Early word: Eight weeks

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.

Bad news. Could have been worse, but still bad news.

With Bynum out for almost the rest of the season (he'll have about a month to play before the playoffs start) Kobe will obviously have to pick up his game a notch. Lamar Odom will need to step back into the No. 2 scoring option position and he will need to succeed in that position if we are to stay afloat and keep good playoff seeding.

GO LAKERS!!! LETS MAKE IT SEVEN -7- SEVEN IN A ROW TONIGHT!!

Bynum get better. Quickly.

So mid march.

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

8 weeks is a long time...it may be more, it may be less depending on how hard Bynum works to get on top of it.

It could've been worse for the Lakers, who will have to take on a tough stretch starting with Phoenix...all the way through to that 9 game road trip starting at th end of the month.

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.

Lakers dodged the bullet on this one. 8 weeks is conservative, he could be back sooner.

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.

OK, here's my opinion:

It was going to be a tough 4-8 weeks anyways. We're going into a 9 game trip, all-star break, etc.

The good news is we racked up a lot of wins when we needed to. We came out of the tough beginning with a pretty good record, finished a soft schedule with an even better record.

We're not done, we still have a chance, injury or not.

It's just a matter of continuing what we've doing, getting back to some fundamentals...and playing with effort and intensity.

Have faith. The Lake show will be ok.

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!!!

Thanks for the up to the minute coverage, BK.

2 Initial post-shock hopes:

1) They don't bring him back too soon.
2) We can find another adequate big man to fill the gap for 2 months; Brown and Webber leap to mind.

Again, I wonder if Shaq and the Heat both see the reasonableness of a buy-out. Shaq signs a 1 or 2 year deal with the Lakers, helping to usher in the glory years of Bynum.

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!!!

Ouch...literally and figuratively. Thankfully it's not worse than it seemed when he left the floor. His post-game interview was positive and there's no talk of it being even season-ending.

So, for the next two months we're going to be hurting. If Kwame were a finisher that would not be the case. Or at least it wouldn't be as bad. How could he miss that two-handed jam? Why doesn't he go up with both hands (or even one) and slam it home? Are his hands really that small (which I've heard is part of the problem) or are they just that bad? If it's the latter there is NO excuse for this anymore. He needs to get is butt in the gym before and after practice AND during the offseason to correct it. For millions of dollars a year doing the thing you love more than anything in the world there are NO excuses.

That said, it may be time to shed some weight and bring in a decent big man to take fouls and limit opponents until Drew is back. We can't afford two months of Kwame results.

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.

That seems like good news to me; I am more concerned about next year (long-term) than this season.

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

Eight weeks, +/-27 games -- 17 on the road. If they can just play .500+ over this period they'll be in good shape.

I hope this doesn't mean we have longer term worries about Bynum's knees...

Any chance they can keep Lamar's feet from ruining our centers? Wasn't it Lamar's foot the Kwame came down on earlier this season? It's bad enough that his head is a liability...

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..........

8 weeks and no surgery.

God is a merciful God!

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.

Actually this is a sigh of relief. The Lakers can live for two months without Bynum but at least they'll have the big fella for the playoffs. This way Kwame can hopefully get some confidence and maybe they will add someone like Webber, who would be guaranteed playing time right away. As it is now, this is the same Lakers team that started 26-11 last year with Kwame, Luke, Bryant, Odom and, gulp, Smush Parker before injuries to Odom and Kwame. With Fisher as an upgrade, there is no reason they can't keep winning. Vlad Rad and Sasha will come back soon to provide that outside shooting, and they'll have Bynum for the stretch run. After watching him go donw last night, you know this could have been much worse.

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.

The beauty of this is the strength of our bench and the addition of D. Fish! The young guys listen to him and his all-effort way of playing has rubbed off on Farmar and the others! If we had Smush still, I'd worry but I know this team is for real and while Drew is a huge loss, we've got vets that'll pull us together!!

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

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

Is jamaal magloire still available?

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.

Bynumite...there's a thought.

I'm currently going to nursing school and I can tell you for a fact that you SHOULD be able to see a dislocation in x-ray. But chances are it realigned during the x-ray, and when he walks, it dislocates again because the ligaments are stretched.

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.

