Indeed Phil thinks it's the Kwams taking up space in the paint, both providing a D presence and if not gettng the O rebound at least challenging the opponent for it that makes Kwame vital to Lakers playoff success.
I was thinking about this and what came to mind was that Mychal Thompson was one of the best post defenders I have ever seen. He couldn't guard 7 footers too well but he rarely got faked out by opponents, he always seemed to be in perfect position to defend the post. He wouldn't block anyone's shot but players had to shoot over him, even Kevin McHale could not get his normal easy post buckets because Mychal always kept himself betweent the opponent and the basket.
Kwame is very much the same way but I'm not sure how much of that is good fundamentals and smarts, more like he's too slow and dumb to get faked out, but I'm really not sure how he does what he does. He just stands there and takes up space. I don't think he's much of a defender, he's just so big and strong that you can't bull him over and shooting over or threw a guy like that is very difficult. I am actually sorry to hear he is out right now. Still, the Lakers are not a contender right now, they need some more tools or for players like Odom, Bynum and Walton to fulfill their promise/expectations (not that Walton was pegged as a major deal).
