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Updated: November 5, 2009, 11:55 AM ET

With Gasol out, Lakers' bench struggling

PER Diem: Nov. 5, 2009

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By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesIf the Lakers want to repeat, L.A.'s bench needs to stop kicking up its feet and start pulling its weight.

HOUSTON -- "Welcome to my world, Phil."

That's what 14 other Western Conference coaches are thinking after watching how the Lakers have had to scratch and claw their way to an uneven 4-1 start in the absence of Pau Gasol, who has been out with a hamstring injury.

While mentioning L.A.'s one-sided trade for Gasol two years ago remains the most expedient way to enrage a member of any other Western Conference coaching staff, L.A.'s ability to keep its head above water is reminiscent of a less-discussed aspect of that deal: The Lakers already were chasing the West's best record at the time of the trade.

That said, the Lakers' rockier-than-the-record-shows start (they've won two OT games and scored only five points more than the opposition thus far) also reflects another reality that's a huge departure from two seasons ago. Back then, the Lakers bench was monstrously productive, providing a 10-deep framework around Kobe Bryant that didn't demand he put up monstrous numbers -- or minutes -- for L.A. to win.

This season? Not so much. Shannon Brown, a key spark for the second unit in last year's postseason, has struggled to a 10.67 PER in the first five games … and most of the other Lakers reserves look upon his numbers with jealousy. Sasharapova Vujacic can't get out of his own way, with only four points on the season, and is in danger of falling out of the rotation entirely. Ditto for Luke Walton, who is still looking for his first free throw attempt and seemed tentative in his limited run last night. Jordan Farmar? Not even close. Despite his talents, he's shooting 29.4 percent from the floor with as many turnovers as assists.

The result is something that's come as a shock to veteran Lakers watchers: Jackson has been going to the whip hard and heavy in the season's first nine days. L.A. has three starters averaging more than 40 minutes a game -- something no player in the league did a year ago. While that's been exacerbated by the two overtime games, Kobe Bryant would be at 39.6 just with his regulation minutes.

The other trend that's less visible on the stat sheet but palpable to anyone in the gym is the absence of Gasol's length. With a healthy Gasol alongside Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, L.A. towers over most opponents in the paint.

Wednesday night, once again, the Lakers were killed on the defensive boards -- at times it seemed the Rockets' best play was having Trevor Ariza pass the ball off the rim to Carl Landry. In fact, allow me to present the year's most shocking stat thus far: L.A. is dead last in Defensive Rebound Rate at a paltry 67.3 percent.

Presumably, that will change once Gasol returns in the next few days. While it's unlikely he'll be available for the Scratchy Bearded Spanish Center world championships on Friday against brother Marc in Memphis, the Lakers seem optimistic that he could return early next week after an MRI confirmed his hamstring injury was only a strain.

But even with that good, there's some bad. Gasol's return would remove from the rotation the only L.A. reserve who has played anything resembling decent basketball. Josh Powell is off to a splendid start and earned praise from Jackson last night for a strong stint in the second quarter. Worse yet, Gasol may be coming just as his bookend 7-footer is going. Center Andrew Bynum hurt his elbow toward the end of last night's win in Houston and will be evaluated Thursday.

If both players can come back and Lamar Odom can return to his sixth man role, perhaps the worries over L.A.'s bench are all much ado about nothing. That's particularly true if L.A. can still swing a trade for some more backcourt help, with Adam Morrison's expiring $5.3 million deal providing the most obvious trading chip.

But the worry is that Jackson's riding of the starters so heavily so early will have damaging consequences as we get into the spring. Bryant is in exquisite shape, but he's 31 with more miles on his legs than any other 31-year-old in league history; perhaps it's hubris to take his indestructibility for granted. Veterans like Odom and Ron Artest are no spring chickens either, while Bynum's injury history makes him a risk with this much use.

Coming off an overtime game the previous night, Jackson said before the Houston game that he would need his bench and was reluctant to criticize it afterward. He's always saved his biggest daggers for pregame and shootarounds, so perhaps we'll hear something before they meet the Grizzlies on Friday.

But really, he doesn't have to say anything. What spoke volumes was his calling timeout to get Bryant back into the game after a mere 1:46 rest at the start of the fourth quarter because the Rockets were quickly pulling away. That can work as a one-off strategy in selected spots, and perhaps Jackson saw last night as such a case with Gasol's return imminent and 14 of the next 16 games at home.

If it's a nightly event, however, it will have huge implications down the road. Bryant can keep the Lakers afloat with his superman routine on any given night, but for L.A. to remain a top contender in June, the second unit is going to have to start pulling its weight.

A couple of other thoughts:

• If a team makes a decision that's clearly not working, it's always encouraging to see it make a quick course-correction. I don't know anybody who understood why Sacramento wanted Desmond Mason or why on earth he was starting, but the Kings' addition of Ime Udoka and the promotion of Andres Nocioni into the starting lineup represent a welcome change of direction for the Kings on that matter. Udoka provides exactly what the Kings were hoping they'd get with Mason -- a tough as nails defender on the wing -- with the added plus that he can shoot.

Similarly, Sacramento's Sean May experiment has worked only marginally better than Charlotte's similar trial a year ago, as he still appears too slow and out of shape to impact a game with his high skill level. Thus, the Kings' move to reinstate Spencer Hawes to the starting lineup -- after he finished three assists from a triple-double in an OT win over Memphis -- represents progress as well.

• A 6-foot-6 center on the All-Defense team? It sounds insane, but if Chuck Hayes keeps playing like this he might pull it off.

Hayes

Hayes has been one of the keys to Houston's surprising start with his ability to defend bigger players at the center position. He's listed at 6-6 and even that estimate seems optimistic, but he's so good at getting leverage and pushing opposing big men away from the rim that he's a very effective interior defender regardless. And unlike most bigs who defend the post, he also can step out to the 3-point line and pick up smaller players.

We knew this already about Hayes, but what's made him a viable performer this season is that he's become more willing to shoot and finish around the basket. Last season he seemed terrified to shoot at times and finished the year averaging a meager 4.2 points per 40 minutes, along with the worst true shooting percentage in basketball at a horrifying 37.5.

He'll never be George Gervin, but this year he's accepted all the layups that have come his way, and those have been frequent given how often opponents gamble off him to double other Houston players. Hayes scored 14 points last night and is averaging 8.8 on the season; he's done it efficiently, shooting 64.7 percent from the floor. This is not as big an aberration as you might think, as Hayes shot 56.2 percent and 57.3 percent in his first two pro seasons, with 40-minute scoring rates of 11.0 and 10.2.

If Hayes can keep producing at that level, it makes him enough of an offensive weapon to keep him on the floor for his defense. His stout D, in turn, is a big reason Houston remains a tough defensive squad despite being, in the words of teammate Shane Battier, "the shortest team in history."