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Andrew Bynum's return and ensuing impact is starting to become more and more cloudy. With this being his second serious knee injury and the fact that the public statements are vague is not encouraging for the Lakers. Waiting for a player to return from a serious injury is like waiting for someone that is supposed to sell you something illegally, until its in your hand or in this case a firm date is giving and Bynum is practicing then nothing is guaranteed.

But the question remains can LA win it all and beat the Spurs without Bynum and his shot blocking and rebounding ability? And can Bynum have a significant impact if he does not return until right around playoff time?

when was his 1st knee injury?

That's the questions that the other WC contenders are asking.

It gives them hope when they hear Bynums return is delayed. I think Bynum would be coming back sooner if the Lakers needed him. But the Lakers don't really need him right now. They are playing it conservatively........

Whe dont need him now, dont take the risc wait till he's 100%..

He tore his ACL in hs, i beg to differ, he was suppose to be back in 2 months and it has been two months, breaking you knee cap is serious. The fact that he isnt running yet I think really put a cloud of doubt over the whole thing. if they were delaying his return to make sure it would be a matter of a few weeks, but this is over a month and once again I stress the lack of a definitive time line.

jradMIT wrote:He tore his ACL in hs, i beg to differ, he was suppose to be back in 2 months and it has been two months, breaking you knee cap is serious. The fact that he isnt running yet I think really put a cloud of doubt over the whole thing. if they were delaying his return to make sure it would be a matter of a few weeks, but this is over a month and once again I stress the lack of a definitive time line.

He didn't break it. He dislocated.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lak ... 9327.story

The Lakers, however, were not concerned with Bynum's overall progress.

"I think it's going well," Lakers spokesman John Black said. "There's the normal amount of pain and swelling that goes with it, but there have been no negative reactions.
"Bynum won't play in time to hit the early side of the team's initial timetable of "at least eight weeks" for him to return. He has missed 22 games since sustaining a deep bone bruise in his left knee and a brief dislocation of the left kneecap in a Jan. 13 game against Memphis.

Yes, we need him to win in the playoffs

No, we should not and do not need to rush him back. He can take all the time in the world.

There are 21 games left, if he plays 10 games the rust wont be so bad, but anything less than that you gotta believe his impact will be less and right now that is close to where it is. without any further delays from the current vague timeline.

Of course they need Bynum for the playoffs, you think Gasol is going to deliver playoff Ws?

Yea against anyone but the Spurs, maybe Bynum will be full speed by the conference finals.

Is Bynum codeword for Kobe? Some of you are acting like the Lakers suck and have no chance of beating anyone in the playoffs without Bynum.

Don't get me wrong Bynum was having a GREAT season but it's not like the Lakers have been playing badly...

No Im saying can they beat the Spurs and then the Celts/Pistons without having his rebounding and shot blocking ability. The Spurs have guy who like to

No Im saying can they beat the Spurs and then the Celts/Pistons without having his rebounding and shot blocking ability. The Spurs have guys who like to go inside, without Bynum the Lakers dont have that big shot blocker to keep Tony Parker and Ginobli from going to the hole

im pretty sure that if the lakers are fortunate enough to face the spurs/celtics/pistons bynum would have had plenty of games to get back into it.

you do know that the "tear" occurred in the other knee.

the reason why i had tear in quotes is becuase while he had the injury in very late december, he played in the Mc donalds all star game. so we either have to assume that he healed from a torn ACL in three months or that it was a different injury.

i think the lakers would need bynum to be pretty much 100% in order to have a chance at getting to the finals. they'd do pretty good without him but he's a big upgrade on the defensive end and for rebounding..................both much needed in the playoffs...............especially in the west

I think we can beat anyone in the West without him except San Antonio. I doubt we would meet them until the WCF so he has all the time in the world. We don't need to rush him back.

The thing about all the time in the world is that it is not all the time in the world.

jradMIT wrote:The thing about all the time in the world is that it is not all the time in the world.

this year isn't the lakers only chance to win a title. bynum's long term health takes a back seat to nothing right now.

I think the Lakers are just being overly cautious, they don't need him to return right away so they are making sure he is not rushing back. it is the smart thing to do in their position.