The Lakers are riding 33-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant too hard and the results have not been good for the Lakers.  The Lakers are only 12-9 on the year and they are averaging only 93 points per game.  Kobe Bryant has played in 21 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 38.6 minutes, 30.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He is having an awful time from three point range as he has only hit 28 of 96 (29.2%) shots from there.  The Lakers are going to wear out Kobe and they aren’t going to win many games if they don’t use Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and more of the team offensively in 2012.

31-year old small forward Matt Barnes has really played well in his last couple of games.  In his last two games, Barnes is averaging 33 minutes, 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 8 games (6 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 22.3 minutes, 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 blocked shots.  He is also shooting 52.3% from the floor so far this year, which is outstanding.  Barnes has cemented his role as the starting small forward of the Lakers due to his recent play.  They hope he can keep up the good work.

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.

32-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant is still playing at a very high level for the Lakers.  Bryant played in 82 games (all starts) last year for the Lakers and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 25.3 points, 5,1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Bryant has now played in 1,103 games (955 starts) in his first 15 years with the Lakers and he averaged 36.4 minutes, 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Bryant is already the Lakers’ all-time leader in points scored (27,868), games played (1,103) and three pointers made (1,418).  He is also #7 in rebounds (5,829), #3 in assists (5,154), #2 in steals (1,653) and he’s #7 in blocked shots (576).  The Black Mamba still has it despite dealing with knee issues all of last year.

Starting small forward Ron Artest looked like he was sleepwalking during the regular season, but with the bright lights of the playoffs on, he is really stepping up.  Artest has played in 4 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far against the Hornets in this series and he is averaging 33.5 minutes, 14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He is shooting well from everywhere on the floor in this series as he is hitting 52.5% of his shots from the floor, 46.2% (6 of 13) from three point range and 80% from the free throw line.  Artest is the X Factor for the Lakers in this series.

32-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant knows that playoff time is getting near so he’s taking his game to a higher level to get ready.  In his last five games, Bryant has averaged 34.0 minutes, 28.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  He has now played in 76 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 33.9 minutes, 25.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  The bright lights are about to go on in a couple weeks and Kobe Bryant appears ready to rock.

When Andrew Bynum returned to action, Lamar Odom was pushed back to his old bench role.  Odom has played in 7 games so far in March and he is averaging 27.1 minutes, 12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.  He has now played in 68 games (32 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 32.1 minutes, 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Odom keeps his head up despite getting less minutes and the Lakers are really lucky that he’s o.k. with the roll that they have given him.

It took a little while for 23-year old center Andrew Bynum to round into shape for the Lakers, but he is sharp right now.  In his last five games, Bynum is averaging 30.0 minutes, 11.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game on 55.6% shooting from the floor.  Bynum has now played in 37 games (30 starts) for the Lakers this season and he is averaging 26.1 minutes, 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  No team can match the Lakers’ front line when Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are all healthy, period.

30-year old power forward Pau Gasol had another solid month in February.  He played in 13 games for the Lakers this month and he averaged 36.5 minutes, 20.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.  Gasol has now played in 61 games (all starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 18.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  I know that Kobe gets all the pub in L.A., but Pau Gasol is just as important to that team.

30-year old C/PF Pau Gasol is off to a outstanding start to this month.  Gasol has played in 4 games so far this month and he is averaging 38.5 minutes, 24.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocked shots on 63.8% shooting from the floor.  Gasol has now played in 52 games (all starts) so far this year for the Lakers and he is averaging 37.4 minutes, 18.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  Gasol is the perfect Robin for Kobe’s Batman in L.A.