We're ed with the soft defense we have.Andrew Bynum's return from a knee injury might not be until close to the end of the regular season, Coach Phil Jackson suggested Friday.
"That's still perhaps a month away, maybe, whatever," he said when asked about the team adapting to Bynum's return. "I can't even put a date on it. It's just too early to think of it like that."
The Lakers' last regular-season game is April 15 against Sacramento. Their first playoff game will be either April 19 or 20.
Bynum could begin jogging on a treadmill next week, but Jackson already sensed a challenging adjustment period when the 20-year-old returned to the court, particularly with Pau Gasol now in the mix.
"Very difficult, especially when [Bynum] has never played with a player like that," Jackson said. "Regardless of how Andrew comes back, he's not going to start at 100%. He's going to start somewhere where it's going to be, 'Is he in basketball condition now to play eight, 10 minutes, six minutes,' whatever it is.
"When we put him on the court, it's going to be in relief to start with. He's going to come off the bench and play a secondary role, probably, to start with. And then as he gets a couple games where it looks like he can sustain the effort and his conditioning improves, then we'll work on how it fits together.
"Now, if this is in the playoffs, it's almost impossible to do that because you don't want to break up the chemistry. It's going to be handled just the right way."
Bynum has been out since sustaining a bone bruise on his left knee and a brief dislocation of the kneecap in a Jan. 13 game against Memphis.
There's a decent fight for the seventh and eighth spots in the Western Conference, although the Lakers are reluctant to acknowledge it while battling San Antonio for the conference's top spot.
"I'm not really watching that," Jackson said. "We're still 15 games away from that. The last eight, 10 games, you start watching everything that everybody does."
Doesn't look like they've been ed so far. They've been playing very good basketball. As long as Bynum can be ready by the playoffs and the rest of the team can learn how to play with both him and Gasol out on the court at the same time, they should be ok. Getting him back closer to 100% when he finally does come back is way more important than getting him back as soon as possible. They've done a pretty good job playing well in his absence so far.
As long as he's back prior to the playoffs we'll be ok. He'll play off the bench anyways as putting him in the starting 5 will upset chemistry. If he's not fine than hang it up and come back next year. No big deal.
I hope his return goes smoothly. He's a great young talent, and a good kid.
wow..what kind of fans are you...u guys won a load of games without him and ur calling your season over. Bynum is the "iceing" on the cake. GET A GRIP!
I can't see Bynum starting this year again. And I can't
see him being 100% either. So much for our twin towers.
Not good.
Bynum will ruin their chemistry a la Shaq and what Webber did to Sacramento a few years ago.
If you gonna rely on Bynum you're ed anyway....dude is a scrub and probably the most over-rated player in the NBA now
Thank you. You see Laker fans, Detroit fans know defense.
The Lakers are GIVING UP LESS points (98ish compared to 100ppg) with Gasol here compared to Bynum. Gasol is blocking about 2 shots a game. The Lakers are holding opponents to .44 FG% (.42% the last 10 games) which is 4th in the league. They are 5th in the NBA in defensive efficiency (UP from 7th when Bynum was here). Lakers have proven they can get stops in CRUNCH time over the last 15 games. Anyone claiming the Lakers are not playing decent defense is delusional.
Yes, Pau is not a banger but he is holding down the middle relatively well and the defense is not suffering. Lakers are top 5/6 defensively, in the NBA, WITHOUT Bynum and Ariza. Now get those two players back and the Lakers could be pushing for top 2 or 3 in the league in regards to defense ability.
It's not all doom and gloom without Andrew, even though I"m fairly confident he'll be ready come playoff time. Only a complete and utter fool would count out a trio of Kobe Bryant/Pau/Odom coached by Phil Jackson in the playoffs. They are contenders and capable of beating any team in the league in a playoff series without Bynum. Favorites against the Pistons/Celts/Spurs? Probably not, but they certainly have a chance to win those matchups if this team keeps playing like it has been.
It's Laker fans like the OP that make me sick. Bynum IS the icing on the cake. If he can't come back in a starting role he can still make a significant contribution off the bench. A rusty Bynum is better than no Bynum.
Without Bynum playing at a high level, it will be really hard to win it all for Lakers.
Next year will be another story and Lakers will likely be the strong favorite to win the championship.
Shut the up. It's trollish bandwagon fans like you that embarrass most real Laker fans. My comment meaning that our chances of winning it all has really been diminished. With a team like we have it's all or nothing with or without Bynum. Expectations are high. Our defense it still crap and come playoff time it's really going to hurt us. I didn't jump ship like your monkey ass long ago. Styles make match ups and I'm worried about our worst match ups.
No , Bynum is the piece that makes us an elite contender and not just a pretender.
i say he should take the season off
without a healthy bynum the rockets might actually have a chance to beat the lakers...
They're playing well, Houston that is...but there's no chance of them beating the lakers in a series even without bynum. Don't get too twisted.
Mcgrady would choke like jenna ona 12 incher.
No chance for the Rockets.
well i was going to post earlier about defensive efficiency but i got lazy. no top defensive team EVER gives up 70+ points before halftime. defensive efficiency is a flawed stat when you have the nuggets right behind you guys in that stat. they are simply a terrible defensive team. the lakers aren't as bad as them but they aren't good either.
You're not elite even with Bynum.
You're not elite even with Bynum.
There is no way Bynum's return can negatively affect the Lakers. The same people who said Gasol wouldn't fit in LA, said the big 3 in BOS wouldn't fit, are saying now that Bynum won't fit with Gasol. They are hoping and praying that happens but we all know it won't be an issue. First of all their skillsets are completely complementary, Pau can play the post up game from the high post the same way that David West does and he has a sweet midrange jumpshot as well. Bynum is a true low block post player, it's a match made in heaven and everyone here knows it.
The only issue is how rusty Bynum will be when he gets back. I think after 5-10 games or so he should be back to normal. Lamar hadn't touched a basketball in 6 months and got into the groove of things in less than a month.
Bynum will be fine when he gets back. He won't even be asked to do as much as he did before. All he needs to do is play defense and rebound the ball. His offense will come easily, especially with a very good passer like Gasol playing next to him. I have no worries that he will come back fine. But Bynum is no icing on the cake, he's an integral part to this team. If the Lakers want to do anything this year he does need to come back.
hmmm let me see... Kobe is better than TMac i will admit. but nobody on the lakers roster is significantly better than the rocket counter-part. whatever pau gasol gets you he gives half of it back to his opponents. Odom is all good and well but as most of the lakers fans know, when the pressure is on, never give the ball to him or else he will do something stupid. i also see little to no shot blocking presence on the lakers roster (if bynum is not healthy). We also play spectacular defense to make up for the difference on the offensive talent level. As a side note, Kobe has to guard TMac but TMac doesnt have to waste one bit of energy trying to guard Kobe because we got Battier.
so i would NOT be that sure that u can handle us that easily.
lol @ losers on here pretending like the lakers are playing good defense. do you people actually watch the games? gasol is getting lit the up all over the place. their interior defense is non-existent.
Are you just stupid or do you realize that Gasol is playing out of position because Bynum is hurt? Not to mention that Ariza is also out. I'll take it that you're just a stupid spur fan. Go educate yourself on how good the Lakers were defensively before Bynum got injured.
Ohhh and tell Timmy great job against Shaq.
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