With a quarter of the season gone by, it’s been a season if highs and lows for the Lakers with the team coming out of the gates with an impressive 7-3 record before losing three straight games. After sweeping their two-game road trip to Minnesota and Denver this week and taking care of the Golden State at STAPLES, the Lakers stand at 12-8. Still on the verge of joining the next tier of teams in the Western Conference, but also close enough to the bottom that they should still be concerned about their playoff status. In true Hollywood style, Lakers.com doles out its quarter season awards:
Most Improved Player: Andrew Bynum
Determining the most surprising and the most improved Laker is pretty 
much a toss-up as both Farmar and Bynum fit well into either category. Andrew gets the nod here for showing up to camp in much better shape than last season, an increased sense of dedication that has led to a double-double average of 10 points and 10 rebounds per contest. The 20 year-old center has also established himself more on the defensive end this season, registering almost two blocks per game.
Most Disappointing Performance: Luke Walton, Lamar Odom
The voting committee just couldn’t seem to agree on this one (the same can probably be said for most Lakers fans), so both players take home the lofty title of most disappointing with one quarter of the season gone by. After Walton’s breakout season last year in which he was arguably the second best 
player on the court to Kobe Bryant in many games, Luke has not been able to assert himself on the offensive end, often seeming out of sync with a triangle offense that is apparently tailor made for his abilities. Last season, Walton showed uncanny confidence in his three-point shot; a year later and the forward looks afraid to shoot beyond ten feet in.
Odom has similarly disappointed thus far, evident in a fairly dramatic drop in his average in the three main statistical categories, resulting in an uninspiring 13 points, eight rebounds and only two assists. As has been the case for two post-seasons in a row (and some would argue, his entire career), Lamar tantalized the Lakers with his enormous potential, dominating the Phoenix Suns for extended stretches. Whether you want to blame it on a slower than normal recovery from off-season shoulder surgery or the fact that Odom just isn’t the best match with the Lakers is irrelevant; at the end of the day, the Lakers rely on Lamar to be their second assassin – something he has largely been incapable of so far this season.
Surprise Performance: Jordan Farmar
After the Lakers selected point guard Javaris Crittenton with the 19th pick in the first round of last year’s NBA draft, Farmar knew he had a battle for minutes at backup point guard ahead of him. Like the 
competitor he is, Jordan set out on a mission, working tirelessly on his game all summer long. If his play so far this season is any indicator, his hard work is definitely paying dividends as the former UCLA standout is averaging almost 10 points and three assists in 21 minutes of play to lead the Lakers bench mob. Moreover, Farmar has showed an impressive aptitude toward making clutch plays all season long, often remaining on the court well into the fourth quarter and sometimes, even finishing games for the Lakers.
Most Injured: Kwame Brown
For the second season in a row, Mr. Brown takes home the honor of being the Laker most prone to injury. 
Kwame is currently nursing two injuries – one to his ankle and the other to his knee – that have knocked him out of several games already with no timetable set for his return. Say what you want about Kwame and his inadequacies on offense; the man is a beast when it comes to defending the upper echelon big men and the Lakers desperately need his muscle inside if they have any chance of securing a higher playoff seed.
Best Overall Play
In case you missed it (or your TIVO didn’t record it), you’ve got to check out Kobe Bryant’s electrifying one-handed ally-oop dunk from Derek Fisher against the Orlando Magic last Sunday. Although Kobe rarely struts his former NBA Slam Dunk Champion skills these days, don’t mistake that with a deterioration of his game as #24’s still got the hops.
Best Overall Performance in a Single Game
We were tempted to give this award to Lamar Odom for his outstanding 25 points and 15 rebound effort in one of the Lakers’ strongest victories of the season over the Detroit Pistons, but we couldn’t ignore Kobe’s recent effort on the road against the Denver Nuggets in front of a hostile Pepsi Center crowd. While Bryant’s 24 point, six rebound, seven assist stat line seems pedestrian for #24, Kobe managed to upstage Allen Iverson’s huge 51 point outburst, coming through on a series of clutch shots in the fourth quarter to seal a important victory for the Lakers.
Best Overall Performance: Kobe Bryant
As usual, Mr. Bryant has led the Lakers charge, revamping his role a little to become more of a facilitator 
this season, evidenced by his five assists to go along with 27 plus points and over six rebounds per game. Kobe has also followed up his highly touted defensive effort for Team USA this summer by coming out and reclaiming his throne as one of the premier defenders in the league. Bryant also seems to have developed newfound chemistry with Andrew Bynum, a significant development following certain comments coming from Kobe’s camp this summer.
