"Let me just say there's no reason to keep reminding bill.plaschke @latimes.com that he was so misguided, so wrong, and if you will, a Lakers saboteur.

If you want to email him, go ahead. But not me.

But I would like to know why bill.plaschke@latimes.com didn't want the Lakers to win the championship this season. There's no way the Lakers can win it without Andrew Bynum.

"I'm sure (bill.plaschke@latimes.com) wasn't the only one who thought Andrew should be traded," said Derek Fisher. "But I'll tell you, I don't hear anything now from the boo birds (or bill.plaschke@latimes.com)."

Sure there were others who wanted Bynum traded, players from New Orleans, Dallas and every other possible Lakers playoff opponent who was hoping for the chance to win a championship.

Bynum has now become the single biggest reason why every team in the league lacks the answer to hang with the Lakers.

As Fisher said, "I think it's still understated what Bynum has meant to this team. Obviously Kobe, Pau, Lamar and Ron Artest deserve the credit they get, but I think more times than not it's understated for Bynum because his stats don't jump out at you."

In short, and that's funny to say about a big guy, he's a game changer. He had 18 points in Thursday's close-out game, a dozen rebounds and a pair of blocks.

It might not be enough for bill.plaschke@latimes.com, but it caught the attention of New Orleans' Chris Paul.

"He's three times bigger than anybody else on the court," said Paul. "He had an outstanding series."

And then with a sigh of hopelessness, Paul added, "He hit a step-back jumper with the clock running down.""