Archive for the 'Andrew Bynum' Category

Andrew Bynum Update

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 17, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

Before L.A. took the floor against Atlanta, Phil Jackson was asked how Andrew Bynum’s doing.

“I saw him this morning,” Jackson responded. “He was on the floor shooting toe-up shots and looked relatively active for his condition. He’s doing pretty well. It’s still been mostly rehab work, not an exercise regimen, but that will start soon.”

A reporter followed up by asking if Bynum’s expected to come back earlier than the original 8-to-12 week timetable.

“No,” Jackson said. “Until he’s on the floor sometime in March, we won’t know anything about that. Getting on the floor, doing activity drills, core strength and those types of things he has to do to get those things tied together again … The healing aspect still takes a while, but when we feel like he’s healed, then (he’ll start) the (training).”

Alas, we didn’t learn much, but it’s fair to say everything’s gone normally thus far for Bynum.

Lakers - Knicks Pregame/Bynum Chatter

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 2, 2009
in Andrew Bynum, Injury News, Pre-Game and Video
. Closed

Even with a potentially exciting, high-tempo contest looming in New York City as the Lakers get set to play in “The World’s Most Famous Arena” for the only time this season, it’s hard to focus on anything that doesn’t have the letters M, C or L capitalized and featured prominently.

After a bit of a time lag since Andrew Bynum went down in the first quarter of L.A.’s Saturday night win over Memphis, we learned that Bynum tore the MCL in his right knee, and is expected to be out 8-to-12 weeks. If that schedule holds up, eight weeks leaves two weeks of regular season play in the regular season, while 12 weeks is roughly two weeks into the NBA playoffs.

The funny thing is, the person who feels best about the situation is Bynum himself; we learned as much while speaking to him courtside about an hour before tipoff. In fact, since Lakers.com’s Ty Nowell is here with us on the trip, that video will be available shortly. ***UPDATE: The video is above but here’s the link***

Until then, let’s think about this: What does Bynum’s injury mean for L.A.’s potential title aspirations? Well … maybe nothing. First of all, he’s expected to be back for, if not before, the playoffs. Secondly, the Lakers made it to last year’s NBA Finals without Bynum or Trevor Ariza, and with barely any meaningful playoff experience for many players. Sure, the situation with Bynum is similar to what happened last season in terms of city (Memphis), body part (knee) and time (January), but the injury is entirely different (last season’s was a subluxed patella). So, while nothing is guaranteed, it does appear that we haven’t seen the last of ‘Drew in 2009.

Again, the talent isn’t lacking: there are guys named Kobe and Pau, a thirsty Lamar Odom looking forward to big minutes, talents like Ariza, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar, and even capable bigs Josh Powell and Chris Mihm. Bryant, who couldn’t have been more upset when the injury occurred, still has complete confidence in his squad: “Without (Bynum) in the lineup, we’re still a great team,” he said.

The question now is how Phil Jackson plans to tweak the rotation. Does he just go back to last year’s mix, plus Ariza? At least for this game, Odom is starting, and Gasol sliding to the center position. Even so, there are other variable we could see as well:

A) Vladimir Radmanovic playing power forward
B) Josh Powell seeing a big increase in minutes
C) Chris Mihm seeing a big increase in minutes
D) Powell and Mihm seeing increased minutes depending on matchups

We’ll see how that plays out tonight, and certainly keep track throughout the next eight (to twelve) weeks.

MRI Reveals Torn MCL for Bynum

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 2, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

PRESS RELEASE

Results of an MRI on Andrew Bynum’s right knee showed a tear of the medial collateral ligament, it was announced on Monday.

Bynum, who suffered the injury early in the first quarter of Saturday’s victory over Memphis after having scored seven of the Lakers’ first 13 points, will be out approximately 8-12 weeks.

The MRI was performed Sunday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and Bynum was examined this afternoon by Dr. David Altchek.

Bynum, who prior to the game against Memphis had averaged 26.2 points on 65.3 percent shooting, 13.8 rebounds and 3.20 blocked shots over his previous five games, ranks among league leaders in rebounds (19th/8.2), field goal percentage (8th/.558), blocked shots (6th /1.87) and double-doubles (17th/16).

Named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 19 through Sunday, January 25, Bynum is averaging 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.87 blocked shots in 46 games this season.

We’ll see what Phil Jackson and a few Lakers players have to say about the news at Madison Square Garden in a few hours.

Bynum Has MRI, Results Pending

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 1, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

Lakers center Andrew Bynum underwent an MRI on Sunday morning, but results won’t be available until later this evening at the earliest.

“There’s nothing to be talked about until we get the results of his examination,” explained assistant coach Kurt Rambis, who was running practice for Phil Jackson. “There’s nothing we can do about it. What’s happened has happened, and our team has to stay positive and move forward.”

Also opting out of practice were veterans Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol, though Kobe Bryant joined the rest of the team in shooting drills, lifting and conditioning.

