It seems that the sky is really the limit on this young big man. Lately, I’ve been seeing some medium range jumpers from Andrew Bynum and I must say it’s a useful skill to keep defenses honest. Already, Bynum is becoming the anti-Shaq. Bynum has improved his midrange jumper and shoots better freethrows than Shaq.

What worries me about this 42-point explosion against the Clippers yesterday is that it may divert Bynum’s focus from defense to offense. The Lakers have enough offensive power, what they need is a defensive presence. Most nights Andrew provides the defense but the Lakers will need it consistently from him if they are to win it all this season.

Coincidental with Andrew Bynum’s career high is Kobe Bryant’s second triple-double in three games. For years I have been silently wishing Kobe Bryant would play (offensively) like Magic Johnson rather than Michael Jordan.  I’m sure you know the difference – Magic was a playmaker while Jordan was a scorer.

Could it be that Bynum’s explosion, together with Kobe’s all-around game, was brought about by Kobe’s injured ring finger?  My suspicion is that Kobe cannot launch the ball as much as he could with two injured fingers in the same dominant hand.  Now, Kobe’s injury forces him to defer to his teammates more than ever.

On the other hand, Kobe has been playing “playmaker” the past couple of games even before injuring his ring finger.  Do you think Kobe realized that the only way to catch up with Lebron in the MVP race is to do a Chris Paul or a Steve Nash?

Now, Kobe insists he isn’t after the MVP plum.  I love Kobe but I just don’t know his ambitions (they are very high, I presume).  An MVP trophy with a Finals MVP trophy, with a Finals trophy seems like the ultimate season for a guy like Kobe.

My opinion is this – whatever intentions Kobe has, the only way for the Lakers to really have a chance to win it all is for him to be a playmaker (and a defensive stopper), and not be a scoring machine/beast.  It seems to me Kobe is starting to do just that.

Personally, I think the MVP award is a curse.  If you win it, most likely, your team won’t win the last game of the season.