Big win, bigger loss
The Lakers won Sunday night at Staples against the Grizzlies 100-99, but the bigger story was Andrew Bynum's knee injury, suffered at the 8:32 mark of the third. The official word from the team is that x-rays were negative, and he'll undergo an MRI, probably tomorrow (the timing of this sort of thing can depend on swelling). Phil Jackson didn't elaborate, instead deciding to wait until they have a more definitive idea of the injury, but here's a mini-update (Thanks to Helene Elliott for the quotes: Go team LAT!):
QUOTES (count how many times you can tell he's 20...):
- "I guess I came down a little short and then my knee just twisted a little bit. It just hurts right on top of the kneecap and then a little bit on the right side."
- "It was pretty scary because it felt like my knee twisted all around. Luckily I'm all right. The x-ray was negative and I'm taking an MRI tomorrow. I didn't hear any pops. I'm able to put weight on it and it doesn't really hurt. Just when I bend it, it hurts."
- The biggest concerns: "Just the kneecap and the ligaments around the kneecap."
- Have you ever had trouble with that knee?: "No, never that knee. I've been pretty healthy. I think I'm fine because I can put weight on it and it doesn't hurt at all. I can move it left and right. Just to take a step forward is the only thing that really hurts."
Bynum left wearing a soft cast on his left leg (the kind that immobilize, but can be removed), but was walking, though he had someone with him carrying some really, really long crutches. Still, he had his Lakers shorts on and his high tops, and wasn't back fully in his street clothes. It's hard to read too much into anything until the MRI is back. Obviously, it's good news that he could walk, but that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't damage to the knee. Fingers crossed that it's nothing too bad.
On Friday, Andrew dropped an inadvertent F bomb during his postgame interview. Tonight, it was Laker fans doing the same... but I don't think there was anything unintentional about it. Rest of the breakdown to follow.... (UPDATE: It's there, now).
BK
The Good:
- They won the game.
- Jordan Farmar and Javaris Crittenton: Both had some very big moments for the Lakers. Critter went 3-3 from the floor for seven points, all in the fourth, and was an active part of the ball pressure the Lakers used late. He turned the ball over a couple times, but both were on aggressive plays trying to get to the rack. That was something the needed badly. Considering Coby Karl got the first run behind Kobe (there was probably a message there), Critter came back strong late, and with PJ giving Kobe a couple extra minutes to rest because of his respiratory problem (it was worse for him tonight than on Friday), he came through with some nice plays. Farmar was only 4-11 and his stronger offensive moments came earlier in the game, but he also had three steals, and three dimes. His triple at the end of the third- his only FG of the second half- was one of the biggest shots of the game.
- Kobe Bryant: 10-25 from the floor means it wasn't his best shooting night, but 24 was still playing sick, and with the team totally stagnant down the stretch, he made some big plays. Overall, he finished the night with 37 points, fueled by a 14-15 effort from the line.
- First Half Offense: The Lakers finished the first half with 61 points on 56.8% from the floor, and had 15 assists on 25 FGs. Not a bad ratio. The ball movement and spacing were good, and they had a lot of very clean looks.
- Kwame Brown: It wasn't all pretty, and the team clearly lost a lot of mojo when Andrew left the floor, but 54 did make a clutch FT with nine ticks left, and contested Lowry's shot at the end of the game. For the record, I thought it was a pretty good non-call. That's just not a whistle you can expect to get, if you're Memphis, with time running down. You have to hack the hell out of a guy.
The Bad:
- Early D: The Lakers were certainly inattentive early, especially Kobe on Mike Miller. I think Bryant was hoping he could, given his illness, float a little bit and conserve some energy, but Miller didn't let him. He torched 24 early, going for 13 in the first. Kobe joked that when he came back in the second and again bodied up Miller, that he told him it was time for "USA Basketball defense." Meaning, he was going to tighten up and make Miller work a lot harder for space and points. That was part of the reason the Lakers held Memphis to 22 points in the second quarter. But generally speaking they weren't all that crisp early in their rotations, and penetration was too easy to come by off the perimeter. Memphis had some nice looks, for sure.
- Post Drew O: The Lakers scored 39 points in the second half, shot 28.2%, had an incredibly difficult time getting the ball inside and attacking the rim, and generally were turned into a jump shooting squad. As we all know, that's never a good thing. No doubt they were thrown by the Bynum injury, but guys really started standing around and waiting for something to happen. Ball and player didn't move very much. Granted, the rhythm of the offense is totally different with Kwame as opposed to Drew, but they can't stop moving the ball towards the rim just because Bynum is out. It's not quite as easy to make space there, but players can still cut, drive, etc. The second unit, especially, seemed totally out of whack offensively. The Lakers only had six field goals in the fourth quarter as a whole.