I believe Mihm is also done for the year. And looks like it will take a lot of time before Chris will get back into the groove. We should try a free agent pickup first, then maybe trade Mihm. I hope Vlad and Sasha will contribute when they get back.

Any news on those two?

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.

LAKERS ARE DEAD MEAT NOW WITHOUT BYNUM.

BUSS SHOULD DECLARE EMERGENCY AND GIVE EVERYONE OFF UNTIL NEXT YEAR BOOTCAMP.

Y'ALL CRAZY. YOU NEED TO PUT UP A CANDLE LIGHT SHOW FOR THE DYING LAKER SEASON.

I MIGHT BE VERY -VE. BUT THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE. AMEN!

JOIN THE CLIPPER BANDWAGON..

#4,

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

mel,
"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"

LOL! You don't think Jabbar was available for Kwame, too? Or Bill Bertka? Or Kurt Rambis or PJ? The Lakers have a ton of staff with "big man" playing and coaching experience.

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!

Hopefully Kareem has time to work with Kwame now. And why does everyone talk about Kwame having small hands and that being the reason he can't hold the ball. I'll be the best small ball-handling guards have small hands too. Hand size has nothing to do with it. The guy plays like he's been drinking coffee all day.

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

All I have to say is, Yikes!!!!! Start combing the D leagues, we need another big man, pronto. Even if it is somebody that only plays limited minutes, we need a backup. My prayers go out to Andrew and the Lakers team. Suck it up guys and hold the fort!!!

Roger

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

Banner Holder

If God were a merciful God then Bynum wouldn't have gotten this injury in the first place...

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.

Is jamaal magloire still available?

Posted by: #4 | January 14, 2008 at 01:44 PM

I always wondered about him and why he was benched in Portland and hardly plays in NJ.

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.

Posted by: mel | January 14, 2008 at 01:47 PM

Thats a great one mel. But I do believe Cap was working with the Trio of centers. But now, he can concentrate on #54

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!

So we're suiting up?

Kobe
Walton
Brown
Fisher
Odom

Turiaf
Ariza
Farmar
Javaris
Colby Karl

If nobody panics, they can do it. Just one quarter at a time, one game ata time. Buckle up for the ride. Let's go Lakes!

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

oh man bummerz!~

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...

O.K. smart guys, so was Kwame's one-on-one session scheduled before Drew's half-hour session that occured before each regular practice?

There were 2 years of dedication by Andrew and we saw the fruits of it. Time for a crash course for Kwame.

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.

Looking at the near-term without Drewski:

Seattle is still easily beatable.

Phoenix is still beatable, though less likely without Bynum. It won't hurt that
Grant Hill is out for the game, but the Lakers are going to have to play their
butts off to win.

Denver is going to be hard. Bynum was not only our big man against Camby
and KMart, but he was also the last line of defense against Iverson's constant
dives to the hole. Put Ariza on Iverson and cross your fingers.

San Antonio. Big challenge. But Lakers did beat them 2 out of 3 last year
with the Spurs at full strength and Bynum not playing much, so it's possible.

Dallas. Leading the west. But on the other hand, they nearly lost to the
Clippers on Saturday, so it's not like they're dominating every team. I
think the Lakers can win this, especially if they frustrate Dirk like GS did
in the playoffs last year.

Cleveland. Not a pushover, but as the game is in LA, I think the Lakers
will be able to pull it off. It would help if Sasha and Vlad were back by
this game. Cleveland tends to pack the lane, so some outside shooting is
needed to stretch them out.

Knicks. Easy win.

Detroit. I hope Sasha and Vlad are back, and that the Lakers have added
another big by this game. Otherwise, it'll be a mauling.

And that's it for January. If they take care of business in the easy games
against Seattle and the Knicks, and if they play hard in the other games,
I think they'll go 5 and 3 for the rest of the month.

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.

Damm...

What's up with the injury bug the last few years. No wonder the team refused to get excited about their record....this feels like last year all over again. We are better than last year of course but this puts such a damper on the excitement and momentum we've had. You have to wonder how this effects Bynum confidence when he gets back on the floor.

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

Laker fans: DO NOT RUSH BYNUM BACK.

