The relationship between Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum appears to be very good, as Bryant is smart enough to see Bynum?s extreme effectiveness now and extreme potential in the future.
Bynum unequivocally calls Bryant "the best player in the world," but there will be no extended success in the playoffs for Bryant without Bynum.
Less than 10 days older than O.J. Mayo, Bynum is ahead of schedule and the Lakers are better right now with him than they would be with a Jason Kidd or Jermaine O?Neal, and the long-term advantages are bluntly obvious.
The Lakers? halfcourt offense is far more dangerous when Bynum touches the ball at some point during the possession.
His footwork is much improved and almost 90% of his field goals have come inside the paint. His post game is as imaginative and varied as any other young center in the league and has one of the best up and under moves I've seen in some time. He is agile, has excellent touch on his shots and is powerful when he attacks the rim.
Bynum does a nice job of keeping the ball high when he catches it in the post and is adept at passing the ball to an open player when the double-team arrives.
He also adjusts to errant passes (especially lobs) quite well, mainly because he possesses pair of very soft hands, and his balance is exceptional.
Beyond touches, he clears lanes in the halfcourt, looking to knock people when he moves towards the block; additionally, he comes out well for the pick and roll.
Bynum?s timing on rebounds (especially offensive) is superb. He has the fifth best rebound rate (20.6) in the entire NBA and has been better on the offensive glass than Dwight Howard and Marcus Camby. This part of his game has improved immensely, as he is grabbing 15 per 40 this season, compared to 10.8 last year.
The ease and breadth in which Bynum can dominate a game was seen in the first quarter on Friday in Oakland. He had 10 rebounds (five offensive) while going 3-4 from the field, pacing the Lakers to an 11-point lead.
With his length, he blocks shots and equally important, he affects shots. When Bynum was on the bench at the start of 2nd quarter, the Warriors began to immediately attack the rim.
In a game the Lakers controlled for about 45 minutes and had no business losing, Bryant let it unravel in 4th quarter, getting away from the effective floor game he played earlier. He wasn?t getting enough touches to other players (namely Bynum), forcing the offense to operate at a standstill, and they ended up shooting 6-23 in the quarter as a team, and the Warriors closed out the game by going on a 14-2 run.
This was the first thing on Phil Jackson?s mind when he came out to address the media.
?We started settling for shots,? said Jackson discussing how the Lakers lost their lead.
Bynum expressed a similar sentiment when I asked him if he wasn?t getting enough touches in a 4th quarter in which he didn?t attempt a single shot and was a tidy 8-10 in the previous three quarters.
?I was going to the basket the same way (as earlier in the game),? said Bynum.
The effectiveness of Bynum early on needs to also be utilized during the 4th quarter of tight games, which can only truly be emphasized by Bryant. Bryant is taking an active interest in tutoring Bynum, but the education needs to take place on the court and in the clutch.