Bynum Update: 4-3-09

[TheMACHINE]

He hopes to be back April 12 against Memphis.....:sleep

WHY MEMPHIS!!!



http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/la-sp-lakers3-2009apr03,0,7716123.story?track=rss

Bynum has missed 29 games recovering from a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, but he had been training and playing with free agents when the Lakers were on the road. Bynum said he was hopeful that he could play in the last two regular-season games, projecting the Memphis game April 12 at Staples Center as his first one.

"I can't project," Coach Phil Jackson said Thursday, "but there is a chance that he could play in a game before the season is over."

Jackson watched Bynum play three-on-three and noted some progress.

"He's got some hop in his legs," Jackson said. "He looked to block shots -- those type of things that you look for, reactive things and recovery things, both going up quickly and not thinking about it and coming down and containing his body balance and his strength.

"His timing is going to be a little bit off. That's going to be normal. . . . DJ [Mbenga] ate him up today, but that's not unusual. DJ is right in the heart of things."

Bynum averaged 17.9 points on 58.8% shooting, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 31.4 minutes in 15 games in January before he was injured.

The Lakers play the Houston Rockets tonight at home.

Bynum will do more at practice Saturday, but as far as playing in five-on-five competition, Jackson said that might be "delayed" until next week.

Bynum's conditioning remains an issue, but it's not something that concerned Jackson. "This is more about strength and that injury to that knee and the strength of that knee coming back," Jackson said.

After the Lakers beat Milwaukee on Wednesday to end their trip, Bynum's teammates had some common goals for the rest of the season.

"Get some momentum for the playoffs and get some practice time hopefully with Andrew," forward Lamar Odom said.

Or, as Kobe Bryant said: "Go back home, see how Drew's feeling and go from there."

To a man, the Lakers seemed excited by the prospect of Bynum's return, particularly Pau Gasol, who has logged heavy minutes since sliding over from power forward to center in place of Bynum.

"I look forward to seeing how healthy he is and seeing him out there again," Gasol said. "Obviously, he's a big piece of our future, our present even. In the playoffs, I think he's going to have a big impact, so we want to get him healthy, we want to get him playing out there."

As for the trip, the Lakers seemed pleased overall.

Although the Lakers failed to score 100 points in two consecutive games during their trip for the first time since November, they rebounded from losses in Atlanta and Charlotte with a 104-98 victory at Milwaukee to finish 5-2 on their longest trip this late in the season in team history.

"I think every team in the NBA on a seven-game road trip would take 5-2," Odom said. "Those two that got away from us, we felt like we could have won them."

Said Bryant: "We did well. We're happy with it. We'll take it."

The Lakers are now two games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA. They are 2 1/2 ahead of Boston and 3 1/2 ahead of Orlando.

Jackson was asked if the Lakers had a chance to overtake Cleveland for the best record, would he play Bryant and Gasol 35 minutes or more in a game?

"Yeah," Jackson said quickly.

[tlongII]

Why not the 10th???

[BUMP]

it would be hilarious if he got hurt again

[Thunder Dan]

he will be horse glue by May

[Spursfan092120]

So the guy can walk around with Playboy Bunnies on his shoulders, but will be out for another 2 weeks? Nice.

[21_Blessings]

4/12/2009: The day the NBA becomes completely fucked for the next 5 years.

[Ghazi]

4/12/2009: The day the NBA becomes completely fucked for the next 5 years.

Backdoor fucking sweep

[DrHouse]

Deep down no NBA fan can be happy about this news other than Laker fans.

100% or not Bynum coming back is going to change things.

[Spursfan092120]

Yeah, the best team in the league is about to add the 3rd best center in the league to their bench...lol
You are out of your ever loving mind. What has he done to prove anything? First off, Duncan plays center now...He's definitely not better than Tim...

Centers that are better than Bynum
1. Dwight Howard
2. Tim
3. Shaq
4. Yao
5. Amare
6. Rasheed

There's probably more..this is just off the top of my head.

[Ghazi]

Sheed is not better than Bynum.

[Spursfan092120]

Sheed is not better than Bynum.
agree to disagree.

