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Andrew Bynum+injuries+playoffs = same , different day.
Andrew Bynum Is Feeling Better, But How Much Do the Lakers Need Him?
SportingNews
After two very successful series to start the playoffs, Lakers center Andrew Bynum has hit a bit of a snag. Near the end of the opening-round series against the Thunder, Bynum suffered a slight tear to his meniscus in his right knee, and while he did just fine during the Utah series averaging 12.5 points and 12 rebounds per game, he’s now having some difficulty.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN has an update on Bynum’s status:
"I feel fine," Bynum said a day after opening up the conference finals with four points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of play. "I just finished getting some treatment done on it, and [there’s] a lot less swelling."
The decrease in swelling is great news considering Bynum said the condition of his knee had worsened in the six days between the Utah and Phoenix series, but with his averages dipping to 3.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in his last three games, the Lakers are cautious to count on Bynum’s production increasing.
"I really have no idea," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said when asked how Bynum might respond in Game 2 on Wednesday. "We hope we can get him going again at halftime. I think sometimes the activation is good at the start of the game and the second half, he came out and I didn’t think had quite as much activity as we like him to have."
It would obviously help L.A. if Bynum is near his best—their imposing frontcourt is far from its best without him. Yet it’s not clear exactly how much they even need him in this series against the Suns.
The reason Bynum might not be necessary is that Lamar Odom matches up extremely well with the Suns. Lamar had a rough go of it against the Thunder and Jazz, but his defensive versatility is extremely important in closing out on Phoenix’s three-point shooters, especially Channing Frye. Offensively, he has the length and agility to frustrate the Suns’ defenders while not getting pushed around by their average-sized front line. Odom might not match his 19 points and 19 rebounds from Game 1 for the rest of this series, but he should perform with more consistency than he showed in the first two rounds.
The Lakers obviously want Bynum to improve as fast as he can. But their focus should be on making sure he’s right for a potential Finals appearance, because Odom should be able to handle the Suns just fine.
Andrew Bynum+injuries+playoffs = same , different day.
I never understood why the Lakers have always been so high on the guy.
It's a "He will turn into a Shaq 2.0 for us in a few years" draft hope or something?
Not trying to troll anyone here, I'm honestly hoping for a nice explanation.
hhmm. Lakers made the Finals without him, won a le with him playing like , and are doing just fine with him well... playing like yet again.
I'd say the Lakers need him like I need an asshole on my mother ing elbow.
Well according to everyone here, he's one of the best centers in the league and a near allstar 20/10 player.
So not at all.
Lakers might need him more against Boston. However, he's gonna be really limited with his knee. They don't need Bynum against Phoenix or Orlando.
Boston is going to wreck shop on LA's bigs and Rondo is going to on Fisher.
Meh, they have Odom..it's been obvious since last year that Pau-Odom works a lot better than Pau-Bynum(even Bynum-Odom works better than Pau-Bynum, but you can't bench Pau for obvious reasons)..
Bynum will be the 3rd big in that series, and even though he's inconsistent, he's an elite 3rd big man, so they will be fine in that regard..
Pau-Odom can't dominate Boston's bigs like they have done to Utah or Phoenix. Odom has always been a lesser version of KG throughout his career and Pau won't be able to consistently score in the paint against Perkins or Sheed. Kobe's gonna have to have a big series, especially considering they really don't have an answer to Rondo.
You know regular season doesn't mean anything. Orlando swept LA last season and Cleveland did this season.
I'm not saying Boston will win the series. Just saying regular season doesn't mean much.
I said before the playoffs they wouldn't need him for the joke which is the Western Conference. They are going to need him and his size to match up against Boston though.
Fact is Bynum has proven he can be a dominant 2nd option next to Kobe when healthy. Proven, undeniable fact. Only 22.
When Bynum is healthy and playing well the Lakers go from really ing good to legendary good.
Enjoy the three-peat.
He's not gonna be healthy for the Finals. He's playing with a really bad knee. Still he can have an effect defensively clogging the lane unless Sheed is in the game.I said before the playoffs they wouldn't need him for the joke which is the Western Conference. They are going to need him and his size to match up against Boston though.
Fact is Bynum has proven he can be a dominant 2nd option next to Kobe when healthy. Proven, undeniable fact.
When Bynum is healthy and playing well the Lakers go from really ing good to lengendary good.
Enjoy the three-peat.
It's gonna be an interesting Finals. Lots of matchups to look out for.
+1i said before the playoffs they wouldn't need him for the joke which is the western conference. they are going to need him and his size to match up against boston though.
fact is bynum has proven he can be a dominant 2nd option next to kobe when healthy. Proven, undeniable fact. Only 22.
When bynum is healthy and playing well the lakers go from really ing good to legendary good.
Enjoy the three-peat.
kobe will gaurd rondo from the start. old man fisher on old man ray. artest and pierce grinding it out. gasol vs kg- "you get yours, I get mine". Bynum-Perkins... odom, farmar, brown vs allen, davis, sheed is pretty equal unless doc opts to play marquis daniels and nate robinson.
kobe will get his. who ever is on him is gonna get torched. rondo and allen will get posted up on the block. pierce is the only reasonable choice and then artest gets to post up whoever is on him. if doc is smart he turns the 4 man big rotation into a 3 man rotation with davis being the odd man out or odom will being looking to exploit that match up.
Who's better? Bynum or Sheed?
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