Q: Why does everyone keep saying I'm definitely coming back next month, and why does everyone keep assuming I'll be the same rebounding/ shotblocking force I was in November and December? Do you realize I'm only 21 and coming off a dislocated kneecap? Do you realize the only exercise I've gotten in the past seven weeks has been lightly jogging in a therapeutic pool? Also, how do you know I'm not 320 pounds right now? How do you know I'm not spending more time at Roscoe's Chicken N' Waffles than Roscoe does? What makes you think I'll be good right away when I have to play myself back into shape? What makes you think I'll have 100 percent confidence in my knee right away?
Remember, I already tore an ACL back in high school, making this my second serious knee injury and until this season, everyone thought I was an underachieving wuss (including the best guy on my team). Sorry to sound like I'm complaining, but all this "And when they get Bynum back, they'll be even better!" talk is starting to make me legitimately uncomfortable. I don't want to be blamed if we fall short in the playoffs. Honestly, I don't even care about the playoffs -- I'll just be excited if I can run up and down a basketball floor without limping. No offense. Whoops, I have to go, the guy just rang the doorbell with my Pizza Hut delivery. --Andrew B., Los Angeles
SG: All great points. If I'm a Lakers fan, I'm terrified by three things right now:
1. Bynum's knee injury happened on Jan. 13 and the Lakers claimed he would return within two months. Um, it's March 5. Where is he? Here's the last public quote we've heard from him, courtesy of an L.A. Times story on Feb. 29: "If I'm able to run in the pool with no pain, then we'll start building my leg up more and more. I'm making progress and I'm excited to actually run in the pool, but I'm still not back." Does that sounds encouraging? I say no.
2. The Lakers can't beat San Antonio in a series with Pau Gasol, Ronnie Turiaf and D.J. Mbenga defending Tim Duncan. It's not happening. They need Bynum -- a healthy Bynum.
3. Removing Bynum from the picture makes Lamar Odom their third-best guy. He's a wonderfully talented forward and a nice guy by all accounts, but if you're counting on him in a big moment, he's going to let you down. He will. I remember attending a Clippers-Lakers game three years ago when Odom came to the line in a big moment, and the guy sitting next to me (a season-ticket holder since '84) muttered confidently something like, "Watch this, he'll miss the first one, we watched him do this for years." And he did. And the guy giggled happily. (Every Clippers fan thinks Odom is a choke artist. Warrants mentioning.) Then he signed with Miami, and if you remember, they made the second round in Wade's rookie season and had the Pacers tied at 2-2 before Odom went 11-for-32 in Games 5 and 6 (both losses). In the first round in 2006, when Kobe and the Lakers dragged Phoenix to a seventh game, Odom and Smush Parker stunk out the joint so badly that Kobe infamously refused to shoot in the second half.
Now he's the third-best guy on a team that's favored to win the 2008 le. Can he step up when he's never shown that ability over the course of his career? In Sunday's ABC game against Dallas, Odom (who only scored six points in 48 minutes) was fouled with a one-point lead and six seconds to play in regulation ... and promptly bricked both free throws. It's not that he missed the free throws as much as anyone who's followed his career even a little knew that he'd miss the first free throw and possibly both. As it turned out, L.A. needed a superhuman performance from Kobe (52 points, 22 in the fourth quarter) to hold off Dallas in overtime. That's the thing everyone seems to be missing about the Lakers -- yeah, they have Kobe and Gasol, but they still need Odom to come through on a big stage, they need their young guards to come through for three straight series (in that Dallas game, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic shot 4-for-18), and they need Bynum to return to form. Anything less and they're not making the Finals unless Kobe has a neverending supply of 22-point fourth quarters in reserve.
(And by the way, I'm not necessarily ruling that out. Kobe can smell a le now. You can see it. He knows better than anyone that a championship would push him up a level historically and put him alongside the all-time great NBA guards: Oscar, Cousy, West, Magic and MJ. Those are the stakes. Ever since he heard the words, "We got Gasol," he took it to another level. More on this in a little bit.)
We really needed another thread about Bynum's knee injury.
The fact that you Spurs fans feel the need to post 5 Bynum threads a day really shows how afraid of him you are. You know when he comes back and is healthy, may not be this season, the Lakers will be very tough to beat.
No...it's a matter of proving to the Flaker fans that the pundits (and not just Spurs fans) are wising up to the fact that the Flakers won't be able to pull it off this year.
yes because all Spurs fans think alike.
You forget the Spurs drafted a center playing internationally named Splitter, who though not the massive size of Bynum may well already be a better defender than Bynum will ever be. Meanwhile the next 4-5 years at least they will still have Duncan, and have a young Parker and a SG right behind Kobe in talent and verve in Ginobili.
Lakers are what they are a talented team dominated by one superstar who will try to win games by himself. Not happening enough in a series vs Spurs. Lot tougher outs for Spurs than Lakers.
HHAHAHHAHHA......Tiaggo Splitter a better defender than Bynum????......HAHHAHA
^^hilarious.
America, eatin' my lunch from a single bowl in my parents basement, where I'm livin'. Happy Birthday, I'm forty-three.
Don't want to waste those precious calories...chewin'. Jesus come move my jaw for me, help me get my sloppy food down my throat.
ahahahahah
manu Ginobili an NBA player!
ahahahahahah
Luis Scola an NBA player!!!!!!!!!!!!
ahahahahah
Kurt Thomas for nothing!!!!!!!!!!
ahahahahahahahahah
^ thread over
Lakers will get beat on Sunday
This is a Spurs forum?
ES, is that you?
Well this should be a Spurs forum but everybody that doesn't know how to read keeps starting dumbass threads in here about other teams.
I'd take Bynum over Splitter on potential, but Splitter will be a better fit for us and (knock on wood) isn't injury prone. I'd take solid, smart plays over grandstanding dunks any day.
That's cool..you can think the Lakers will lose..and I can think the Lakers will win.
No this is LG.net. Didn't you notice . . . ?
No you wouldn't. Deep down you'd take Bynum in a heartbeat. He is only 20 years old and has a MUCH higher ceiling than this Splitter kid. He was showing a wide array of post moves prior to his injury, it's only a matter of time before he puts it all together. Plus he has proved he can play in the NBA, Splitter hasn't played one ing game and you are already crowning him. Talk about premature ejaculation.
Into your mouth. Still got my target.
Spit back into your mouth. Snowball.
Get that weak stuff outta here.
Scolarules where the were you the 1st half of the season? Oh that's right you wouldn't show your face when the Rox were playing .500 ball.
so when bynum can come back and prove himself in an nba game again, let alone a playoff game....then we can discuss. 'til then, drop the bynum talk.
and no im not on the splitter bandwagon, so think again before you come at me with that. I KNOW he hasnt proven anything yet.
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