24-year old center Andrew Bynum missed the first four games of this season due to an NBA suspension due to his hard foul of J.J. Barea in the playoffs last year.  Bynum is making up for lost time for the Lakers so far.  He has played in 3 games (all starts) so far for the Lakers this year and he is averaging 32.7 minutes, 22.7 points, 17.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game.  Bynum is shooting 62.2% from the floor as he has been virtually unstoppable in the paint so far this year.

30-year old C/PF Pau Gasol is really playing outstanding basketball right now. He has played in 12 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this season and he is averaging 38.7 minutes, 22.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Gasol is shooting 55% from the floor and 79.1% from the free throw line so far this year as he has been very accurate. The Lakers need Gasol to keep up the good work as he’s more than making up for the loss of Andrew Bynum.

22-year old power forward Derrick Caracter and 21-year old Devin Ebanks will have to watch and learn this season. Caracter has played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 6.8 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Ebanks has played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 7.2 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. The Lakers are a veteran laden team so I only see the rookies getting P.T. during mop up time.

The Lakers will be without 37-year old center Theo Ratliff for the next 4-6 weeks due to knee surgery. Ratliff has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 8.4 minutes, 0.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. This hurts the Lakers’ depth at center as they are already without Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers were just a little too much for the pesky Raptors last night. Pau Gasol led the way for the Lakers last night with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Kobe Bryant stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot in this game. Steve Blake only played 18 minutes last night but he still finished up with 14 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists as he was 4 of 6 shooting from three point range. Shannon Brown (12 points) and Derek Fisher (11 points) also had solid games for the Lakers last night. The Lakers are now 6-0 on the year.

The Lakers outran the Kings last night in Sacramento. Kobe Bryant led the way with a triple/double as he finished up with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 1 steal. Pau Gasol (22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots) and Lamar Odom (18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) led the way around the basket for the Lakers in this game. Ron Artest pitched in with 17 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 2 steals in only 26 minutes on the floor. The Lakers are now 5-0 on the year.

The Lakers shot 51.2% from the floor last night and they outrebounded the Grizzlies 59-36 which helps explain the ease of victory last night. The Lakers made short work of the Grizzlies as they led the game 73-46 at the half. Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Pau Gasol (21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Lamar Odom (17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal) ruled the paint for the Lakers last night. Matt Barnes stuffed the stat sheet off the bench last night with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Shannon Brown (13 points) and Steve Blake (10 points) also pitched in offensively for the Lakers last night. The Lakers are now 4-0 on the year.

31-year old Lamar Odom will be the Lakers’ starting power forward until Andrew Bynum is ready to return to action around Thanksgiving. Odom has started all 3 games for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 34.0 minutes, 16.0 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is also shooting a scorching 67.7% from the floor so far this year. The Lakers are lucky to have a guy like Odom who can step in a dominate whenever the need arises.

The Lakers made short work of the Warriors last night as they outrebounded them 55-42 which was a big factor in the ease of victory. Pau Gasol led the way for the Lakers in this game with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. Kobe finished up with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists as the Lakers didn’t need any more than that from him last night. Lamar Odom was stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot last night. Derek Fisher pitched in with 14 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists last night. The Lakers are now 3-0 on the year.

The Lakers outlasted the Suns last night in Phoenix. Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Pau Gasol really stuffed the stat sheet last night with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. Lamar Odom was tough also in this game as he finished up with 18 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Ron Artest pitched in with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals tonight. Derek Fisher (11 points) and Matt Barnes (11 points) also helped out the Lakers’ cause in this game. The Lakers are now 2-0 on the year.