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Mihm To The Rescue

Authored by Scott Essman - November 7, 2005 - 6:57 pm

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Last night in Los Angeles, the Lakers received reliable help from several sources. Kobe Bryant poured in 37 points. Lamar Odom had 20 points. But the team got a boost where they don't always count on one: center Chris Mihm scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds en route to a 20-point thrashing of the Denver Nuggets, a team the Lakers barely beat in the season opener in Denver.

The 26-year-old Mihm, after turns in Cleveland and Boston, worked his way into being a nearly-25-minute-per-night man with the Lakers in the 2004-2005 season. In fact, last year, he averaged career highs of 9.8 points-per-game and 6.7 rebounds-per-game with Los Angeles. Last night, in somewhat of a surprise, the 7-foot 265-pound Mihm looked more like, well, Shaquille O'Neal.

With a career 7.6 points-per-game average and 5.4 rebounds-per-game, it would be a stretch for the Lakers to expect a performance similar to last night throughout this season. However, despite Bryant and Odom's contributions, without Mihm's 20 points, last night's game would have virtually beeen tied. If he even approximates what he accomplished last night, Mihm could be an integral factor on the Lakers this year.

Whether or not they depend on Mihm seems up to Mihm himself. He is new to Jackson's triangle offensive system, as are most Lakers. When motivated, Mihm seems to at the very least be a rebounding force.

Playing much of last night's game against Marcus Camby, who gives up 35 pounds in the matchup, Mihm seemed able to rebound at will. Of course, this will not be the case against many of the NBA's preeminent centers. Nevertheless, if Mihm can contribute even a fraction of what he did in Sunday's game, the Lakers will clearly benefit on many levels.