BOSTON — Unless there is significant improvement in Andrew Bynum’s knee, the Lakers essentially are no longer longer than the Celtics. They still have Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, but two is never better than three. Unless you’re on a golf course.
“I haven’t got any expectations,” said coach Phil Jackson, who is hoping for a favorable doctor’s report on Bynum’s right knee that forced the center into a 12-minute game four cameo and gave the Celtics a decided inside advantage.
And even if Bynum plays tomorrow in Game 5, there’s uncertainty about how effective he can be. But even a less-than-100-percent Bynum is better than none at all.
“If he can’t get back in defense transition-wise, and that’s one of the things they’re trying to attack with our first unit obviously when Andrew is out there . . . then obviously he’s going to hurt the team,” said Jackson. “But even with him dragging the leg around a little bit, he still helped us in situations last night getting rebounds. . . . Andrew still has the length and the strength to capture rebounds that we need. So we’ll use him if he’s available and able.”
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After two no-shows in L.A., Odom resurfaced in Games 3 and 4. And Jackson, knowing his long forward will be needed more than ever if Bynum is out, joked he “was thinking of an electrode, something that would really be a stimulus” to insure Odom gets going.
In Odom’s view, better ball movement is a must.
“We have to move the ball and be quicker. We just can’t stand around and watch. With [Bynum] out of the game, that’s not our strength. We have to move the ball to be able to get ourselves in offensive rebounding position, get guys open looks, make plays for others,” said Odom, who was 3-of-9 with eight points, 10 fouls and nine rebounds in Games 1 and 2 but 10-of-15 with 22 points and 12 rebounds in Games 3 and 4.
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Jackson on the tenor of the series: “I kind of anticipated this was going to be a back-and-forth series. I said the other day, it’s a lot of teeter-totter here, despair and elation, but we’re going to try and establish the fact that we’re going back to L.A. with a 3-2 lead.” . . . The rebounding has been one of the most consistent factors of the Finals. Win the glass, win the game. The team that has led in rebounding has won each game. . . . Boston beat L.A. on the offensive glass, 16-8, in Game 4. In the first three games, the Lakers held a 33-29 lead off the offensive boards.