Through three games, Andrew Bynum is playing like an NBA All-Star.

On Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, he achieved a career milestone with his first 20-point, 20-rebound performance at Staples Center. Kobe Bryant said following the game, “There’s plenty more to come… the biggest challenge for him is staying healthy.”

Everyone in Los Angeles understands exactly what Kobe means.

For fans, this scenario is all too familiar. In years past, Bynum has suffered a catastrophic injury just as he hits his stride. If he plays in all 66 games this year, it will be his first full season since his sophomore campaign, the only one in which he played in all 82 games.

The NBA lockout as well as a four game suspension could both be blessings in disguise. The extra time off and shortened season could mitigate the risk of yet another injury. The Lakers will need him this season more than ever after losing a key component to their frontcourt in Lamar Odom.

The loss of Odom via trade this offseason will cause the Lakers to lean heavily on Bynum to get them into the playoffs, let alone make a deep run. Thus far in the 2011-2012 season, Bynum has played at an extremely high level and shown for three games that he can be the player has to be for the team to improve upon a disappointing finish in 2011.

When Bynum plays as well as he is capable of, it takes tremendous pressure off Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, opening up the floor for their respective games. Defensively, he alters opponents’ shots with regularity and contributes to easy baskets on the other end of the floor.

The task of maintaining his health and fitness will be a game-by-game process. Only time will tell whether or not Bynum will go the direction of Grant Hill and overcome significant injuries or Brandon Roy and be another young player who simply can’t stay on the court.

If he plays like he has so far all season, the Lakers will be a much stronger team and will remain among the league’s elite, despite the loss of a great player like Odom.This kind of start from Bynum is exactly what the team needs to get over the disappointment of a tumultuous offseason.

Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and follows all news and developments of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Sources:

Basketball-Reference.com

Fox Sports West Television Network

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We just found out that the Lakers entered talks to ship center Pau Gasol to the Timberwolves for league leading rebounder Kevin Love. The trade offers was said to have been made right after the Chris Paul trade was rejected by the league office.

Does that mean Kevin Love might eventually be headed to L.A. this season?

I don’t see why we would count that possibility out. Kevin Love becomes a free agent after this season, and like the Magic with Dwight Howard, the Wolves may seek to get something for a player unlikely to return. But again, like the Magic, the Wolves may want to try to convince Love to stay by providing him with all the reasons to stay—commitment from ownership and a shown respect towards a player whose decisions impact the franchise on a monumental level.

I guess the thing is, considering whether or not Love should be on that same pedestal as the premier stars like Howard. You see, though Love led the league in rebounding, though he is a great young player who at age 23 promises to be a highly relevant star for a long time, Love is not the exciting charismatic star that Howard is. He’s a good player; he is not the kind of player that puts butts in seats.

In fact, to many fans, only the basketball purists type will find Kevin Love’s game really that appealing. He rebounds by boxing out, and scores by hitting jumpers and putting back misses, not by flying through the air for athletic dunks.

Love ultimately would be great for the Lakers, but you can pretty much say that about any team. Adding a player like Love whose shooting can space the floor for other players, while simultaneously gobbling up a lot of offensive rebounds does wonders for an offense’s first chance and second chance looks. Love would make the Lakers an even more scary team than Gasol does, especially since they no longer use the triangle offense, which literally seemed taylor made for a player with Gasol’s skill set.

And it may be the Mike Brown influence that is driving the push for Love. Mike Brown himself was a meat and potatoes kind of forward and Love’s game is more like Brown’s than the somewhat flashy walks-on- his-tippy toes Gasol.

I don’t really think Love’s numbers would change all that much, and Gasol may fall off in such a move, as he would find himself pretty discontent to be playing for a team like the Timberwolves as this point in his advanced career. But I’m more concerned about watching Love rip down 15 boards a game with Kobe hitting game winning shots than worry about Gasol’s prospects.

Besides, there is a lot to be said for a Ricky Rubio – Pau Gasol pick ‘n’ roll…

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The Los Angeles Lakers enter the second weekend of the 2011-2012 season with a 2-2 record without center Andrew Bynum. Here’s a look at the team’s keys to victory for this Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets:

Who will guard Ty Lawson?

Ty Lawson has been outstanding thus far for the Nuggets while averaging 22.3 points per game. The Lakers don’t have a lot of team speed to guard him on the outside, especially if Derek Fisher starts the game. However, the Lakers have proven to be much more physical this year than in the past, and I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Mike Brown works to slow him down rather than stop him.

On Christmas Day, the Lakers did an outstanding job against the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose for most of the game, and I think they’ll try to use a similar game plan against Lawson. The team didn’t have the back court speed to keep up with Rose for all four quarters, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lakers adjusts to another point guard who can score.

How will Andrew Bynum perform in the middle?

