Lakers’ new head coach Mike Brown isn’t very good at his job, period.   He has Kobe Bryant shooting all the time instead of keeping Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum more involved in the offense.  The Lakers finished the first half of the 2011-12 season with a 20-14 record which has them in second place in the Pacific Division, 1.5 games behind the Clippers.  They are also currently sitting #5 in the Western Conference as of right now.  Here is a look at the players that have made the biggest impact in the first half of the season in my opinion:

Team MVP:  Kobe Bryant:  33-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant is still the best player on the Lakers.  He has played in 34 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 38.2 minutes, 28.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  The Lakers would probably be a tad better if Bryant passed the ball a little bit more in the second half of the year.

Biggest Surprise:  Andrew Bynum:  24-year old  center Andrew Bynum flashed potential earlier in his career, but he’s having a breakout year in 2011-12.  Bynum has played in 30 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 16.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game.

Biggest Disappointment:  Metta World Peace:  32-year old small forward Metta World Peace has been pathetic so far this year for the Lakers.  He has played in 33 games (14 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 22.8 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  World Peace is only shooting 33.5% from the floor, 23.9% from three point range and 51.1% from the free throw line so far this year and that is horrible.  It’s only a matter of time before Metta World Peace gets plucked out of the starting lineup.

The Lakers only shot 38.5% from the floor and it did them in last night.  Kobe Bryant only shot 7 of 24 from the floor last night but he still led the way for the Lakers with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.  Pau Gasol had a rock solid game as he finished up with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.  Andrew Bynum pitched in with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in this game.  The Lakers are now 20-14 on the year.

The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 24-19 in the 4th quarter to pull away for a nice  road win last night.  Pau Gasol (24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals) and Andrew Bynum (19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Lakers last night.  Kobe Bryant only shot 4 of 15 from the floor and he turned the ball over 7 times last night, but he still finished up with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.  Derek Fisher pitched in with 15 points and 3 rebounds last night.  The Lakers are now 20-13 on the year.

The Los Angeles Lakers outrebounded the Blazers 51-37 last night and it helped them do them in.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 28 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.  Steve Blake pitched in with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 21 minutes on the floor.  Pau Gasol (16 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Andrew Bynum (14 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Lakers.  The Lakers are now 19-13 on the year.

The Lakers fell behind early last night and they never quite caught up to the Suns.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.  But, Kobe also turned the ball over 10 times last night as he was trying to do to much.  Pau Gasol (17 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal) and Andrew Bynum (16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocked shots) also pitched in big time for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers are now 18-13 on the year.

Rumors are going around that the Lakers are considering dealing 31-year old power forward Pau Gasol.  Gasol has played in 30 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  The Lakers shouldn’t trade Gasol….they should make him a bigger part of the offense.  Head Coach Mike Brown looks lost some time as he looks a lot like he did in Cleveland.  Instead of being LeBron’s puppet……he’s Kobe’s puppet.  The Lakers would be a much better team if the offense revolved more around Gasol and Bynum, with Bryant still getting his fair share of shots, but not quite as many as he is taking right now.

The Lakers shot 53% from the floor and they outrebounded the Suns 52-36 last night as they won pretty easily in this game.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 36 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals last night.  Andrew Bynum (17 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Matt Barnes (17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 24 minutes) also had rock solid games for the Lakers.  Derek Fisher (12 points) and Pau Gasol (10 points and 13 rebounds) also pitched in for the Lakers in this game.  The Lakers are now 18-12 on the year.

The Lakers played well on defense last night as they held the Hawks to a paltry 34.4% shooting from the floor, which has a huge reason for the nice home win.  Paul Gasol (20 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 blocked shots) and Andrew Bynum (15 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Lakers last night.  Kobe Bryant only shot 5 of 18 from the floor as he finished up with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers.  Metta World Peace and Andrew Goudelock pitched in with 10 points apiece in this game.  The Lakers are now 17-12 on the year.

The Raptors played hard today, but Kobe took them down with a jumper with 4.2 seconds left in the game.  Bryant only shot 9 of 23 from the floor but he still led the way for the Lakers with 29 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.  Pau Gasol also had a rock solid game with 16 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists.  Andrew Bynum pitched in with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  The Lakers are now 16-12 on the year.

The Lakers have so many veterans playing like garbage right now, that they should give the rookies more P.T. to see if they can help energize the team a bit.  23-year old guard Andrew Goudelock has played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 11.3 minutes, 4.5 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He is shooting 40.6% (13 of 32) from the three point line so far this year and that’s pretty impressive.  21-year old guard Darius Morris has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 13.0 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists so far this year.