FanHouse Andrew Bynum

One of the things that makes the Lakers one of the league's best teams is the size and skill of their two biggest frontcourt players, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But Gasol has yet to play a game for the team in this young season, and now it looks like Bynum will miss some time as well with an elbow injury.

Both players are listed as doubtful for Friday night's game against Memphis, and if neither ends up being able to go, the Lakers will be forced to use some rather interesting lineups.

Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective.

Surprisingly, the Timberwolves were able to make a game out of last night's contest against the Celtics. The C's pulled it off in the end, but the T-Wolves kept it close from the opening tip, and actually had the lead for most of the game.

The star of the game just so happened to be Oleksiy Pecherov, who I mentioned in Tuesday's post as a guy to add in deep leagues. Well, standard leagues, it's time to become acquainted with Mr. Pecherov. He posted a game high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds, one three-pointer and a steal. You won't see him lead the T-Wolves in scoring often, but he does have the ability to put up 15 points on a given night, adding some nice range for a big man.

The Celtics were led by Rajon Rondo who had 18 points, six assists and three steals. I'm standing by my claim that he's going to lead the league in steals. Kevin Garnett added 12 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, a steal and a burning desire to win.

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

You have to know it killed me to dub Andrew Bynum, a Laker, as the league's 24th best player in advance of the 2008-09 season. As a Kings fan, I should have aligned myself with all the "prove it for more than 30 games" chaps who tried to convince me Bynum, surrounded by stars, played over his head during the abbreviated 2007-08 campaign.

Bynum's muted (but still effective) 2008-09 season served as relief for my Royal Purple heart, but confusion for my rational, "this kid's a beast!" mind. Until, of course, I checked the end-of-season numbers, where -- according to John Hollinger's PER -- Bynum finished the year as the league's 24th best player. Hmph.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The Lakers are coming off of a championship season, and are the favorites to take home the title again in 2010. But with the virtual trade of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest, along with the media circus created by Lamar Odom's whirlwind marriage to a reality television personality, they've certainly inserted enough wild cards into their stacked deck to make even the most die-hard of fans question the team's ability to repeat as champions.

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The Lakers opened the preseason on Wednesday, and while the story lines going in were mainly about Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum (who both looked fabulous), when it was over, all anyone was talking about was Shannon Brown.

Since most teams in the league haven't even played two preseason games yet, I don't think it's an exaggeration to call Brown's insane dunk over the seven-foot tall Mikki Moore the highlight of this very, very young season. And judging by the reaction on the internets, this play might stay at the top of the list for quite some time.

The video clip awaits, after the jump.

There was a time when you couldn't ever find a photo of Andrew Bynum on a practice court with that hulking icon of Lakers lore, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right behind him. When the Lakers drafted Bynum in the lottery in 2005, they attached KAJ to his hip, to be a mentor and basketball sensai.

Bynum has otherworldly talent, and a dominating physique. He has shown glimpses of pending stardom. But it never seemed like his spirit or head were fully on board with the Kareem Sessions, at least from the armchair vantage point. Bynum has always seemed preoccupied with proving he doesn't need help than with actually accepting it.

This is why it's not particularly surprising to see the Los Angeles Daily News's Ramona Shelburne report that Kareem and Bynum have effectively broken up.

Bylaws have been checked. Rules have been scrutinized.

And, yes, it has been determined the West must start a center in February's All-Star Game in Dallas.

So, gentlemen, lace up your high tops. The race to be the starting center for the West is as wide open as the Yukon Territory.

Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle until your third cup of coffee?

As the opening of NBA training camps approach, we'll start breaking down the league by position, presenting our biased opinions with an eye on personal prejudices and the upcoming season. Remember, it's not who the best was last season -- that's history -- but who will be the best over the next 82 games and into the playoffs.

Since we're starting with centers, we'll have to begin by discussing those we don't like this season.

ORLANDO -- Phil Jackson might not be around to see this through – how about Pat Riley for his replacement? – but it looks like the Lakers are well positioned to become the first team to successfully defend an NBA title since they made it three in a row earlier this decade.

All the key guys will be back next season. Mark it down. Winning will make it happen.

Whenever the Lakers win this 2009 title – Game 5, 6 or 7, take your choice -- they will go into the summer prepared to start talking about a repeat.

Free agency doesn't scare them. Not when you're one of the richest franchises in the league, determined to keep this title run going. Not when they saw what happened to the Celtics, who let role-playing James Posey leave in free agency after they won a championship, only to regret his absence all season.

ORLANDO – We all should have seen this one coming, especially after Stuff had a better warmup than Andrew Bynum.

Orlando's mascot stood at half court, turned his back to the goal and flipped the ball over his head toward the basket.

Money.

It was either Stuff or Rafer Alston dressed in a furry green suit. Whoever it was, Tuesday night's tone had been set.