Dunleavy on Lakers, Bynum

The Lakers almost let one get away from them tonight. They squandered a 19-point lead and then had to scramble to beat the Clippers, 88-85. Clippers guard Baron Davis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that could have tied the score at 88-all. Lakers forward Trevor Ariza had him blanketed and Davis' shot missed badly from the left wing.

Of equal or greater interest, at least to me, was a series of comments from Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy on the Lakers and center Andrew Bynum before the game. Dunleavy believes Bynum's return from a knee injury will make the Lakers "just that much better."

Here's more:

"Just that size in the middle, shot-blocking, just that extra body," Dunleavy said. "Gasol doesn't have to play as a primary defender. ... Offensively, Bynum is so long that he gets them a lot of easy buckets. He rolls to the bucket and you have to pick him up. If you don't pick him up, it's a dunk. If you do, it leaves somebody else open."