Heck, if Bynum doesnt return until the postseason or NEXT SEASON that is fine.

I saw Mike NOlan virtually kill Alex Smith's career with injury nonsense.

This is a serious injury and does not need to be rushed. We dont want Bynum becoming Jermaine O'neall or Kwame Brown or Lamar Odom.

Give him all the time he needs and when he comes back limit his minutes.

Hopefully, Kobe wont want to leave us this year but the only thing we can hope for is Odom acting like a MAN and coming up big (probably wont happen).

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.

This is extremely unfortunate. Yes, it could have been worse, so from that regard the news isn't terrible. But the Lakers were on the verge of really becoming a contender. This team, largely riding the play of Bynum, was really gelling.

Now we have to watch the Kwame Brown train wreck for 2 months and that is a disaster waiting to happen. Let's not forget how injury prone Twinkletoes is. If Kwame goes down we are in real trouble.

Sure we can get Bynum back in time to make a playoff run, but this is going to make dreams of the finals much more difficult to achieve.

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP BYNUM. WORK HARD, STAY FOCUSED, AND SUPPORT YOUR TEAMMATES. YOU WILL OVERCOME THIS AND SOON YOU WILL OWN THIS LEAGUE.

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.

i think im gonna throw up.

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

GO LAKERS!

We neeeeeeeed to pick up Rod Benson from the D-League! he's the d-league counterpart of Bynum haha! come on lakers.

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

GO LAKERS!

I'd say it's time for Kobe Bryant to earn that first MVP. If he and the Lakers can weather this next 8 weeks and still get 50 wins, I don't think his greatness can be denied.

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.

This feels like breaking up with a new girlfriend. She hasn't been around long, but man was she hot. Smart, funny, good lookin', good in the sack, and then BOOM! she gets hit by a car. She wasn't around long enough to be married to, just long enough to fall in love with. And now all you can do is sit around trying to be glad for the good times you've had.

I'll still watch, but it won't be easy to do.

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?

Defense is our key...it's gotta be our mantra.

If we play up to our capabilities, we'll be all right.

Go Lakers! Sober Ole!

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....

We be alright till the big fella returns. Time for Kwame to shine on the defensive side. Time to get C-webb in a Laker uniform.

Lakerfaze,

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

Aight, 8 weeks is a long time, and we all know that LO is gonna have to step his game up, but my question to all of you is, between Luke, and Ariza which one of them is gonna give us the best chance to win? Personally I think Ariza is the answer. With Bynum hurt our offense is gonna suffer, but if we can keep up, or step up our defensive intensity I think we can counter that. When it comes down to it our best defensive starting lineup is:

Fisher
Kobe
Ariza
LO
Kwame

Defense wins games folks, and nows the time to get low, smack the floor, and let the rest of the league know that we're ready to KILL them defensively EVERY NIGHT!!!!!!

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!!!

jon k

remember that kobe never really rested his groin strain and the only way to fully recover from that is complete rest so [ i hate to say this] but look for that injury to pop up at any givin moment

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 we get Kwame to work with Kareem?

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?

Amazing_Happens,

I agree with you 100% Kobe is gonna have to step his game up, but I don't think he's gonna have to do it offensively. If Kobe can continue to trust our guys, and lead by example on the defensive end Kobe will get his MVP, and maybe the defensive player of the year too. Does anyone know if that has ever happened?

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.

>>>We neeeeeeeed to pick up Rod Benson from the D-League! he's the
>>>d-league counterpart of Bynum haha! come on lakers.

I'd go with that. Either Benson (13.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg) or Elton Brown (20.6 ppg,
10.3 rpg), or Lance Allred (18.8 ppg, 10.6 rpg). Those are the best 3 big men
in the NBDL that aren't under contract to any NBA club.

Another possibility is Jelani McCoy. He has a few years of NBA experience,
most recently with the Nuggets. He won a ring with the Lakers in 2003, his
rookie season, so he's at least somewhat familiar with the triangle. He's not
as strong or quick as Kwame, but a better rebounder, shot blocker, and
offensive player.

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

lakerfaze,
"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"

Is this TRUE??????

There's no way this is true. Not even Kwame would be that stupid.

Someone please confirm that this story is utterly false. There's no way our management staff would keep a guy around who actually refused free tutoring by one of the greatest ever....

