Lamar on the importance of the second-unit

Ronny Turiaf is off in Golden State. Sasha Vujacic is working his way back form an ankle injury, but the Lakers so-called “Bench Mob” is still the Bench Mob until further notice.

“Absolutely,” point guard, and Bench Mob headliner Jordan Farmar said, when asked if the unit was keeping it’s name, despite losing Turiaf to the Warriors. “We do miss him though.”

Personality-wise, there’s probably no one in the league who could completely fill Ronny’s shoes. But on the court, now that Lamar Odom seems to have joined the youthful gang, the Lakers second-unit might even be better.

In Sunday’s exhibition win over the Raptors, the second unit turned a 70-70 tie into a 112-89 blowout win.

“I’ve always said, We’re only going to be a great team when we play well when Kobe is out of the game, because that instills fear in teams,” Odom said. `It gives them confidence when he’s (Kobe’s) the one who’s doing everything. When we’re out there moving the ball, playing well off the bench, it really destroys teams mentally.”