Andrew Bynum returns to the Lakers lineup this weekend after serving a four-game suspension for his actions during the 2011 NBA playoffs. He’ll move back to center while Pau Gasol returns to his familiar forward role. The Nuggets’ Nene Hilario is a solid forward/center, but if Bynum is on his game, I don’t think Hilario can guard him. In fact, I don’t think anyone on the Nuggets can defend Bynum if he comes in with his “A” game. However, Bynum hasn’t played in over a week, and I’m not sure what kind of shape he’s going to come in with. Hopefully, he’s ready to go.

What will the Lakers get from the bench?

The Nuggets aren’t afraid to use a three-guard lineup, and since the Lakers lack speed, I think that’s the game plan Denver will use on Saturday. The Lakers will need to off-set if they wish to contain Aron Affalo, Andre Miller and Lawson, but their options are limited.

I love Derek Fisher, but he can’t keep up with these guys, and that means the Lakers will need to trust the bench a bit more. Steve Blake has already received solid minutes this season, but Matt Barnes still isn’t seeing much time on the floor. That should change this weekend, but we’ll find out how effective he is. Oh and don’t forget about Metta World Peace. He’s quietly having a solid season in reserve, but I’m not sure how Brown will use him against a three-guard package.

Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood. His favorite Lakers’ moment is when they beat the Detroit Pistons 108-105 in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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It’s time for the New York Knicks to prove that the changes made to the roster were the right moves and that this is a team ready to compete. After a really tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28), it’s time to bounce back and beat a struggling Lakers team. The Knicks play in Staples Center on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 10:30 p.m. ET, making for a long night for dedicated fans back east.

I wrote last night how the Knicks were very flat against the Warriors in the second half, especially after holding a six point lead at halftime. While Tyson Chandler was going through foul trouble, the Knicks just seemed to lack the defensive intensity necessary to beat the better teams in the league. It almost seemed like a number of players on the roster have put too much pressure on Chandler to become the only one putting out the extra effort on defense. It worked in the first game against the Boston Celtics when Chandler blocked 6 shots, but he can’t do it every night by himself.

The Lakers are a much different team without Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that is what the Knicks get on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Lakers have also lost two of their first three games, losing to the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings before beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Now the Knicks come to town, and the game goes into primetime for viewers watching on the West Coast. It’s also the second game on the TNT schedule for the night, meaning the game is about to get over-analyzed. Hopefully the Knicks can put up really good numbers and leave a lasting opinion with the broadcasters.

Any success for the Knicks is going to come from shutting down Pau Gasol on defense and working an inside-outside game on offense. Kobe Bryant is going to score his points, but Chandler and Amare Stoudemire have to keep Gasol from catching fire in the low post. On offense, it needs to become a balance between the three-point shooters for the Knicks and the post-up games of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The shooting percentage has to get better than the 4-for-21 (19 percent) effort that New York had on Wednesday night (Dec. 28) though.

It’s time to put the excuses aside and for the Knicks to prove that they can get up for a game against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

More From YCN :

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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On Sunday, Dec. 25, the Los Angeles Lakers opened the 2011/2012 season with an 88-87 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose hit the game-winning shot with 4.8 seconds left in the game.

Here are three thoughts on the game:

It wasn’t pretty

If fans thought they were tuning in to watch high-quality basketball, then I’m sure many people were left highly disappointed. Both teams were extremely sloppy with the ball, especially in the first quarter. Later in the game, the Bulls actually went through a stretch in the second half where they shot for less than 20 percent from the floor. The Lakers also struggled offensively, especially when Kobe Bryant was on the bench in the second quarter. The NBA sold this game to the fans as a Christmas Day special, and it probably would have been if it was broadcast during a normal 82-game season. However, despite a thrilling end to the game, sometimes it was brutal to watch.

Free throw woes

Derrick Rose may have hit the game-winning shot, but the Lakers missed four straight free throws with the game still in the balanmce late in the fourth quarter. Pau Gasol missed two of those shots, despite being a strong free throw shooter throughout his career. Overall, the Lakers were 11 of 20 from the line in the game. That’s not good enough to beat a team as strong as the Bulls, especially with Andrew Bynum out of the lineup. I expect more out of a club that has won two out of the last three NBA titles.

The Lakers bench surprised me

Steve Blake scored 12 points off the bench for the Lakers, while new addition Troy Murphy had seven points and eight rebounds. Even rookie Andrew Goudelock got in on the action with two crucial three-pointers. The Lakers were thought to have a weaker bench this season with Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown gone, but if these players keep giving an effort like they did against the Bulls, the team will be fine.

Overall, it was a heart-breaking loss for the Lakers, but there’s no rest for the weary. Hopefully, the team picks up its first victory of the season on Monday night at the Sacramento Kings.

Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood. His favorite Lakers’ moment is when they beat the Detroit Pistons 108-105 in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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