- Rebounding: Given that they missed so many shots, it's not surprising the Lakers were outrebounded 50-44. In the second half, the margin was wider, with Memphis eating glass to the tune of 32-21. The Grizzlies were also effective on the offensive glass late (11 offensive boards, giving them a lot of second chance opps).
- Fourth Quarter D: Memphis had their only quarter over 50% from the floor, were 4-8 from downtown, and allowed a 13 point lead to become a one point deficit in a five minute stretch in the middle of the period. After that, it was a dogfight, and the Lakers did force some TOs from Memphis, but between the lagging O and lax D, suddenly what was a comfortable lead was completely gone.
We'll have a lot more on this tomorrow. Obviously, with no Drew, no Mihm, and no Vlad, they're paper thin on the front line. What they'll do depends on how long Drew will be out, I imagine. But Phil said they won't rush Vlad, who isn't even practicing right now.
AUDIO:
- Phil Jackson, who gets the quote of the day. When asked if Kwame is ready to come back and start, he replied: "Well, unless Wilt comes back from the dead, I don't know what else we're going to do." Say what you will about PJ, but the man is good for a gem now and then: Download phil_jackson_1.13 postMEM.mp3
- Kobe Bryant, on what he said to Kwame before 54's FTs, how Bynum's injury changes things, and his health (among other things): Download kobe_bryant_1.13 postMEM.mp3
- Derek Fisher: Download derek_fisher_1.13 postMEM.mp3
Lots more to talk about in the morning.
BK
Good news that hes able to put weight on it, and didnt hear a pop, although I still fear that he might have a slightly torn a knee ligament. My guess is 4-6 weeks of Kwame. God help us all.
Posted by: golal | January 13, 2008 at 10:02 PM
BK -- That sounds good!!
When I first saw it, I thought torn MCL ... but if he can stand on it and move it right and left then hopefully its a mild sprain in the MCL ... out 2-3 weeks.
Posted by: HmrHed | January 13, 2008 at 10:07 PM
my heart literally stopped when i saw him go down. i hope it's nothing too serious and he'll only be out for a few games. this is the last thing we need right now. i cannot stand watching kwame be out there for so long. it hurts to watch him play. bynum is light years ahead of kwame.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 13, 2008 at 10:07 PM
I'm hoping it's just a sprain. When I first saw it I thought he tore a ligament. We need Drew back as soon as possible. The timing of this injury is terrible with 4 tough games coming up after the Seattle game and a tough road trip.
Posted by: Xodus | January 13, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Long time lurker, infrequent poster here.
This is obviously devastating news to lose Bynum for any amount of time when he was getting better each and every game this season. One thing that I would suggest is that the percentage of actual medical doctors posting on this blog is probably pretty small, so we'll probably all be better off if we stop speculating how long Bynum will be out for. We'll all know soon enough.
That aside, this is a different, deeper team than last year's squad. The additions of Ariza and Fisher, along with the maturation of Farmar (overlooked this year too often with all the, well earned, attention on Bynum) have left this Laker team in a better position to weather injuries. Granted, the timing is particularly bad with a hard stretch of opponants coming up and a brutal road trip after that, but this is also an opportunity for other players to pick up significant minutes and gain experience.
Phil Jackson is a very good coach. I think that he'll surprise us with some new lineups if Kwame ends up being as bad as he has been at times in the past.
Specifically, I wouldn't be too shocked to see a small lineup consisting of:
PG: Fisher/
SG: Kobe/
C: Lamar Odom
PF: Walton
SF: Ariza
It wouldn't be ideal, but it sure would create headaches and mismatches in our opponants.
Posted by: Jimbo | January 13, 2008 at 10:17 PM
This just goes to show how valuable Bynum has become to our team in such a short time. If this had happened last year, it would have gone almost unoticed.
Posted by: Gabe | January 13, 2008 at 10:18 PM
There must be some doctors reading this! What do we think?
Posted by: | January 13, 2008 at 10:18 PM
If the injury is not serious this will be good for Kwame. He's so mentally fragile, he needs the confidence playing more minutes can bring.
Kobe told him it didn't matter if he hit both free throws, they still had to get a stop. Good call, Kobe. That's leadership.
