8 weeks!! Can we live with Kwame at Center until early March? That kid needs to put velcro on his hands! Lamar needs to step it up.

So mid march.

If we can stay around the 5th seed, I will be happy.

I think I've only posted on this blog once before, but this situation prompted me to say something.
We need to sign Chris Webber now!!! He would definitely be an upgrade offensively over Kwame and would also help ensure we have a good player to fill in for Lamar if he gets hurt.

It sounded like Bynum would like to accelerate that timetable, so maybe 6 or 7 weeks instead?
I would still like us to pick up another big. My #1 choice would be PJ Brown but maybe there's a good trade out there somewhere.
The bad part is that we will probably not trade Kwame by the trading deadline, which is what I was hoping for. Maybe with more PT he will get back to how he played at the end of the '05-'06 season.

This is fckin painful! If you asked me if Bynum were out for eight weeks at the top of the season would it hurt the fan moral and the team productivity, I would have said you were crazy!! Unfortunately injuries are a part of the game of basketball and the fact that it isn't a microfracture situation is the silver lining in all of this!!!

It's time for Kwame to earn that 9 million!! He's got the body and the defensive skills to play the position. LO has got to get back to his near triple double ways (especially on the boards) and we can expect Kobe to be Kobe!!

This will be a test but I believe in this team!!!

Let's take it game by game and with that said.....let's go get those Sonic's tonight!!!

Lakers can continue to win and will win. Andrew will get well in time for us make a push down the stretch and in the playoffs. As a Laker fan, I will ride with whoever we have playing. I've said this all season and will stand by it. Everyone just needs to step up their game and get the job done and we'll be fine. Adversity will bring this team closer together and we'll get through this. Go Lakers!!!

CHRIST THATS MY INJURY!

Which is both a bad and good thing. Since Ive got experience I'll explain a bit to all you bloggers and to BK/AK

Basically because he bent his leg the opposite way, he outstretched the ligaments on the inner part of his knee. Technically, there are probably little tears, but they are so finite that its not considered a ligament tear..just sort of an overstretch, or what is a major sprain.

He said he felt pain on top of his knee and on the side, which is the same pain I felt, because what happend was that his knee move out of its socket enough so that it rubbed some cartlidge and so that part of the knee went through a bit of trama. Some scar tissue will develop in the back of the knee, because it becomes hard to bend.

The reason he clutched his knee was the same reason I clutched my knee when I was 15. He got really scared because he lost all power in the knee. Think about it. If the knee cap moves, the whole strength of the knee is gone so it feels like its broken or you tore it off. But the only thing that happened was that the one place where all the force is focused on went away. He freaked out because he THOUGHT that it was worse than at firs tthough. His knee probably didnt POP, but he DID feel a shift.

THe way you rehab is not surgery (especially since hes so young) but just strengthening the muscles around your knee, mostly your quad and then the very top of the knee. Lots of leg press, excercise bike and stair master, tip toe raises, that sort of thing. Stand on a medicine ball eventually to gain confidence in the lateral movement.

When i had that injury when I was 15 it took my 12-16 weeks before I regained my top form. But then I rehabed, and eventually I was 4 times the player I was ever before. It became the point that I didnt even wear a brace, didnt even remember that I had a hurt knee.

Now the downside to the injury is that there is a likelihood of it happening again, because those ligments will always be more stretched. But the silver lining is that if you keep strong muscles, youll be find barring another major injury. For example, 4 years later I re-injured my knee the same way, coming down on somebody's ankle for a rebound and i felt my knee go on me. But because i had strengthened my knee before, I was walking in a couple of days, running in 3 weeks, and now Im fine again.

Now of course Im not a NBA player, so I dont have the physical training. Luckly for Bynum, he did an intense workout this summer. If this happened last year, I would have been worried. But now hes already got the muscles to help. He just has to stay on top of it as soon as today, so taht scar tissue doesnt develop and he doesnt lose those muscles.

The worst part of the injury (my doctor told me) was the mental aspect, of thinking that the knee cap might go on him again. But hopefully whoever is around him doesnt talk about it, or remind him of how it felt. But he sounds really good to me about his attitude, so Im confident.

I say depending on severity give him 2-3 months before we see andrew back on the court, and come playoff time he should be back to 95-96% in terms of the mental aspect.

I hope that was helfpul to you all.

If we can play .500 ball during the 8 weeks that Bynum is out we should count ourselves lucky.

Well boys, the streak now is in trouble.

It was fun while is lasted.

Looks like the basketball gods are still frowning upon us

Just when things were getting good.

It's been a pleasure.

Let me whip out my violin to play with the sinking ship..........

BK,

The bruise of the knee comes from the kneecap moving out of place and rubbing with the bone. As a matter of fact, I still get mysterious bruises around me knee after I play a hard game of basketball. It's one of those it hurts if you press but nothing severe. Dont even ice it. Although when he gets older itll hurt, but since im only two years older than bynum, ill keep you guys posted when it becomes a chronic injury hahahaha.

The answer is to shore up our perimeter defenses if we don't have big men capable of patrolling the lane (Kwame is only a decent one-on-one positional defender). Ariza might have to get more playing time. It would be nice to see him chasing point guards much the way Pippen used to lock em down. But Luke in with no Bynum? I don't want to see how that turns out.

I'm no doctor or anything, but wouldn't you be able to see a dislocated kneecap in an x-ray?

I guess it doesn't really make a difference. Let's just be thankful that he doesn't need surgery and he will be back this season.

GO LAKERS!!
Make it 7 in a row tonight!!

oh my goodness. backlash of last year!?! weren't the LAKERS 26-13 last year when the injury bugs hit them? well similiar record this year but man oh man hopefully KOBE can pull us through. If he does, MVP this year no? Media keeps bashing the poor guy. L.O needs to step up now! this guy needs to deserve the close-to-kobe money he is making.

if L.O can avg at least 19 points and continue his strong rebounding, then we would be fine. I have strong faith in FISH, LUKE, ARIZA, FARMAR, TURIAF, RADMAN(when he gets back) SASHA to pull us through this 2 month period. Notice how i didnt put KWAME? i've lost faith in this guy. what a bust

Even with Bynum down, there are a lot of things about this team that are
improvements over last season. There's Fisher instead of Smush, there's
Ariza instead of Evans, and there's improvements by Farmar, Vujacic, and
Radmanovic. If the Lakers can avoid any more injuries, and if they can get
Vlad and Sasha back, I think they'll be able to weather through this. They
won't stay in the top 4, but they will stay in the playoff hunt.

I'd predict if Bynum misses 30 games, the Lakers will go 18-12.

And if Bynum can get back up to full speed by the playoffs, then there'll
be a top seed in the West that will be sweating bullets.

Please, please, Cap. Step up and offer to tutor Kwame one-on-one. No one has taken the time to develop Kwame like you've developed the Drewski.

The Lakers need a calm, cool, & collected Kwame.

Like I said in the last thread, this is bittersweet. On the one hand, there's no ligament damage which is a good thing. On the other hand, the 8-week time table is pretty long. I don't think we can keep up our current pace without Andrew, but we've definitely got enough talent and enough players that know the system to play 55% ball over that two month stretch.

We've played well without Bynum playing or playing huge minutes. Like that 11-3 run we ended the 05-05 season on. And we had a strong start this season with Bynum playing about 24 minutes to start the season and we got off to a 6-2 start.

#4,

Nope. Magloire is playing (badly) for the Nets.

Didn't that bonehead Mike T wish for an injury to Bynum so that he could justify his love of Kwame????

Better be careful what you wish for. Here we go. We have a chance, but not a very good one.

But I'm a true fan will continue to root and watch even if the wheels come off.

LAKERS!

What irony, Lakers hit No. 1 in the Power Rankings the same day they lose Bynum for two months. You couldn't make this stuff if you tried.
billy

Repost from other thread:

The rest of January is a very tough schedule as has been noted (Phoenix, SA,
Dallas, Cleveland, Detroit) with a couple of "easy" ones thrown in (Seattle, NY).

I'm hoping they'll win 2 out of 5 of the hard ones and they should win the two
easy ones.

February looks brighter, even though most of it is on the road, since we'll be
playing mostly Leastern Conference teams, but then it gets tough again as we
start playing more Western Conference teams.

I'm optimistic, but 55 wins is definitely in jeopardy.

Posted by: Bzar | January 14, 2008 at 01:48 PM

I've been dying to see this version of the Lakers play all the tough Western Conference teams during the upcoming stretch, but this is not what I was dying for. Yikes, this is scary. At least the early news is as favorable as could be expected, but that feeling of dread I had before last night's game is haunting me. I hope he heals quickly and makes a sooner than expected return, or at least, he comes back ready to go for the playoffs.

oh boy, do NOT rush him back. The stairmaster is the DEVIL because you can be overworking your achilles and calf areas and not feel a thing until hours after the workout and then you can enjoy the sheer pleasure of plantar fasciitis until you calm down the calf again... in other words, add a week of sitting around doing nothing but massaging it...

Kwame Brown, it's your big chance! Your contract is up and you are now on display for the entire league. Don't think about it... LOL!

The Lake Show, thanks for your helpful info and insight, it's appreciated.

eh....theres always next year

Don't mean to be a pessimist but its hella hard trying to be optimistic now. Without Andrew in the middle this team becomes a whole lot easier to defend. We must be cursed. At the same point last year the injury hit us when we were doing so well. I know, it could have been worse, and im glad that bynum is expected to make a full recovery without any surgury. He's still young it may take less time than what is expected. But the point is this will change the way the lakers operate and come the time when bynum comes back will they be able to find the same rythym? i doubt it. Kobe will most likely be kobe again, lamar will hide away while kwame attempts to reach his career long goal of breaking backboard with a hook shot. This team might ban together and realize they have to fight harder than ever, we have the talent and are deep enough to pull through. However, theres more excuses than motivation at this point.

At least this news should make Mike T real happy...

This could definitely have been worse, but it isn't fortunate to lose him during the hardest stretch of the season starting later this week. The messed up thing is this conference is so tight that going .500 for the next month could drop us out of the playoffs. BUT I don't think Bynum is the only reason we've improved this year. If we can get our bench back to full strength we;re still a good team. Despite Kwame being a human Maalox commercial, this time could improve his confidence and give us a more solid rotation at center when Bynum gets back.

hey, let's get Steven Segal to jedi mind train Kwame! Segal could teach aikido to Kwame and Javaris, teaching them to slow down and remain focused... What's Segal doing these days besides some TNT stints? C'mon! Steven Segal, Laker Assistant Coach??? would that be one of the great story lines of the year for the NBA or what? Can you imagine? They would have to close all Laker practices to the media and public due to the black helicopters that would be hovering over the gym.

fooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hes ruined my fantasy team and the lakers hopes of being a top 4 seed.

Same injury here Lake Show (playing football though). Pretty accurate explanations, but I'll re-emphasize the importance of rehab. Stabilizing the joint by building muscles is extremely important. The first time I injured it (at 14, ironically) I knew nothing about proper rehab and suffered numerous re-occurences of the injury. After an orthopedic surgeon said "no surgery, but ride a bike to stabilize the joint", not only did the reoccurences drop to almost nil, the aching and pain went away also (improved circulation despite scar tissue). Best part for him is that he didn't suffer cartilage damage along with what seemed a minor dislocation. (Shaun Livingston had a serious one)

Unlike either of us, Bynum will have the best medical staff assembled to help him rehab. I'm certain he will return fine, and he's young enough to see the injury as a nuisance versus someting to fear.

Very helpful, Lake Show. It helps to know that Drew will be rehabbed by the best in the business. I seem to remember Shaq having a similar knee injury his first year with us. He came back with about 2 weeks left in the season and picked up right where he left off. Drew will be fine.

God, I hope Michael Teniente is right about Kwame being a force of nature.

GO LAKERS!

Yeah, what is about Lamar's feet and other players injuries?

GO LAKERS!

AK/BK or anyone else:

Do you know of any other NBA players who have had similar injuries and what their recovery times were. Obviously everyone heals differently but it'd be nice to have a reference.

Mel

Story goes that Cap. offered assistance to Kwame from the start of his assignment w/ Bynum. Kwame turned it down stating that he's not a back to the basket player and therefore Cap would be of no major assistance to his (Kwame's) game.... Go figure?? #1 pick over all , hummm?

I'm really depressed...I love this team and will continue to be a big fan, but I really enjoyed them this year mostly because of what Bynum gave us....Kwame needs glue for his hands...can't handle most balls, and we give up SOOO much without Andrew...It was so much fun to watch them..I kept saying to myself, the only ones we really can't afford to lose are Kobe and Andrew....well....let's see if Lamar can pick up his game like he never has since being a Laker...Everyone has to step up, but I'm not sure some of the lesser ones can...I hope so...but now we have to go on that tortuous road trip without Andrew...and after tonight, play 4 very good teams without him....
so sad for a team on the rise....

Lakerfaze,

Really? Damn, Kwame's dumber than I thought. This might not be an easy task.

This is terrible. Bad day in Lakerland. I'm glad he didn't need surgery. But at least 8wks is a long time. I hope Kwame has gotten better at rotations and being big inside turning away easy buckets. Thats what the Lakers really need from him. GO LAKERS!!!

Right now I wish the theory of supernatural powers were actually real...I would hope the have the power to punch Mike T in the f**king face, possibly choke off the oxygen supply to his bone head...Time to see Kwame miss dunks and layups...piece of sh*t.

Can somebody tell me why we still have Chris Mihm on our roster??????

Seriously we need to acquire big man, what if kwame does go down?

D-League is pretty slim on possiblities. The defenders have Jelani McCoy (enough said) and Watkins (playing behind McCoy - not a good sign).

The top rebounder in the D-League is Rod Benson, don't know who owns his rights, but he's pretty skinny (6-10, 225) and probably wouldn't help. Maybe its time to fly in Marc Gasol (just kidding).

With Mihm out (and even if available - clearly not even the same as before - which isn't saying much), looks likes its up to Brown and Turiaf to get the Lakers through. Wouldn't it have been sweet if Sean Williams
had dropped two more spots?

I say Lakers tread water and end up in the 6 spot.

Xodus,

Honestly, I don't have any comparisons. The only guy I can think of who dislocated a knee cap is Shaun Livingston, but his injury was considerably worse and more severe than Bynum's. They're not even in the same ball park. Livingston's was career threatening. Drew is expected to be fine.

Sorry I don't have anything more concrete. I actually don't think it's an extremely common injury.

AK

Ariza should start. Ariza and Roni need to be on the floor at separate times. There shouldn't be a minute when they're both on the bench. Both are athletic, defensive monsters.

Im really concerned about all of this talk that Kobe has to pick up his game. I REALLY hope people just mean he has to shoot a good percentage, not jack up more shots. His percentage is one of the lowest hes had in the past few years, and more shots from him at this rate would simply hurt the team much more than help.

The KEY to the Lakers success this year is the distribution of points, the sharing of the ball, and the sensation the team feels in the locker room after everyone got involved and had a good night. Bynum was the centerpoint of that by creating a presence in the middle which defenses couldn't ignore. Distribution of the ball became easier, and I honestly believe the Lakers would have been better off losing Kobe for eight weeks rather than Bynum.

If Kobe wants these Lakers to continue to win like they have been, he needs to be sure to continue to get everyone involved and start shooting a decent percentage from the field. Everyones needs to get another 1-2 shots a game to pick up the slack as opposed to Kobe shooting another 10-15 shots on his own.

enough with the tears already .... we've got kobe ... he'll do what he does, he'll hold down the forte

Hopefully the rest of the team doesn't use this as an excuse to stop their great play so far into the season

San antonio is able to be successful without Duncan, we should be able to absorb a temporary loss of this magnitute as well

we get da big fella back in 2 months ... hopefully he focusses on his rehab and gets back in time to get into game shape for the playoffs ... i.e. don't let that newly found great work ethic slip to the wayside Bynum

Lastly ... mamba24 ... put my name in bold on the 55 wind bandwaggon ... now ain't the time to jump off ... there are worse things than having a former #1 pick to take Bynums place ...

i had a kneecap dislocation.
he'll be allright.

it's a real bummer how long Drew will be out. Kwame better stop fooling around. we need the good Kwame now.

Let's not forget that we were able to get out to a nice start last year with Kwame and Smush Parker as starters before injuries to Kwame, LO and Luke derailed us. Here we are in basically the same position as last year but now we have Fisher and an almost completely healthy Kwame. There's no reason why we can't continue winning and playing good basketball until we get Andrew back. This is why it's nice to have the depth that we have and that players have been in the system for a couple of years.

Greg Anthony on ESPN just said that the loss of Andrew was monumental for the Lakers. He said that the Lakers could've won the Pacific and possibly the WC before the injury to Andrew. Anthony closed the segment by saying it's possible for the Lakers to contend when Andrew returns in time for the playoffs. Go Lakers!!!

Now we can see if Kobe really deserves the MVP or not.Remember Amare went down Nash still won 50 games without him and made the conference finals.Even without Bynum this team is better than the last couple years because Fisher is playing pg not Smush.I would say winning 60% the games he is out would be a success and anything under 50% would show Bynum is MVP of the team and not Kobe.

i feel that our points allowed in the paint are probably going to go up now since we dont have that huge 7'8'' wingspan man in there to deter some of the shots. Turiaf should get to play more lamar wil pick it up, and now that we have fish and farm playing effectiely we will be alright.

we'll beat phoenix and denver and probably the cavs too. Dallas will be interesting. Depending how parker and duncan play we still have a chanc to beat them too, but that is really going to be hard. Denver will be a test now that bynum isnt there to gobble up the boards. kwameis going to have to focus on boxing out. last night i noticed him get lazyand instead of body up the guy tree feet behind him he just trned around a sometimes gave up the board.

i think this season i a great building season. i hope we can attract marc gasol enough and buy out his contract in europe and have him come over here to help in the middle, by the end of this year, r for the next year. he is the MVP of his league right now, i dont see why we cant use somebody with that type of recognition, even if it is euro -ball (thats not a knock at euro-ball either)

those are mythoughts.
1. kwame focuses on grabbing boards.
2. lamar focuses on boards and tries to post up near the pinch post more or the baseline
3. more trevor
4. Fish
5. acquire a big for a while. Marc Gasol or a few 10 ten guys.

andand

It is Kobe time. We are at a time were we will see if Kobe can really be an MVP.

Adir,
"continue to get everyone involved "

There's a flaw with this.... in the triangle, the object is to get the ball into the middle post and work from there. Without Andrew, it means we have Kwame in this position, which is a HORRIBLE place to put him.

Thus, the Lakers will be forced to go back to how they ran the triangle in years past... with Kobe playing this position.
I suggest having Kobe & Lamar both play this mid post. Lamar on the weak side when Kobe posts up, and when Lamar posts up, put Kobe on the strong side with Fish on the weak side, in the corner ready to spot up... if Kwame's man doubles Lamar, Kwame would be open, if Fish's man doubles, he'd be open for a corner j.

Kobe in this pivot spot would also mean he's taking on more of a scorer's mentality. If Lamar is on the weak side when Kobe posts up, that means Kwame is in the way, so my idea of having Lamar on the weakside wouldn't work I guess. I wish Lamar had an outside game.

Let's all take a moment and thank Lamar Odom for injuring not one, but two of our centers.

First he pushes Kwame into Ben Wallace, now his rebound-thieving ways have taken down Bynum.

Apparently Lamar really wants to play center, I can't think of any other reason he keeps trying to take out the ones on his own team.