We’ll have a full update on Bynum’s condition as soon as one is made available.

Bynum’s Postgame Reaction to Injury

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 31, 2009
in Andrew Bynum, Injury News and Podcast
. Closed

When Andrew Bynum left with a knee injury in the first quarter of Saturday evening’s game in Memphis, the collective spirits of Bynum’s teammates, coaches, Lakers staff and fans everywhere were completely in the dumps.

Upon seeing Bynum putting weight on his knee and even smiling in the locker room, those collective spirits may have lifted just a bit heading into the young center’s coming MRI Sunday morning in New York.

Here’s the audio of what Bynum had to say after the game to assembled reporters:

 
icon for podpress  Bynum Postgame Audio [4:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note that in the audio, Lakers sideline reporter John Ireland had to repeat some earlier questions because KCAL was doing a live hit from the locker room. Alas, here’s a rough transcription of what Bynum said from the locker room.

“It just felt like he hit me on the side of the leg. No pops, I didn’t hear any pops. Basically, it just hurt the inside of the knee. It’s much better than last year, last year I couldn’t put any pressure on it or walk or anything like that. I really don’t need this crutch, they just want me to keep the weight off (the knee). No pops, no giving. It sucks to be injured again, but I can walk … I have to be optimistic. I definitely want to return and get back to the things I was doing out there. I have no idea (about time of return), we have to wait for the MRI. It feels a little bit better from (before), but that might be because of the ice.”

Bynum Injures Right Knee Vs. Memphis

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 31, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who began Saturday night’s game in Memphis dominating as he’d done in L.A.’s last five games, went down with an apparent knee injury as Kobe Bryant was pushed into L.A.’s center in the lane with 6:55 to go in the first quarter.

Original reports from the Lakers are that Bynum suffered a sprained right knee; x-rays were negative, but Bynum will undergo further testing in New York on Sunday morning.

Last season, Bynum injured the knee cap of his left knee against Memphis on Jan. 13, an injury obviously unrelated to the one he suffered tonight.

Bynum Posting Beastly Numbers

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 31, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Pre-Game
. Closed

Bynum Dunk on SpursIn his last five games, Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been on an absolute war path, putting up numbers mirroring Lil’ Wayne’s album sales.

Not only is Bynum posting double-doubles to the tune of 26.2 points and 13.8 rebounds per night, but he’s swatting 3.2 shots, shooting 65.3 percent (49-of-75) from the field and 82.5 percent from the free throw line (33-of-40).

Furthermore, you can’t discount these stats due to inferior competition, because Bynum was nearly as effective against Tim Duncan and Emeka Okafor as he was against Al Jefferson and Washington’s JaVale McGee (OK, Clips rookie DeAndre Jordan was another story).

Here are ‘Drew’s game-by-game stats:

Jan. 21 vs L.A. Clippers (105-88 win)
36 minutes, 42 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, 17-of-24 shooting (70.8 percent), 8-of-11 free throws (72.7 percent)

Jan. 22 vs Washington (117-97 win)
27 minutes, 23 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one block, 8-of-12 shooting (66.7 percent), 7-of-8 free throws (87.5 percent)

Jan. 25 vs. San Antonio (99-85 win)
24 minutes, 15 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, one assist, one steal, 4-of-10 shooting (40 percent), 7-of-8 free throws (87.5 percent)

Jan. 27 vs. Charlotte (117-100 Double OT loss)
41 minutes, 24 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks, one assist, 10-of-14 shooting (71.4 percent), 4-of-5 free throws (80 percent)

Jan. 30 @ Minnesota (132-119 win)
30 minutes, 27 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, one assist, 10-of-15 shooting (66.7 percent), 7-of-8 free throws (87.5 percent)

After the Friday night game in Minnesota, Bynum even drew praise from the hard-to-impress Kobe Bryant:

“(Bynum) is playing extremely well,” said Kobe. “We’re starting to expect it from him because he’s being aggressive, he’s being assertive, he’s finding his niche where he can operate in the offense. I like it. I like it a lot.

“I think the game where he gained the most confidence was in San Antonio. He had a big game and we lost the game the way that we did. On the bus I said, ‘Hey, you know Tim Duncan is one of the greatest defensive players of all time ever.’ If you can do that to him, you can do that to anybody else. I think for him to have that confidence to play against Tim, that had to kind of sink in for him. He’s one of the best defensive players ever and his confidence has shot through the roof after that. He played extremely well and I think it started from there.”

‘Drew will go for his sixth straight double-double against a Memphis Grizzlies team that’s been without big man Darko Milicic since late December, and starts Pau Gasol’s brother Marc at center. There’s no reason to expect any kind of slip in Bynum’s game, particularly not with his new-found Tiger-Woods-on-Sunday attack mode in full swing…

But that’s why they play the games.

Tip is at 5 p.m. Pacific from the FedExForum.