Posted by: Vman | January 13, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Luke got minutes at the end that he should not have gotten. They REALLY needed some defense.
Kwame did what he could, and he hit that game winning free throw.
We need Lamar to step up. With our #2 out, we need big time play from LO.
The report sounds promising. I've heard of people walking around with torn up knees before seeing their doctor... putting weight on it is a good sign, but we're not out of the woods.
Dammit Mike T, I thought I told you to put away that damned Voodoo doll.
j/k
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | January 13, 2008 at 10:27 PM
I hope what happened tonite at least scared the FO enough to go out and get another big man who at least doesn't have everyone in Laker nation on the edge of their seats. Mihm is done, and Kwame is terrible right now. We need another big
Posted by: DTC | January 13, 2008 at 10:31 PM
BK,
Thanks for the update on Drew. My whole things is I don't like to see any of our Lakers injured because when we're at full strength we're very hard to beat because of the chemistry, depth and comfort level that the players have playing their roles. Whenever anyone is injured is causes changes in the lineup that affects the starters and the bench as well as overcompensating at times for an injury. As of late, there was much more flow on both ends of the court as well ball movement and sharing with everyone contributing offensively. We must work hard defensively and continue to share the ball with LO and Luke picking up the slack offensively. I expect little to no offense at all from Kwame, but he needs to bring defensive intensity to each game. Opponents will definitely try to make it 5 on 4 because I don't think they respect Kwame's offensive game and will try to make Kobe revert back to shooting more. We'll see how it goes. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | January 13, 2008 at 10:31 PM
The fact that Andrew was standing and walking without crutches is a good sign. Stu said something interesting. He said that sometimes its the fear factor that makes a player react like Andrew did. He really did seem like he wasnt to worried about it. Hopefully Kwame can at least finish a few of the plays that his team mates set up for him.
MH
Posted by: michael h | January 13, 2008 at 10:32 PM
I pray for drew's knee!!
The kid is sensational. It's not the stats, it's how he plays, how he looks out there, you can feel it's something special.
PLEASE LET IT BE A SPRAIN!!!
Posted by: Harold | January 13, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Edwin,
Mihm, Vlad and Sasha aren't even practicing yet. I like the Kareem / Magic comparison. Kobe stepped up in Indiana when Shaq went down. I'm not sure LO has that kind of "step" in his skill set. If he does, he hasn't shown it in Phil's scheme. I've never seen him take a game over in the sense that Magic and Kobe took over.
Posted by: Vman | January 13, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Laker Fans
Can anyone guess who had 5 turnovers yet played more minutes than any other Laker?
If you guessed Kobe Bryant.........wrong answer
Correct answer......LUKE WALTON
Luke looked absolutely horrible tonight and Phil Jackson's substitution patterns and his refusal to call timeouts and actually be a coach was the biggest reason we were in this dog fight tonight.
Bynum going down ( I hope for not long) may be a blessing in disguise because Walton will be exposed for the clown that he is like he was tonight and Ariza will have to play more or hopefully you can put Walton in a package and trade him along with Brown for someone like Kurt Thomas in Seattle.
Seattle with all those athletes up front will really expose Luke Walton..........and hopefully Phil will run out of excuses for playing this guy this much.
It appears Phil's whole substitution pattern is designed to make Luke Walton appear to have value to this team.........Can anyone explain to me why Luke is playing freakin' 37 minutes?
Posted by: pfunk36 | January 13, 2008 at 10:40 PM
I feel a little (actually more than a little bit) sick in my stomach.
God, I hope Bynum is okay.
Fruck.
Man...
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | January 13, 2008 at 10:41 PM
It's a tough year...a tough game, a tough win.
We're still as deep as we have been. We need to keep our head up, and play like we've shown of late.
Keep going, have some faith in yourselves...play with Pride, play some D.
We'll be all right. Go Lakers!
Posted by: Faith | January 13, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Again, i've torn both ACL's and putting weight on it isn't a good signal. It's ALL about the MRI tomorrow. I'm not trying to scare anyone, but when i tore the ACL in my right knee, i was not only able to put weight on it, but i actually tried playing more (then decided it wasn't a good idea). I was so positive it was a sprain since i've torn an ACL, which at the time was extremely painful. Lo and behold, MRI comes positive and i went under the knife.
Conclusion: Don't feel too safe just yet.... i hope it's negative! Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh
Posted by: LakerMark | January 13, 2008 at 10:44 PM
SIXONEZERO........
FIRST OFF I DONT KNOW YOU LIKE THAT FOR YOU TO CALL ME NAMES........