[Def Rowe]

Some nights Amare is not better than Bynum.

[Spursfan092120]

Some nights Amare is not better than Bynum.
Some nights any player is not as good as another player. But overall, Amare is world's better than Bynum.

[sook]

I'm glad, Yao owns Bynum. Leaving Pau out of the post, the Kobe Pau pick n roll is devastating because Yao can't guard it and plus, Pau just shoots jumpers in his face all day. Pau didn't score once on landry the 5-6 posessions he was guarding him.

[The Gemini Method]

You are out of your ever loving mind. What has he done to prove anything? First off, Duncan plays center now...He's definitely not better than Tim...

Centers that are better than Bynum
1. Dwight Howard
2. Tim
3. Shaq
4. Yao
5. Amare
6. Rasheed

There's probably more..this is just off the top of my head.

Wait, so Duncan's going into the hall of fame as a C or PF? Ask Amare what position he plays. Is he really going to say center?

I would rate it like this with true centers being the actual premise:

1. Dwight Howard
2. Yao
3a. Shaq
3b. Bynum

I tie the bottom two because Shaq is having a helluva a season, but Bynum was beginning to come into his own before going down again. I'm not sure what the Lakers' record would've been if he didn't get hurt.

Either way, its good news for the Lakers because it means the bench will be bolstered by him being added to it or Odom being returned as the point forward for the 2nd unit.

[Spursfan092120]

Wait, so Duncan's going into the hall of fame as a C or PF? Ask Amare what position he plays. Is he really going to say center?

I would rate it like this with true centers being the actual premise:

1. Dwight Howard
2. Yao
3a. Shaq
3b. Bynum

I tie the bottom two because Shaq is having a helluva a season, but Bynum was beginning to come into his own before going down again. I'm not sure what the Lakers' record would've been if he didn't get hurt.

Either way, its good news for the Lakers because it means the bench will be bolstered by him being added to it or Odom being returned as the point forward for the 2nd unit.
Agreed that it's a good addition to the Lakers' bench, but I still don't think he's a 3rd best C in the league. Duncan plays Center..that's his position..which means he's a Center...It doesn't matter what position he goes into the HOF in..it matters what position he's playing. If we're talking present, we have to speak of present times.

[tlongII]

Why not the 10th???

[21_Blessings]

Some nights any player is not as good as another player. But overall, Amare is world's better than Bynum.

This is only true if you completely ignore defense all together forgetting it's half the game.

Bynum's defense is WORLDS better than Amare.

Head to head last season, Bynum completely dominated Amare on both ends of the court.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200712250LAL.html

[Spursfan092120]

This is only true if you completely ignore defense all together forgetting it's half the game.

Bynum's defense is WORLDS better than Amare.

Head to head last season, Bynum completely dominated Amare on both ends of the court.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200712250LAL.html
I can agree Bynum is better defensively...but overall, I'm putting Amare on my team before Bynum..no questions asked.

[lefty]

it would be hilarious if he got hurt again

What would be hilarious: Gasol getting injured vs Memphis for the rest of the season

Karma can be a bitch, Jerry West :D

[j.dizzle]

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/090401bynumcontinuestoprogress.html

damn bynum look like hes been bench pressing some playmates. Lookin lean as hell, I didnt think he was moving this nice already..Good Job big fella :toast

[Allanon]

According to Odom, Bynum's coming back on Sunday or the game after.

[TheMACHINE]

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/090401bynumcontinuestoprogress.html

damn bynum look like hes been bench pressing some playmates. Lookin lean as hell, I didnt think he was moving this nice already..Good Job big fella :toast

Bynum looks huge!

Brings a tear to my eye.

[2Cleva]

Looks like Bynum will play vs Denver - only reason why not against Sac is because it'll be an uptempo game.


Is starting best for Bynum?

10:53 PM PDT on Sunday, April 5, 2009

By JEFF EISENBERG
The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - Instead of easing Andrew Bynum back into the rotation the way he suggested he would last month, Coach Phil Jackson may throw his young center right back into the fray.

Jackson said Sunday he's leaning toward immediately inserting Bynum into the starting lineup when he returns later this week, so that his injured right knee will not get stiff from inactivity after pregame warmups. A lack of stamina will likely limit Bynum to six- or seven-minute bursts, but Jackson was encouraged by how well the big man played in his first 5-on-5 action during Saturday's practice.

"He looks good," Jackson said. "He did well, he stood out and he was aggressive. The other practice D.J. (Mbenga) kind of ate him up on Thursday, but this one he was the dominant force in there."

More than two months have elapsed since Bynum tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a collision with Kobe Bryant in Memphis. Bynum will not travel with the Lakers for Tuesday's game in Sacramento because Jackson fears the pace will be too quick for him to make an impact, but there's a chance he'll be cleared to play as soon as Thursday night's home game against Denver.

One psychological hurdle Bynum still must clear is his uneasiness playing against Memphis, the Lakers' opponent when he got hurt this year and when he suffered a season-ending left knee injury a year ago. The Lakers host the Grizzlies on Sunday in their second-to-last regular season game.

"The fact that both of the injuries came against Memphis, and that Memphis is one of the teams coming up is something we've registered because he has expressed it," Jackson said. "I told him it's not about Memphis. It's about the situation that happened. It's not the type of team or the color of the uniform."

The most obvious candidate to come off the bench when Bynum returns would be Lamar Odom, whose ball-handling and facilitating skills could ease the burden on struggling backup guards Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar. The second unit played its best the first half of the season with Odom as its leader, but Jackson would not reveal whether the veteran forward would go back to the bench.

"I'm not going to go into that yet," he said.


http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/breakout/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_lakers_notes_06.44608a0.html

[DrHouse]

Oh man Staples is going to go NUTS when this kid gets back on the floor

[tlongII]

PLEASE have him come back for the game on Friday! We'll have somebody go "Trevor Ariza" on him!

[Muser]

PLEASE have him come back for the game on Friday! We'll have somebody go "Trevor Ariza" on him!



:lol

[IronMexican]

Can't wait to see Drew out there.

[2Cleva]

Wait til you see Andrew Bynum
Ding column: He's looking incredible in practice.
Kevin Ding
The Orange County Register
[email protected] Comments 0| Recommend 0

LOS ANGELES Andrew Bynum is coming back, perhaps as soon as Thursday night against Denver.

Just as those “Banging with Mbenga” T-shirts were starting to take off, too. (It’s just as well, because it doesn’t take a wordsmith to realize those shirts should say: “Mbanging with Mbenga.” Maybe as a tribute, Bynum will go out there Thursday night with “MBYNUM” on his back.)

Just in watching Bynum do his thing in a pregame workout session with Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw on Sunday night, anyone would conclude that Bynum can do pretty much whatever he is needed. He is pain-free and if this were the postseason would undoubtedly be playing right now.

He’s fully capable of helping right now, too. Phil Jackson, hardly Pollyanna when it comes to this sort of thing, allowed that Bynum was “kind of the dominant force in there” in his 5-on-5 work at practice Saturday.

Bynum knows he’s basically ready to roll. You could see it in the big smile on his face Sunday. But Jackson wants a controlled atmosphere for Bynum to get off to a confidence-building start in his return. No way will he bring Bynum back first in a road game, and Jackson is even a little uneasy about whether Denver – the league’s No. 6 scoring team – plays too up-tempo a game for Bynum to be altogether comfortable Thursday night.

But Denver isn’t a superfast team anymore. It’s a perfectly fine setting for Bynum to come back – not rushing, but not delaying too much.

And here’s the other reason it’s time for Bynum: Isn’t everyone getting a little sick of watching the bench play as it is currently constructed?

Jackson certainly is. Even though Jordan Farmar had a decent game Sunday night against the Clippers – shaking off two missed jumpers and staying aggressive thereafter – Jackson gave Farmar an abrupt hook with 4:50 left and the Lakers ahead by 14 points.

Farmar made a mindless turnover, his only one of the game against five assists, trying to force-feed the post, which triggered a Clippers fast break.

Farmar later argued about it with Jackson, as has happened often this season. Soon it was Sasha Vujacic’s turn to feel Jackson’s wrath – yelled at for being in no man’s land on defense, neither double-teaming Zach Randolph in the post nor sticking to Fred Jones on the perimeter before Randolph passed and Jones made a 3-pointer.

Bynum is coming back to help Pau Gasol, but who is going to be there if something should befall Kobe Bryant or Derek Fisher as the playoffs near?

Fisher already came up with soreness in his left foot Sunday – the pain was baffling to him, but it decreased in the second half and he is optimistic he can cancel an MRI scheduled for Monday morning – and Fisher had already packed his knees in ice before Jackson sent him back in for the final 4:16 in Vujacic’s place. Bryant had returned 34 seconds earlier to replace Farmar.

Bryant complained after the game about the need to get the bench playing “up to their potential.”

The inconsistent bench play is not all Farmar’s or Vujacic’s fault, although the only more precipitous drops in numbers than theirs from last season have occurred in the stock market.

It will also help Farmar and Vujacic tremendously to have Bynum return. Jackson has already switched to substituting piecemeal and making sure either Gasol or Bryant is out there at all times to help the bench. But with Bynum’s return, the bench will either get a defensive stopper back there in Bynum or it will get the unselfish Lamar Odom.

For sure, Odom would be a cool breeze for the bench’s frontcourt that has grown accustomed to watching both Josh Powell and Mbenga show increased and excessive entitlement in jacking up shots. (As fun as Mbenga might be, you just never know what he’s going to do out there – and too often it is a lot of bad stuff. That’s how he can have the team’s worst plus-minus rating Sunday night at minus-14 compared to Gasol’s team-best plus-17, even with Gasol having a poor shooting night.)

Asked about moving back to a reserve role he initially resisted this season, Odom said: “Of course.”

He didn’t do too well as a reserve this season and definitely plays better with more minutes, but Odom seemed legitimately excited about sparking the struggling “Bench Mob,” saying: “It’s about the championship.”

After this next game in Sacramento, it’ll be time to bring Bynum back and really start the push for it.


http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bynum-jackson-bench-2355605-night-farmar

[Allanon]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bynum-jackson-bench-2355605-night-farmar

Phil Jackson, hardly Pollyanna when it comes to this sort of thing, allowed that Bynum was “kind of the dominant force in there” in his 5-on-5 work at practice Saturday.


Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about. Even Philip couldn't hold back his excitement. :lol

[2Cleva]

He's not Wilt but he is next.

dbyPWI6pLeM

[Laker-fan-in-SanAnto]

Yep cuz the best center ever Kareem Abdul JaBynum is back.:lmao It's a joke to me how they think this kid is the second coming of Wilt...you Laker fans watch too much ESPN.:lol

Well you Spurs fans should keep thinking Drew Gooden is your savior! Lol!

[LakeShow]

:toast

[j.dizzle]

Damn who makes these Laker videos, those are so sick. When you have the sound on loud & you play em they give you goosebumps :lol Ppl need to understand that Bynum changes this team a shitload. He might not be as good as some say but he sure does have the potential to be an all-star caliber center if he stays healthy . Interior defense & odom to the bench = a beautiful thing haha

[CavsSuperFan]

The Lakers would be smart to just sit Bynum for the rest of the season & use that as the excuse when the lose in the Playoffs to Portland….

[2Cleva]

Agreed on those videos - here are the ones from last years playoff run

jnrNMtIQuxk

lwxcwKxQGOg

Of course the Spurs one

mqTyqXiZLJg

x9U72WJH5Rs



And also on Bynum - its not as good as he is but on how good of a team he makes LA.

[2Cleva]

The Lakers would be smart to just sit Bynum for the rest of the season & use that as the excuse when the lose in the Playoffs to Portland….

With the Cavs only 2-6 vs the other 3 teams who will end up with 60 wins, Cleveland has their own problems.

[IronMexican]

Damn who makes these Laker videos, those are so sick. When you have the sound on loud & you play em they give you goosebumps :lol Ppl need to understand that Bynum changes this team a shitload. He might not be as good as some say but he sure does have the potential to be an all-star caliber center if he stays healthy . Interior defense & odom to the bench = a beautiful thing haha

LD2K makes most of them. He made the Blazer game 7 video, also. Which is the best video ever.

