The Others

I don’t watch Lost, so forgive me for borrowing the term, but there’s another group of “Others” performing well lately. I’m talking about the supporting cast for the 11-1 Los Angeles Lakers.

The Others have always been an overlooked staple of Phil Jackson’s championship teams. Look back and you’ll find his best teams were loaded with standout role players.

A standout role player isn’t a star. On the contrary, they are players that complement a team’s stars. They make it possible for the stars to do star player things—namely scoring points—while covering up for them in other areas.

Phil Jackson has coached some of the league’s ultimate Others, including Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Horace Grant, Ron Harper, Robert Horry and Brian Shaw. But the supporting cast on this year’s Lakers may be the best collection of Others that Jackson has ever coached.

Of course, you need the stars in place first in order for The Others to be effective. The Lakers made that happen last season when they traded for Pau Gasol and teamed him with Kobe Bryant. That gave L.A. the dynamic duo they had lacked since they traded Shaquille O’Neal in 2004.

Depending on your label of Andrew Bynum, you could argue that the Lakers have three stars. But the numbers don’t quite back it up—not yet anyway. Bynum is likely a star-in-waiting, but for the time being, he’s just a beast of an Other.

In fact, one could argue that Bynum was the missing Other from last year’s team. His size, strength and toughness gives the Lakers an intimidating presence in the middle, which helps everyone else on the defensive end. He also improves their offensive and defensive rebounding, averaging more than 9 rebounds per game.

Bynum’s return from last season’s injury—combined with the acquisition of Gasol—also allows the Lakers to bring another dynamic Other off the bench: Lamar Odom. At 6’10” Odom has the length of a center with the playmaking ability of a guard. His ability to check his ego at the door and become a sixth man for the first time in his career gives coach Jackson such flexibility with the roster.

Need shooters? Insert clutch point guard Derek Fisher, 6’10” sharpshooter Vladimir Radmanovich and “The Machine” Sasha Vujacic, who still hasn’t seen a shot he didn’t like.

Looking to pick up the pace and press? Turn to defensive stopper Trevor Ariza and lightning-quick point guard Jordan Farmar.

Looking for an extra passer, someone to make smart decisions in critical situations? There’s Luke Walton on your bench.

Teams dare not try to play a big lineup against the Lakers. No one in the league can match the size and versatility of a frontline of Gasol-Bynum-Odom. And when teams go small, the Lakers really don’t lose anything by replacing Gasol/Bynum and Radmanovich with Odom and Vujacic.

There are many reasons why the Lakers are off to such a great start, but rather than focusing on the reigning MVP Kobe Bryant, the first full season working with Pau Gasol or their Zen Master coach, give credit to The Others. Depth is a valuable asset in the marathon that is the NBA season. And the Lakers are running at a very impressive pace out the gate.