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.

8 weeks = approx 30 games

If the Lakers can play .500 ball until then, that would put them at 40-26 with 16 games left.

This still puts them in striking distance of 50 wins.

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.

AK/BK

can you tell us your reaction to this latest news. Like how do you think the team will fare without bynum, should they pick up another big man? trade? do you think ronny and kwame will pull us through? I would like to know how you guys see this in the wider scope of things and how it will affect the lakers this season.

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 ...

Mike T's been awwwwwwwwwfully quiet. I think he knows if he shows up the full wrath of our blog will descend upon him for jinxing bynum.

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.

Weave-Man - Michael Jordan won both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 1987-88

I don't think it's unreasonable to think that this team should be able to play .500 ball or above until Andrew Bynum returns.

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!!!

Mike T did not stick his foot under Bynums ... last thing y'all need to do is fuel his g*d complex

Y'all need to stop claiming Kwame will drop passes and rather hope that he'll finaly find his way ...

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.

This isn't just about Kwame, this is about the PF/C roster of which the Lakers have 3 available bodies - Kwame, LO and Ronny. The wear and tear on them is going to be magnified unless the Lakers can pick up another big body, if only to take on some of those minutes and hopefully not hurt the team.

Just like Fish and Farmar have provided stability at PG, Drew provided stability at C and Kobe at SG. With that stability gone, everyone has to compensate, and the danger is they can start to play outside of their roles. It's a completely different rhythm. Like I said earlier, they're going to have to figure out a new way to play which will probably be more reminiscent of last season.

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

Someone please light a fire under Kwame's behind!

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

Good to hear that the rehab for this type of injury includes cardio-type exercises because 8+ weeks is a long time to get out of shape.

Also, it's no secret that we got bit by the injury bug at this time last year. LO going down meant others had to try and replace his production, which led to more injuries. Each L threatens to take the demeanor of the team closer to that tipping point where morale will be so bad, it won't matter when Drew comes back because the season will be lost. Then, another off-season of turmoil. Then, even if the team performs well at the beginning of next season, the attitude will be, let's see if they can stay healthy.

There has to be a way to avoid the slippery slope of having the same season as last year.

Amare has to be licking his chops for Thursday's game.

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.

TrueLakerFan-

AK is working on a longer post as we speak, but here are a few quick thoughts from me:

-The reason the Lakers had reached the sort of heights they had found this season was due to the improvement of Bynum, if you had to pick one thing. Fish and Farmar have helped, as has the addition of Ariza, but if you can only take one, it's how Drew changes the game and the way opponents have to play the Lakers. The true inside-out thing has been incredible, and defensively he's become more and more of a presence.

-I was sitting next to Heisler last night at the game, and we both commented at the same time in the first half, when Drew hit that little drop step hook with the left hand that a) his footwork is great and b) it was starting to become very clear that his confidence in his ability to create his own shot, recognize how he was being defended and counter, etc. was all starting to grow in a big, bad way. In short, Drew was becoming aware of how good he is.

-Kwame is Kwame. People can't and shouldn't expect him to produce on the offensive end like Drew, nor should they expect the sort of rebounding he provides. If 54 tries to be what he isn't, he'll struggle more than he might otherwise. Kwame is a good post defender, and can muscle people around and run the floor a little. But don't expect him to suddenly become a 15/10 guy. That's not who he is.

-Just as the Lakers had a problem when Kwame was out and Bynum was starting without a lot of help behind him, the Lakers have a serious problem with Kwame starting and not a lot of help behind him. It's not simply the difference between Kwame and Bynum, but also the gap between that pair and the backups who now get more time. And the Lakers are incredibly thin right now in the front court. Mihm is out for a couple weeks (at least, I think), Vlad isn't healthy. Ronny is undersized at the five. While this year's backcourt is better than last year's, the frontcourt will be worse off for the next eight weeks than they were last season. No depth.

-They have to sign a player, maybe even two depending on Mihm's health, to shore up the front line. That might be bad news for Coby Karl down the road.

