Lamar can prevent the second guessing game.

When the Lakers signed Andrew Bynum at the beginning of the season, there were mixed reactions from fans and 'experts'. Some expressed relief that Bynum would not have to worry about proving himself with offensive numbers and just concentrate on defense since he was taken of financially. The cynics, on the hand, felt that Bynum was coming off of a serious knee injury and has never played a complete season in the NBA, and at worst he would be a restricted free agent at season's end - so what's the rush to sign this guy. While hindsight is 20/20, this argument is now moot, and the fate of the Laker's championship hopes rests on the shoulders of the much-maligned Lamar Odom...

While everyone knows that Odom needs to step up to make up for the production of a lost Bynum (and I am going to assume Bynum is done for the entire season, including playoffs, as he has never demonstrated himself to be a quick healer), there are few reasons to believe why Odom will actually come through this time.

First, Odom himself is in a contract year. In an interview with Chris Webber following a Lakers win on NBA TV this year, Odom confessed to C-Webb that not getting minutes during a contract year was on his mind, but learned to accept his role on the team. Everyone who knows basketball knows the Lakers are probably not going to be able to offer Odom the $$ he can get in other destinations (e.g. Detroit, Miami). Lamar has a chance to net probably his last long-term, lucrative contract -- he has every incentive in the world to show that as a starter, he can put up 15, 10, and 5 consistently. As a reserve, it was easy to use the excuse that the Lakers offense did not allow him enough minutes to develop the rhythm necessary to have such production -- now is his chance to cash in.

Second, let's not forget how the Lakers began this season. They played tenacious defense and scored the basketball with ease due to their signature crisp passing and sharp-shooting. Although Bynum started in these games, he was still recovering from surgery and was definitely not 100%. In fact, his production was pretty meaningless for most of the Lakers' success for the first thirty games, often not rebounding in double digits and getting in early foul trouble. Bynum started playing like a stud the past 10 games or so and the Lakers look nearly invincible when he did (except against the Diaw-led Bobcats), but it is hard to imagine the Lakers dropping off the map due to this injury.

Combine all of this with the fact that the western conference overall is pretty weak compared to years past, it seems that the Lakers are still primed for a repeat appearance in the NBA finals. Factor in additional playoff experience for almost the entire roster and the emergence of Trevor Ariza's defensive prowess, it is hard to feel too negative about the Lakers' championship aspirations - especially considering that BOS/ORL/CLE will beat each other up just to get out of the east.

Of course with a healthy Bynum, the Lakers would be better off. But there is a reason why the Lakers held on to Lamar, and that was to be an insurance policy because they believe they can still win with him as fill-in for either a Bynum or Gasol injury.

On paper, the Lakers should not worry about the talent on their roster -- their top nine even without Bynum would rival that of any other ball club. The bigger worry, however, is the potential mental letdown from this injury - now we are really going to find out how deep this team really is. Read more!