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Created by The Core DJ's Jul 6, 2014 at 4:18pm. Last updated by The Core DJ's Jul 6, 2014.

Thursday April 9th marks the return of the Los Angeles Lakers’ big man Andrew Bynum, who has missed 32 games due to his injury. Two questions, why this Thursday versus the nuggets, and how much better are the Lakers bringing him back this close to the playoffs?

First off there are only 5 games left in the season, if the Lakers hope to reestablish the chemistry that Bynum had with the rest of the team then now may not be soon enough. Too often in the past, at least in regards to basketball, we’ve seen guys come back to their teams after being gone for long periods of time and totally ruin the chemistry that their team developed in their absence.

Take the Houston Rockets for example; If T-Mac decided he was ready to play next week after being gone for over a month, the Rockets would struggle trying to implement him back into the groove that they already have going. It’s the same thing the Utah Jazz are going through right now with all their players finally back on the floor, from their injuries. Though they’re still a good team they seem to struggle on the road, something they have to get over if they want to get past the first round of the playoffs.

Right now with the standings the way they are the Jazz coincidentally would play the Lakers first with L.A. having home court advantage. And with Bynum back that’s not a situation any team is getting excited about, except the Lakers of course. L.A. was 37-9 with Bynum and 29-7 with out him. Their scoring average was 108.3 before his injury down to 104.8 since. The Lakers are already dominant, and now you insert Bynum, that means the rest of the league is officially on notice.

Bringing back Bynum with 5 games left in the season gives Phil Jackson time to assess what Bynum can do, and just how far he can push himself before the playoffs start. If he see’s Bynum playing like he did at the beginning of the season then he can plan for him starting and carrying on like he was never gone. But if he notices Bynum doesn’t have the wind that he did before, then you may see him coming off the bench.

If Phil Jackson is really focused he’ll notice that Odom is finally comfortable in his role, and may not want to throw him all out of whack just yet. But think about this line up Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Bryant, and Farmar. Even if you swap Odom out for Ariza, those two guys in the frontcourt make it a long night for coaches to plan for.

Without Bynum I felt like any team had a legitimate chance against the Lakers. Everyone from Cleveland to Portland, but with Bynum the only team that truly stands a chance is the Celtics. Normally I would say the Spurs, but Ginobli is out for the season, and he’s always a true weapon for San Antonio, but without him the Spurs will be lucky if they see the conference finals.

To beat the Lakers version 2.0 the “Bynum Edition” you have to have a dominant perimeter player to match up against Kobe Bryant, and keep him working, but you also must have an inside presence to take on the twin towers of Gasol, and Bynum. And lastly the rest of your supporting cast, have got to be ready to contribute. Outside the Boston Celtics few teams can challenge the Lakers, but over the next few days we’ll break down the one’s who can.

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