Kwame-LO make's a combine 21 mill this year,an in the second half of this game they combine for a grand total of 5 pts 6 reb between them.
Im sorry I cant go back to last year an the year before that.......were LO was the second opt an KWAME in the post.
Im sorry I'm not putting my trust in KWAME an LO, history on my side...........an if you like kwame so much you an mike t can take turn's rubbing kwame's nutts an tell him it's O.K. a lot of 7 footers misses a 2 hand dunk with 9 seconds to play.
Posted by: COMPTON FINEST | January 13, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Christ, Bynum picked the worst time to get hurt.
Come on Kwame! Prove your worth!!!! Don't let Uncle Mike down.
E
Posted by: Emma | January 13, 2008 at 10:45 PM
BK,
Where's the rest of the breakdown?
Posted by: Xodus | January 13, 2008 at 10:48 PM
On a positive note I have learned a ton of new ways to swear on this site without actually swearing. (fruck, shyt, etc..)
:)
Posted by: lvl8krs | January 13, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Kobyum is in danger
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | January 13, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Andrew Baby get better soon cuz we need you son. I think you might be done your the season man but work your butt off please so you can become a future hall of famer.
Posted by: CrackHeadBob | January 13, 2008 at 10:52 PM
according to coach MIKE.T...
The up side is that with kwame back in th starting line up we are now gonna play with a structured defense ,putting us right up there with the spurs,pistons,and the celtics,
thats right people we are now an ELITE TEAM now we can cruise through the regular season and practice against these weaker teams that play POOR MANS DEFENSE just like we did tonight ......
i just thru up in my mouth
Posted by: fonzuhrelli | January 13, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Andrew let us know how your doing baby
Posted by: CrackHeadBob | January 13, 2008 at 11:08 PM
what the hell was Luke doing at the end?
Posted by: ajax | January 13, 2008 at 11:15 PM
please no torn ligaments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: greek dude | January 13, 2008 at 11:17 PM
AK or BK in your opinion how serious do you think Bynums injury is?
Posted by: CrackHeadBob | January 13, 2008 at 11:26 PM
The thing that really worries me is this......If it is his patella tendon he could be in trouble....Same thing that zo snapped.....We know its not snapped but if that tendon is torn it takes a while to heal....
Posted by: Thirty2 | January 13, 2008 at 11:30 PM
pfunk36,
I agree with you. I will never understand why Walton plays so much, he is a clown, and one of the badest players I've ever seen.
I hope someday the management will trade a pack of Walton and Brown.
Posted by: Alexinho17 | January 13, 2008 at 11:31 PM
Just curious....do the lakers still get tacos tonight?
Posted by: Hansoulfood | January 13, 2008 at 11:32 PM
Kwame is the first man I've ever seen BRICK a dunk. As long as Kwame is a Laker I will try my best to support his efforts and not dog him out completely, but it's hard. Here's a man that is 7 foot tall and strong as an ox an he can't dunk a basketball from right under the basket. Frustrating.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | January 13, 2008 at 11:44 PM
Lol havent posted here in a while, but given bynum's injury and kwame being our only option at the 5, i propose a challenge for Mike T.
IF the Lakers suddenly become a defensive bohemoth, keeping all teams out of the lane and killing it on the boards while drew is out - if Kwame becomes the 5 option that Mike T thinks he is... if all this happens, we on lakersblog bow down to his obvious talent spotting greatness and NOONE ever says anything about him being a dumb puck (i said puck! puck with a "p"!) ever again.
IF however, the lakers go down the toilet, give up 100+ points every game, and lose ANY of the momentum they have at the moment... If we get killed on the defensive boards every night... If points in the paint against us suddenly goes through the roof - IF all that happens, then Mike T agrees to shut up and admit that he is wrong and graciously never pretends to be a 'basketball expert' again...
What say you lakersblog world? fair challenge??
Posted by: Tim in Sydney | January 13, 2008 at 11:46 PM
Okay, all you people hyping on Luke, just pipe down.
Luke was the primary defender on Rudy Gay, Memphis' leading scorer, and
he did a damn good job on him. When you hold the opposing team's star to
5 of 19 shooting, shoot 50%, get 6 rebounds, and would have had 4 or 5
assists if your passes would have been to Drew instead of Kwame, then you
had a pretty good game.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | January 13, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Sober Ole!
It's every game we hold the opposition down 100.
Luke Walton plays OK. But he really shouldn't be playing at crunch time.