Bynum’s Flagrant Upgraded and Practice Notes

Published
by
Ty Nowell
on January 29, 2009
in Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Podcast, Practice News and Video
. Closed

Head coach Phil Jackson explained in his post-practice interview (click below for the full audio) that Andrew Bynum’s foul on Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace was bumped up from a flagrant one to a flagrant two by the league, but Bynum was not suspended and will play Friday night in Minnesota.

Trevor Ariza is scheduled to travel with the team to Minnesota, but has yet to be cleared to practice.

The rest of the talk at practice surrounded Tuesday’s disappointing loss to the Bobcats and the upcoming six-game road trip. Check out the video above and the audio below for full details.

 
icon for podpress  Phil Jackson Practice Audio [2:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bynum Named Player of the Week

Published
by
Ty Nowell
on January 26, 2009
in Andrew Bynum and Around the NBA
. Closed

Andrew BynumLakers center Andrew Bynum has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of January 19th-25th.

Bynum’s week started with a solid effort against the Cavaliers before exploding Wednesday night for 42-points and 15-rebounds against the Clippers.

Drew followed those performances with consecutive double-doubles in games against the Wizards and Spurs.

In Sunday’s against San Antonio Bynum limited perennial All-Star Tim Duncan to just 15-points while recording a season high four blocks.

Here’s the breakdown of Andrew’s week from the press release:
Jan. 19 vs. Cleveland: Recorded 14 points and six rebounds in a 105-88 win over the Cavaliers.

Jan. 21 @ L.A. Clippers: Posted season-highs in points (42) and rebounds (15) in the Lakers’ 108-97 win over the Clippers.

Jan. 22 vs. Washington: Scored 23 points and added 14 rebounds in a 117-97 victory over the Wizards.

Jan. 25 vs. San Antonio: Posted his third-consecutive double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and tied a season high with four blocks during a 99-85 win over the Spurs.

Continue reading ‘Bynum Named Player of the Week’

Lakers 108, Clippers 97: Postgame

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 21, 2009
in Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant and Post-Game
. Closed

Heading into Wednesday’s contest against a Clippers squad missing its best four players, including the only three experienced posts on the roster (Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman and Zach Randolph), Andrew Bynum may have been licking his chops.

‘Drew’s previous career high was 28 points, but even that seemed a bit high since he failed to get to 20 points in his last four games.

Key word there: “seemed.”

On this night, Bynum was entirely unstoppable, smashing his way to 42 points on 17-of-24 shooting, including a plethora of dunks, not to mention 15 rebounds and three swats.

“He is a great player,” said Clippers rookie center DeAndre Jordan, who himself had a career-high 23 points. “He is big, when he gets in the paint he takes up a lot of space … He uses his arms really well and makes you get over him.”

Joining Bynum in the fun was Kobe Bryant, who put up his second triple-double in three games (and 16th of his career) behind 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Bryant has now amassed 45 dimes in his last four games - the most in any four-game stretch of his career - to creep into the league’s top 25 dimers.

The Clippers managed to stay in the game throughout the first half by hitting 56 percent of their shots to trail the Lakers just 58-55 at the break, though the purple and gold turned on the defensive clamps in the third quarter. In that period, the Clips hit just 6-of-17 shots (35.3 percent), half plus one as many as the Lakers (13-of-20) to essentially put the game on ice. The Lakers would lead by as many as 18 in the fourth before allowing the Clips to get within seven whilst trying to get Bynum to 40 points, but the game result was never in question.

The Lakers are back at STAPLES tomorrow evening, this time serving as the home team with the 9-32 Washington Wizards heading into Los Angeles for a TNT game before which the All-Star starters (including Bryant) will be announced.

Until then, a few numbers:

11.25
Average assists for Bryant in his last four games. Chris Paul currently leads the league with his 11.1 dimes per evening average.

19
Points for Lamar Odom in 28 minutes, a new season high. Odom scored 10 of his points in a three-minute stretch to open the fourth quarter, and added nine rebounds with three blocks.

23.8
Three-point percentage for the Lakers on 5-of-21, including a 1-for-8 collective effort from Trevor Ariza and Sasha Vujacic, who combined for just those three points.

24
Season-high field goal attempts by Andrew Bynum to get to his 42 points, as he missed only seven shots. Bynum also converted 8-of-11 free throws.

26
Rebounds grabbed for the entire game by the Clippers, while the Lakers collected 46. The Lakers had only nine fewer offensive boards than total boards from the home team.

31
Minutes played by Derek Fisher, his lowest total in 10 games (Golden State, Dec. 28, 25 min.).

70
Points in the paint for the Lakers, thanks in no small part to Bynum.

92
Shooting percentage by Clippers rookie DeAndre Jordan, who made 11-of-12 shots from the field, nearly all of which were two-handed dunks.

For more on L.A.’s 33rd win, check out our Gameday Page.