Mmmmmmmmmbenga

by KobeisGod on Oct 23, 2009 6:12 PM PDT

Yes, we love his name. Yes, we love his appearance. But, could we soon fall in love with DJ Mbenga's game? 461706693_medium

Last night, with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol sidelined with injuries, Phil Jackson turned to DJ to start at center. To be, honest coming into this game, I was thinking, "Oh man, what if this type of situation popped up in the season, or even worse the playoffs." Obviously, this game had other "headlines", such as Kobe going for 23 (including that nasty spin and-1 on Kenyon Martin) and Lamar going 5-7 from three, but DJ was a pleasant (but not so pleasant for the Nuggets big's) surprise. He had a monster 7 blocks to go along with 8 points. So, could Mbenga become a non-garbage time player that plays when all the big's are healthy????

Lakers vs. Nuggets highlights

Poll

Could DJ Mbenga become a rotation big-man who plays in non-garbage time, even when all the Laker's big men are healthy?

Yes, DJ has proven he's ready for more minutes.

51 votes

No, one decent game should not make DJ's minutes increase.

32 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

i picked no

his performance was great but it has yet to be seen if he can do it on a consistent basis..
the lakers should test him out again especially in some regular season games to see if he should get more minutes…

Because when I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven and the age of Romanticism....

by shaqfor3 on Oct 23, 2009 7:01 PM PDT reply actions

He has the ability

He just needs to be given a shot. But with too many big men that is not possible.

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Oct 23, 2009 7:46 PM PDT reply actions

He has glimpses

but he is not equipped with what the Lakers need out of a non-garbage time/fill-in player at the center position. We’ve seen that he can block shots and be physical, we’ve seen that he can hit the jumper when the opportunity arises, but there are still a lot of questions in Mbenga’s game.

Does he have a post game? I think one of my favorite parts of the first game against the Nuggets was watching him back someone down and make a basket. Does he have a passing game? Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I can’t think of many times when I’ve thought to myself, “self, Mbenga is one heck of a passer!” However, that probably comes because he hasn’t proven himself on the court to warrant more attention at the offensive end to be in the position to be making great passes to open players. At this point, Mbenga is one of the guys the other teams dare to beat them.

All that said, I hope he burns them when given the opportunity.

by stephens on Oct 23, 2009 10:58 PM PDT reply actions

He's a third string center

Don’t put any weight into preseason performances. He has serious limitations at the offensive end, rebounds very poorly for his size, and while his energy and hustle are great in a limited role, he’s prone to making mistakes (namely bad turnovers or goaltends) if given an enlarged responsibility.

As a third string center who plays at the end of quarters or in foul trouble, he’s terrific. As an actual part of the rotation of a championship team, not so much.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

by Ben R on Oct 24, 2009 12:25 AM PDT reply actions

MBENGA is the ultimate icing on the cake! I would love to see him have more minutes because that means the lakers are killing their opponents and the game is already over.

He is fun to watch, and mbenga is synonmous with TACOS!!!

In Kobe we trust!

by robi s on Oct 27, 2009 3:50 PM PDT reply actions