But he's gone missing.

While the Lakers split Games 3 and 4 at EnergySolutions Arena to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, Bynum contributed less than Sasha Vujacic or Luke Walton.

He played a combined total of 14 minutes, finishing with six points, three rebounds, seven fouls and two turnovers.

In Game 4, Lamar Odom replaced Bynum in the starting lineup.

Presumably, coach Phil Jackson will go with Odom again tonight, when the Lakers try to advance beyond the first round in the playoffs for the 19th time since 1984.

Asked why Bynum played such a minor role in Game 4, Jackson said, quot;I was just going to do it by my intuition, which you have to do.quot;

According to Jackson, Utah's small lineup -- used out of necessity because center Memo Okur has been hampered by a hamstring injury -- forced his hand.

quot;Sometimes they had [Andrei] Kirilenko at four and sometimes they had [Matt] Harpring at four,quot; Jackson explained. quot;They went real small. They went to a speed team -- an outside shooting team.quot;

Hinting that Bynum still isn't 100 percent after missing 32 late-season games because of his injury, Jackson added, quot;He's starting to work himself into the condition we want him to have.quot;

Is Bynum upset?

quot;I know he's unhappy,quot; Jackson said. quot;But that's what we asked him to do, so that's what he had to do.quot;

Even without the expected contribution from Bynum, the Lakers are rolling merrily along against Utah, which is shooting only 44 percent for the series.

In 16 quarters, the Jazz have scored less than 20 points four times.

quot;If we're going to win a championship,quot; said Kobe Bryant, quot;it has to be defensively. We're a great offensive team, but you can't be 'on' every night. So it's important to [play] defense first and foremost.quot;

Nobody expects the Lakers to lose focus now that they need only one win over Utah to advance to the second round and play the Houston-Portland winner.

But Jackson is cautious, saying the Jazz will be difficult to eliminate.

quot;This is the NBA,quot; he said. quot;These guys are a team that went to the [conference] finals two years ago. Last year, they went to the second round. This is not a team to be under-played.quot;

Trevor Ariza, who averaged 17 points in Games 1 and 2 at home and only seven points in Games 3 and 4 in Utah, agrees.

quot;It will be important to finish it at home,quot; he said. quot;... Guys need rest. People have been playing a lot of minutes. If we could close it out at home, it would be great. But this is a tough team that fights all the way to the end. It's going to be a tough game, no matter what.quot; Better at home

The Lakers' statistics in Games 1 and 2 at home, compared to Games 3 and 4 in Utah: