tlongII
05-03-2010, 12:35 PM
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/teamwork-246893-angeles-bynum.html
LOS ANGELES – Andrew Bynum is likely to need offseason surgery to repair the tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee.
That’s how significant his injury is. That’s why it’s more critical than ever for the Lakers to learn to dominate in these playoffs with team basketball instead of cruising by on superior individual talent – the same old uninspiring way they played Sunday in squeaking past a vastly inferior Utah team.
“When we play hard and we play together, we’re tough to beat,” Lamar Odom said. But when we separate and don’t play hard and we aren’t together mentally, we can be beat. We can lose games bad.”
Odom played well individually down the stretch and with four points was the only Laker besides Kobe Bryant to score in the key five-minute stretch run when the Jazz’s lead was overcome.
But Odom was in no mood to pat himself on the back afterward, muttering: “I feel good when we play good as a group.”
Odom was unhappy with the lack of togetherness in the team and said he was “mostly talking about” the bench unit he is supposed to lead. With all the starters but Bynum sitting to start the fourth quarter, the Lakers lost control of the game Sunday and had to be bailed out by Bryant’s individual effort.
You can rip Odom for not being a more assertive individual on the court – and we all have – but that’s because he’s such a people-person that he gets more juice out of any group dynamic. He said there would be more discussion within this group at practice Monday about his dissatisfaction, but Derek Fisher acknowledged that immediately after the game Sunday: “We talked about some things.”
Considering Bryant later told reporters, “Second unit’s gotta play better. Simple as that,” it’s safe to say Odom, Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Luke Walton already got a message.
Having Odom, who treaded so lightly through the first round against Oklahoma City, as engaged as he was postgame is a positive for the Lakers. He’s the one who will pick up minutes the rest of the way given Bynum’s new injury.
Bynum will play with the pain, which he described as “sharp ... but it went away” upon landing on a first-quarter dunk. Bynum limped back down the court.
Bynum described it as “possible” he will need surgery, adding: “I don’t know yet.” But rest assured that surgery is very much planned. Bynum proved he could play through the problem Sunday with eight points and 10 rebounds – although his playing time dropped to 25 minutes with a bulkier brace on his right knee and he didn’t block a shot.
Bynum compared his meniscus tear to the one that led Farmar to have surgery and miss five weeks last season. Bynum said he would miss only “one or two weeks” if he has his procedure done – not that he’s planning on it yet – and it’s true that Bynum’s tear is in the same place as Farmar’s but smaller.
“If I don’t need it (surgery), I’d rather play like this,” said Bynum, who has conferred with personal doctor David Altchek and Lakers team doctor Steve Lombardo to make sure he can play and not exacerbate the tear.
Bynum has made great strides this season in learning to play with non-debilitating ailments, and he should’ve been rewarded with more touches early in that fourth quarter. When he eventually got the ball after having to wait too long, he did the typical big-man thing and immediately forced shots. It was a total lack of teamwork by the Lakers, who were outscored by an 8-1 count during that time when they didn’t communicate on defense whatsoever.
Phil Jackson spoke after the game with admiration for the no-name lineup of Jazzmen (Ronnie Price, Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles, Paul Millsap and Kosta Koufos) who stuck it to the Lakers during that time: “The best thing about basketball is when they play together.”
If the Lakers played together, they would instantly be NBA championship favorites again. Yet that unity has been – to borrow the word Odom used to describe the team’s collective energy – “suspect” for a long time now. What Jackson wondered entering this postseason was whether the Lakers wanted it enough to start “speaking and acting as one mind.”
They started the Western Conference semifinals Sunday, and the Lakers won but did so with very scattered agendas.
“We can win with it, as you saw; we can win anyway,” Odom said. “But I know when we’re playing at a high level.”
The guy who has actually been more mature in this regard than all these older guys is Bynum, described by Bryant postgame as “doing a great job.” Bynum came into the postseason trying not to do too much after his strained left Achilles’ tendon, worrying about defense much more than offense and just trying to help the team run smoothly.
It has been wonderfully refreshing.
The way the Lakers won Game 1 of the playoffs’ second round was not.
LOS ANGELES – Andrew Bynum is likely to need offseason surgery to repair the tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee.
That’s how significant his injury is. That’s why it’s more critical than ever for the Lakers to learn to dominate in these playoffs with team basketball instead of cruising by on superior individual talent – the same old uninspiring way they played Sunday in squeaking past a vastly inferior Utah team.
“When we play hard and we play together, we’re tough to beat,” Lamar Odom said. But when we separate and don’t play hard and we aren’t together mentally, we can be beat. We can lose games bad.”
Odom played well individually down the stretch and with four points was the only Laker besides Kobe Bryant to score in the key five-minute stretch run when the Jazz’s lead was overcome.
But Odom was in no mood to pat himself on the back afterward, muttering: “I feel good when we play good as a group.”
Odom was unhappy with the lack of togetherness in the team and said he was “mostly talking about” the bench unit he is supposed to lead. With all the starters but Bynum sitting to start the fourth quarter, the Lakers lost control of the game Sunday and had to be bailed out by Bryant’s individual effort.
You can rip Odom for not being a more assertive individual on the court – and we all have – but that’s because he’s such a people-person that he gets more juice out of any group dynamic. He said there would be more discussion within this group at practice Monday about his dissatisfaction, but Derek Fisher acknowledged that immediately after the game Sunday: “We talked about some things.”
Considering Bryant later told reporters, “Second unit’s gotta play better. Simple as that,” it’s safe to say Odom, Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Luke Walton already got a message.
Having Odom, who treaded so lightly through the first round against Oklahoma City, as engaged as he was postgame is a positive for the Lakers. He’s the one who will pick up minutes the rest of the way given Bynum’s new injury.
Bynum will play with the pain, which he described as “sharp ... but it went away” upon landing on a first-quarter dunk. Bynum limped back down the court.
Bynum described it as “possible” he will need surgery, adding: “I don’t know yet.” But rest assured that surgery is very much planned. Bynum proved he could play through the problem Sunday with eight points and 10 rebounds – although his playing time dropped to 25 minutes with a bulkier brace on his right knee and he didn’t block a shot.
Bynum compared his meniscus tear to the one that led Farmar to have surgery and miss five weeks last season. Bynum said he would miss only “one or two weeks” if he has his procedure done – not that he’s planning on it yet – and it’s true that Bynum’s tear is in the same place as Farmar’s but smaller.
“If I don’t need it (surgery), I’d rather play like this,” said Bynum, who has conferred with personal doctor David Altchek and Lakers team doctor Steve Lombardo to make sure he can play and not exacerbate the tear.
Bynum has made great strides this season in learning to play with non-debilitating ailments, and he should’ve been rewarded with more touches early in that fourth quarter. When he eventually got the ball after having to wait too long, he did the typical big-man thing and immediately forced shots. It was a total lack of teamwork by the Lakers, who were outscored by an 8-1 count during that time when they didn’t communicate on defense whatsoever.
Phil Jackson spoke after the game with admiration for the no-name lineup of Jazzmen (Ronnie Price, Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles, Paul Millsap and Kosta Koufos) who stuck it to the Lakers during that time: “The best thing about basketball is when they play together.”
If the Lakers played together, they would instantly be NBA championship favorites again. Yet that unity has been – to borrow the word Odom used to describe the team’s collective energy – “suspect” for a long time now. What Jackson wondered entering this postseason was whether the Lakers wanted it enough to start “speaking and acting as one mind.”
They started the Western Conference semifinals Sunday, and the Lakers won but did so with very scattered agendas.
“We can win with it, as you saw; we can win anyway,” Odom said. “But I know when we’re playing at a high level.”
The guy who has actually been more mature in this regard than all these older guys is Bynum, described by Bryant postgame as “doing a great job.” Bynum came into the postseason trying not to do too much after his strained left Achilles’ tendon, worrying about defense much more than offense and just trying to help the team run smoothly.
It has been wonderfully refreshing.
The way the Lakers won Game 1 of the playoffs’ second round was not.