"Maybe it got lost in all the angst over the New Orleans Hornets pushing the Lakers to six games in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers have been so good for so long and set a standard so high for themselves even the most fleeting crisis gets overly magnified and analyzed and, in the process, allows something important to slip by barely noticed. So while everyone was freaking out over Chris Paul having his way with the Lakers, Pau Gasol struggling through an uneven series and Kobe Bryant's sprained left ankle we pretty much ignored a landmark Lakers' development. One the rest of the NBA should heed, starting with the Dallas Mavericks, who take on the Lakers in the Western Conference

Andrew Bynum experienced a growth surge. A significant one, too. The Lakers never may be the same as a result and it puts the Mavericks in a precarious position. They went out and got 7-footers Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood specifically to combat the size of the Lakers should they match up in the postseason. Chandler is an accomplished defender and Haywood provides a big body to lean on the Lakers, but this is a matchup very much in the two-time defending champions' favor."