Whispers abounded that 29-year old PF/C Pau Gasol was soft but he showed anyone that said that was wrong as he handled Dwight Howard quite well in the NBA Finals last season. Gasol will start at power forward but he will slide to center and get quite a few minutes there this season. Gasol played in 81 games for the Lakers last season and he averaged 37.0 minutes, 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Gasol will likely put up big numbers again this season for the Lakers. 29-year old Lamar Odom has re-signed with the Lakers and he will play a lot of power forward this season. Odom played in 78 games for the Lakers last season and he averaged 29.7 minutes, 11.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Odom would have no problem getting big numbers if a injury put him into the starting lineup. 26-year old Josh Powell will be #3 in line for the Lakers this season. He played in 60 games for the Lakers last season and he averaged 11.7 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: A