[j.dizzle]

The Lakers would be smart to just sit Bynum for the rest of the season & use that as the excuse when the lose in the Playoffs to Portland….

:lol Cleveland fans are nervous & you can tell. They know their bigs can't handle LA's bigs. Why do you think they tried so hard to sign amare or snack attack. Danny Ferry knows whats coming.

[j.dizzle]

BIG Z offers nothing but a jumpshot. Veraflop & Ben Wallace have no offensive arsenal at all. Joe Smith isn't that bad but teams with no real post game rarely win titles.

[Allanon]

:lol Cleveland fans are nervous & you can tell. They know their bigs can't handle LA's bigs. Why do you think they tried so hard to sign amare or snack attack. Danny Ferry knows whats coming.

Agreed about the Big man advantage. This is where the mismatch occurs. The Cavs are soft in the middle, whereas the Laker's biggest strength is in the middle.

Add to that the Lakers are one of the few teams that can guard LeBron one on one.

[Jloyola]

LD2K makes most of them. He made the Blazer game 7 video, also. Which is the best video ever.

LD2K is Chris Manning ... he makes GREAT Laker videos and has a Laker website that recently became part of AM570

www.thelakernation.com

great site if you're a laker fan

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Bynum > Amare


Amare isn't even a center.

[TheNextGen]

LD2K is Chris Manning ... he makes GREAT Laker videos and has a Laker website that recently became part of AM570

www.thelakernation.com

great site if you're a laker fan

will he be leaving am570 and go to ESPN once the lakers switch?

[LakeShow]

Bynum ready for return to Lakers



03:42 PM PDT on Monday, April 6, 2009


BY JEFF EISENBERG
The Press-Enterprise

Andrew Bynum endured another 5-on-5 full-court scrimmage during practice on Monday, pronouncing himself ready to return to action whenever the Lakers decide to activate him.

The Lakers center will not travel with the rest of the team for Tuesday's Sacramento game, but he could play as soon as Thursday when LA plays host to Denver in a game scheduled to be televised nationally by TNT.
"(My stamina) is pretty good right now," Bynum said Monday. "Obviously it's still not a real game, but you get timeouts to rest. I'm not all the way back to where I was, but I'm getting pretty close."

Bynum peformed well enough in practice to impress his teammates, especially Kobe Bryant, who described Bynum's play as "Good. Real good."
"He'll blend right in," Bryant said. "It's similar to when we added Pau to the mix. He fits so well with what we do, so I don't think it will be a problem at all."

Bynum, a 7-foot center, has not played since suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee when Kobe Bryant rolled into his lower body in Memphis on Jan. 31.

In 46 games before the injury, Bynum averaged 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.87 blocks per game.

http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/lakers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_web_bynum_blog_07.2bc5c60.html

[Laker-fan-in-SanAnto]

The NBA better watch out!!!!

[IronMexican]

Thursdayyyyyy!

[Laker-fan-in-SanAnto]

I'm hoping Thursday . I can't wait to see him throwing it down on Birdman.

[Allanon]

Bynum's definitely coming back on Thursday vs the Nugz, nothin' holding him back now.

Just saw this video...Lamar on Bynum in Practice and LO is ready to go back to the bench:

hLHgOeK5i-M&

[Showtime24 LAKERS]

Lakers' Bynum looking at two dates (http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_12087371)

Andrew Bynum said Monday after going through another full-contact, full-court scrimmage that he's set a date to play again after sitting out 31 games because of a torn ligament in his right knee.

Actually, there are two dates.

"Memphis and Utah," he said, referring to the Lakers' last two regular-season games Sunday against the Grizzlies and next Tuesday against the Jazz. "No doubt. Back this year. Leg is feeling good. No pain. No swelling."


Maybe not this thursday, but at less Sunday against the Grizzlies or next Thursday vs. the jozz!

[IronMexican]

Damn, I was hoping Thursday.