L.A. Times: The Lakers haven’t played a quarter of the 2007-08 season but it’s clear that a major weakness for them is a lack of toughness when center Kwame Brown is not in the lineup.
Brown, who has missed the last eight games because of a sprained ankle and knee, may be offensively challenged but he provides a physical presence for the Lakers.
“The only missing part that I have always insisted about is that we need a tough guy on this team,” Coach Phil Jackson said about the Lakers, who start a two-game trip at Minnesota on Tuesday.
“Kwame Brown has been that guy for us. Even though he’s not personality-wise, but physically, he is a guy who can knock people around and seal our middle. That’s what is missing and we miss him when he’s out.”
It’s not that Brown, at 6-feet-11 and 270 pounds, is the Lakers’ only big man. But Brown is the team’s most equipped to get the job done.
Andrew Bynum, the team’s 20-year old 7-foot center, is still learning on the job and has to pick his spots when to be aggressive in order to stay out of foul trouble.
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