EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - He always has been more of a question here than an answer, which can happen with a player still so inexperienced he hasn't figured out much beyond which locker room is his.

A year ago, it was Can Andrew Bynum make it back for the playoffs?

A week ago, it was Can Andrew Bynum make the difference in the playoffs?

Today, it's Can Andrew Bynum make a play in the playoffs?

The young center of the Lakers will be needed at some point during this postseason, needed to make a basket or a block, needed if this team is going to win the next NBA championship.

Mercifully for the Lakers, some point hasn't and almost certainly won't arrive against first-round opponent Utah.

Entering tonight's potential close-out Game 5, the Lakers, at center in this series, have been perplexing. Dare we say, they've been nearly Drew-less?

"Andrew is going to be real important for us," Coach Phil Jackson said Sunday. "We understand that."

We all understand that, sure, especially Bynum, even as he has delivered so little to date at a time when he expects so much from himself.

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He has played less in this series than Shannon Brown. He has 10 rebounds total, one fewer than Utah's Carlos Boozer had in the first quarter of Game 3. Josh Powell, in six minutes and 28 seconds, has more offensive rebounds than Bynum does in 10 times the playing time.

This hasn't been Bynum light; this has been Bynum flatly invisible.

He is tied for the team lead in one official statistical category: personal fouls. But this is only because there is no official statistical category for being flustered.

In the first quarter of Game 2, Bynum scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting, powering through whatever the Jazz attempted to use as discouragement. In the other 15 quarters of this series, he is 4 for 15 and has scored 13 points.

"Andrew is an important part of what we're trying to do," teammate Derek Fisher said. "I'm sure he's happy to be involved after missing last postseason. This has just been an unfortunate series for him."

First, it was the fouls, Bynum attracting more whistles than a Laker Girl. Discovering an effective rhythm in basketball is hard enough without trying to do so with a resting heart rate.

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Then, the Jazz welcomed back long-range shooting center Mehmet Okur, forcing Jackson to counter by starting the more perimeter-oriented Lamar Odom in Bynum's place.

The move worked out well Saturday for the Lakers, just not for Bynum, who was called for traveling moments after he first entered the game. What followed for him was a series of additional violations, some just against the good name of basketball.

"I don't think it's fluid yet for Andrew," Pau Gasol said. "The big thing is getting him comfortable out there again. When he's physically able to do what he needs to do that's when you'll see us at our best."

Bynum's barely breathing Game 4 performance included a 49-second appearance in the second quarter during which he did one thing — allow Boozer to grab an offensive rebound on a missed free throw.

The development was about as fundamentally flawed as basketball can get — at any level, never mind in the NBA playoffs.

"We all believe in Andrew, and he believes in himself," Gasol said. "The best part for us is he does the things that in the playoffs make the most difference."

Unfortunately, none of those things can be done from the bench, a seat so unwelcomed in this sport even coaches sometimes rarely remain there.

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So the Lakers returned to practice Sunday, working briefly on the floor and then watching video.

This was a team that needed a little post-trip rest, perhaps an afternoon nap. During a telling exchange, Fisher looked at a reporter and said, "I have no idea what you just asked me."

They have concerns going into Game 5, because these are the Lakers and nothing ever is settled. Foremost, there are a couple of ailing ankles at small forward. Trevor Ariza (right ankle) is expected to play, while Luke Walton (left) might not.

The Jazz chose not to conduct practice Sunday, Coach Jerry Sloan perhaps reasoning that if his players hadn't figured out the Lakers by now what difference was another day going to make?

Then there was Bynum, who continues his search for the player he once was and will be again, only better.

"We haven't been able to keep him on the court," Kobe Bryant said. "It's really that simple. He hasn't been able to find his game out there yet."

Bynum eventually will, if for no other reason than the playoffs lasting until roughly Labor Day.

For now, he really isn't needed. The Lakers appear to be OK, with or without him.

But Bynum must be an answer at some point, which is no small consideration as the questions keep getting tougher.

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