Posted by: Faith | January 13, 2008 at 11:50 PM
I BLAME ODUM! He didnt like how Bynum was stealing his spotlight so he planted his foot right under Bynum...
Posted by: locknload | January 13, 2008 at 11:53 PM
CrackHeadBob-
Honestly, I have no idea. That he was able to walk without crutches could be a good sign, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's no damage. It's not uncommon at all for people to be able to walk, or even try to play on what are relatively serious knee injuries, even torn ligaments, etc. Hopefully he's okay, but my guess is if he misses four to six weeks, fans should consider it a lucky break. Could be more, didn't look like it'll be much less.
Keep in mind- just in case for some odd reason anyone has forgotten- I'm not a doctor. So I'm just spitballing here. I'm not entirely comfortable even speculating as much as I just did. There's no way to know for sure until the MRI results are in.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | January 14, 2008 at 12:03 AM
Comptons Finest,
I've been saying this all along our 2nd and 3rd most paid players (kwame, LO) are propbably are weekest links..... I know a trade between Indiana is completely doable, we will be a much better team with O'neil and Foster......
Posted by: Gino | January 14, 2008 at 12:06 AM
Noooo.
How casually the ESPN radio guy mentioned that Bynum had gone down with a knee injury. How dare he not treat the moment with the awesome severity it deserved.
Reminds me (I don't know why) of the time Tawny Little was doing her newscast and she forgot to pause between her name and her story. "Good afternoon," She said, "I'm Tawny Little one of the rapists apprehended this morning..."
Seriously though, I hope Bynum only misses one game. What are the odds?
Wes
Posted by: | January 14, 2008 at 12:07 AM
thank god the knee injury doesn't look too bad and we won the game.
i pray that tommorrow's mri is negative.
while i agree with mike t that kwame is important to our season, he's killing me with his play lately. even worse, kwame is no bynum. i hope drew's back soon, we need him for his calm, dependable play in the post and his shot blocking. hey mike, stop with the obeah....
Posted by: man | January 14, 2008 at 12:12 AM
"Lots more to talk about in the morning"
don't you mean the "mourning"
:(
Posted by: J. Walter Weatherman | January 14, 2008 at 12:20 AM
Bynum has a torn ligament.....I predicted it here FIRST!!!
As for me...I'll stay on this sinking ship..
Posted by: never | January 14, 2008 at 12:31 AM
"I told him to shoot it with confidence..I'll bail your a$$ out anyway"-Kobe on Brown's free throws.
I guess it's safe to say Kobe will be in debt..
Posted by: never | January 14, 2008 at 12:37 AM
If I gave C3PO a fifth of vodka and programmed him to do post moves, I imagine it would look something like Kwame Brown on the blocks... Without the headband and stupid look on his face of course. Dear Lord we're in trouble if this injury is serious.
Posted by: puddle | January 14, 2008 at 12:45 AM
Tim in Sydney.....Im in adelaide.........good to see another aussie on hear......
BTW.......I agree with that
Posted by: Thirty2 | January 14, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Kobe went one on three to score in one crunch time sequence. You can call it Kobe ball but it looks like the only other teammate on the floor that wants the open look is Fish.
The tight games are coming. HOpefully we can improve on last night's end game execution.
Posted by: Vman | January 14, 2008 at 02:20 AM
Kwame should use this as motivation http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3194574&categoryId=2459788&n8pe6c=1
Posted by: CrackHeadBob | January 14, 2008 at 03:02 AM
Its Ok. Everyone relax. The Lakers will be just fine. All we have to do now is figure a way to get Kwame the ball without him having to catch it. He cant pull the weight if he cant even hold the handle. The Lakers would be better off with Turiaf even Mihm. Kwame is a dump truck. Only good for hauling sand just as long as he doesnt have to use his hands.
Posted by: Sean Spishak | January 14, 2008 at 05:32 AM
Come on yall Please Remember Kwame is not 100% like Bynam will not be 100% of what he was untill he can heal, but yall know in the NBA or pro sports 70% is 100% I think if we give Kwame like a week of starting and getting us to getting the ball LOL, and playing 25 plus minutes we will be where we were, we he got hurt in Chi-town.
Laker Nation we will be ok, Have Faith......
Go Lakers.... but give Kwame sometime to get use to the extra weight, more playing time, and getting use to folks passin him the ball.... Once all these thangs happen, we will be back if not there tonite.. Lets see.
Posted by: Kevin G | January 14, 2008 at 05:51 AM