Bynum injured his knee,lakers season in jeopardy?

[exkonvict]

goddammit this his horrible news. kobe needs to go back to chucking mode now.

[yunggunz]

I would be happy with this news as a Lakers fan. Could have been a lot more serious.

Kobe is really going to have to kick it up a notch now, because if the lakers fall off and end up with the 7 or 8th seed again, they are doomed. Its too bad because theyve worked hard to get where they are.

[kobe#8]

i dont believe this after seattle whe will face big teams, whe needed him badly damn!

[yunggunz]

i dont believe this after seattle whe will face big teams, whe needed him badly damn!

Yeah, it was a bad time to go down. Phoenix, Denver, SA and Dallas followed by a 9 game road trip starting in Detroit. Ouch.

[Awoooga]

I doubt hes out only 8 weeks, knee injuries are serious business and being that Bynum is up for an extension he's not coming back until he's 110 percent healthy. No sense for him to rush back and missing his payday because he gets hurt again.

[Triangle Theory]

I doubt hes out only 8 weeks, knee injuries are serious business and being that Bynum is up for an extension he's not coming back until he's 110 percent healthy. No sense for him to rush back and missing his payday because he gets hurt again.

i seriously doubt that it will take longer than 8 weeks. 6 - 8 weeks was reported by his AGENT. doubt he will sit out even more becuase he is up for an extension, when his AGENT was the one who reported it.


Bottom line is he will come back when he is healthy enough to play. not make more money.

[Duiz]

First Oden, then O'Neal and now Bynum... wow...

[That Nicka]

This is horrible news.. And I know it could be a lot worse but Andrew Bynum is the main reason for our success this year... we were on pace for 55 wins and unlike last year it actually seemed like we had the depth, confidence, and poise to accomplish that feat... This also could have been Kobe's first MVP season considering the only reason he's never won it before is because the Lakers didnt win enough games... I just hope we can:

1) stay above water until he comes back
2) get him back to 100% before playoffs and
3) this injury doesnt set back his development or make him a soft/tentative player

[Duiz]

I think that part of the change was Bymun, but it will be Fisher who will keep the lakers afloat.

[Triangle Theory]

I think that part of the change was Bymun, but it will be Fisher who will keep the lakers afloat.

+1

I dont see us dropping down to the 8th spot because bynum is out for 8 weeks. Bringing on Fish and with Farmars improvement was another big step foward for LA. We can stay afloat.

[jokeboy86]

Time for Kobe to average 35-40+. Let Kobe loose.

[Jules Winnfield]

The Lakers will be fine. Bynum was an important piece in the puzzle, but he wasn't an all-star or anything. 15/10 can be replaced by different people simply stepping up. Can't replace his presence, but can definitely win every game through execution. The Lakers still have a balanced squad.

[kookie_819]

Thank goodness for the Lakers fans that his injury wasn't too serious, but I hope this means all the Bynum overrating will stop on these boards... at least a little bit.

[xcomputerman]

What I worry about the Lakers is that losing Bynum means they've pretty much lost all of their post scoring threat.

It's going to be that much easier to defend against them knowing that they are now strictly a perimeter-oriented team. Not that that hasn't worked for anyone else (New Orleans comes to mind), but there will be a drop-off. It's going to be much more difficult to beat the good teams, especially on the road in the games ahead.

Whether they'll drop all the way to 8th is another question, though. I don't think they will, but it's hard to give them the benefit of doubt -- over the past couple of years, it's these sorts of injuries that have always derailed them right at the middle of the season when things seem to be going so well. At least they're a better team than they were last year.

[G35]

The Lakers will be fine. Bynum was an important piece in the puzzle, but he wasn't an all-star or anything. 15/10 can be replaced by different people simply stepping up. Can't replace his presence, but can definitely win every game through execution. The Lakers still have a balanced squad.

This is the reason why it's so much easier to build around a big man than a perimeter player. Bynum was the one player besides Kobe the Lakers could ill afford to lose. I hear that Bynum just got lob passes and easy dunks but he changed the whole Lakers offense.

Did anyone see Kwame last night? He can't catch a lob to save his life, finishing around the basket is crazy talk because he can barely catch rim on his layups. He isn't as good a shot blocker and he can't shoot FT's. He is a decent backup at best. Kobe should have been on the corner saying ship Kwame's butt out but nobody wants him.

Having someone who can score in the post and protect the basket is such a huge advantage. Look at what happened to the Lakers after Bynum went down. Memphis took control of the boards and probably should have won that game last night. Without Bynum the Lakers barely looked like a playoff team.

I think the best the Lakers can hope for is to play .500 ball until Bynum gets back. If the Lakers do get 50 wins then Kobe should get the MVP..........

[yunggunz]

The Lakers will be fine. Bynum was an important piece in the puzzle, but he wasn't an all-star or anything. 15/10 can be replaced by different people simply stepping up. Can't replace his presence, but can definitely win every game through execution. The Lakers still have a balanced squad.

Its going to be very hard though because they have an extremely tough schedule coming up, and the 5 spot outside of Bynum was very weak to begin with. If they lost Bynum and werent facing the west elite before an enormous road trip they would be a lot better off. I think theres no question they will probably drop a few spots in the wet with Bynum out.

[NYKnick87]

I have knee subluxation and I can tell you that he should be lucky that he's only out 8 weeks. Nick Collison had shoulder subluxation and he was out for the season before it even began.

[Awoooga]

-= original quote snipped =-



i seriously doubt that it will take longer than 8 weeks. 6 - 8 weeks was reported by his AGENT. doubt he will sit out even more becuase he is up for an extension, when his AGENT was the one who reported it.


Bottom line is he will come back when he is healthy enough to play. not make more money.

first of all thanks for capitalizing agent. now correct me if i'm wrong but the dude is an agent and not a medical doctor. I wouldn't put any stock into what he says, his interest is to minimize the bad press that comes with the injury so 8 weeks is probably on the optimistic side. I stand by my prediction that bynum will be gone more than 8 weeks.

[Craig McDermott]

http://files.filefront.com/Title00+01mp ... einfo.html

Shaq's knee injury in Feb 97. Was many times worse in terms of damage (and they sent him back out after this) than what Bynum suffered and yet Bynum will end up missing as many games as Shaq did (around 30).

[RTM]

The Lakers should still be able to make the playoffs - I honestly can't see them dropping too far. What is going to really matter is whether Bynum is in good form come playoff time.