Gasol is "soft", but if Gasol is soft then there are many other NBA players that wish they could be soft like that. Gasol is currently leading the NBA in Offensive Rating, and is fourth overall in Win Shares. Gasol came into the league as the 2002 Rookie of the Year and he was the best player on a 50-win Grizzlies team without any other star players, so it isn't as though his high level of play only came about as a Laker. And at 28 years old, Gasol is really just reaching his prime.
Likewise, Odom is also better than his perception. He has the talent to be a superstar, but the mentality to be a secondary player. Because of that, I think people are often so frustrated with what he isn't that they ignore just how effective he still is. Odom was still the best player on a Heat team that went to the second round of the playoffs in '04. Odom still averaged about 19/12/4 in the playoffs as a second option for the Lakers in '06 and '07. He is still the best ball-handling 6-10 player in the NBA, and the only one that could legitimately run an offense as a point guard if need be. Odom's numbers are down this year due to Bynum and Gasol taking his minutes, but it isn't at all surprising that he could produce again when called upon since he has a history of doing just that.
Are Odom and Gasol perfect? Of course not. Their weaknesses may be overblown with respect to their strengths, but the weaknesses are definitely there and would prevent either of them from ever being the best player on a champion. But with Bryant there to be the foundation, Gasol and Odom are clearly one of the best second/third option combos in the NBA. It's not a coincidence that the Lakers only lost 4 games total in the second half of last season with all three of them in the line-up. The Lakers have one of the best frontcourts in the NBA, and when you combine that with Kobe it gives you a recipe for a team that could lose Andrew Bynum and still be arguably the best in the NBA.