-They're not a terrible team now, and should still make the playoffs (though given how much more top heavy the WC is this year, a swoon like they had in '06-'07 will hurt them a lot more this season than last), but any chance of being a top 4 seed seems totally gone. If Drew can come back and play at a high level by playoff time, they could be okay in the postseason, but dreams of a high seed are likely burst. I just can't see how it'll happen. They're much more like last year's squad, which wasn't elite by any stretch.

Like I said, AK will have his thoughts comign soon in a more formal post, but those are my early impressions. Some of them, at least.

BK

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.

I hate seeing Kwame, LO, and Walton in at the same time. Now I gotta see them start the game. I wish Phil would instead start Ariza or Turiaf. I wouldn't mind seeing a starting lineup of

Kwame
Odom
Ariza
Bryant
Fish
or
Kwame
Turiaf
Odom
Bryant
FIsh

I think any of these two line ups would give us at the least 500 ball. I trust Phil in whatever he does. But, thats what I'd like to see, GO LAKERS!!!!

J Walter-

Dude, amoung all the tragedy, that crack about Lamar wanting to play center made me laugh.

I HOPE THE LAKERS DON'T RUSH THIS KID BACK TO TRY TO MAKE A STRONG PLAYOFF RUN. Bynum is the most important player for the Lakers future and if we bring him back early the weakness in his knee can cuz him to overcompensate and have problems with the other knee. I would not rush him back. Bynum is too important to try to let him come back before he is 100 percent. Remember he has alot of years in front of him.

ODOM=SCHLEPROCK

TRADE HIM ALREADY

Not to dog-pile on Kwame, but, to explain his ineptitude on the court all anyone has to do is look at how he practices. He is exactly the way PJ describes him - the kid who sits in the back of the class, doesn't pay attention and causes trouble.

I'll be staying aboard this sinking ship.

If it makes anyone feel better..The following is posted from NBA.com

Hero Team of the Week: L.A. Lakers (4-0)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami (0-3)

Adir,

Talk about a bit of an exaggeration, "Better losing Kobe than Bynum". That has to be the peak of Drew's hype. I agree with the basic message of your argument, that this injury does not mean that Kobe should start firing at will, I think it is easy to forget how all the attention Kobe receives from opposing defense opens up things for everyone else. Losing Kobe would be devastaing over a long period of time.

I really don't think this injury is going to greatly affect the Lakers on the offensive end, other than possibly offensive rebounding. But it will hurt them on the defensive end, Bynum protects the rim better than Kwame and his rebounding is really going to be missed. That has been the strength of the Lakers, rebounding. Kwame can replace his presence in the starting line up, but the second unit is going to be severely weakened in that area.

LTLF,

I like your suggestion about Jelani McCoy. The roster spot is open and we absolutely need another big guy who can come off the bench until Andrew returns. Neither Kwame nor Ronny are conditioned enough to combine for 48 minutes by themselves. Even when Mihm returns, he won't have the athleticism to be of any value.

Bynum being injured is like a Belmont Stakes winner not being available to go for the triple crown. The Lakers will struggle to play .500 ball without him.

Meanwhile, like everyone else, my best wishes to AB for a full and speedy recovery. My expectations for Kwame are very low, so if he contributes at any level at all, I will be very pleased. The injury gods have drawn more blood from the Lakers in recent years than could possibly be justified. Now, if they will just leave us alone and not take down anyone else on the roster, we still have a shot at the WC championship.

Go Lakers!

P.S. Welcome home, Mamba24. You were missed.

Marc Gasol and Elton Brown.

BK

thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you any dreams of being a top seed are virtually gone now.

lakers_sth,
"all anyone has to do is look at how he practices..."

Coming from you, this is telling me a lot (the truth) and I don't like what you're saying.

This is what I meant by not quite sure what to make of management. We MUST get rid of players who refuse to put their heart into the team. That includes those who have perpetually taken their summers off.

Mike T are you listening to booster boy

"Coach Phil Jackson had said before the game of Bynum: "He's just too productive not to have him on the floor." And Jackson spoke of dropping Brown from his backup center spot in favor of Ronny Turiaf if Brown didn't soon show an ability to produce off the bench.

and to think the Lakers are now counting on the cake thrower- thats just sad.

"Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in!" ......

WTF !!! What worries me is that the Lakers' injuries always seem to last longer than expected. I really hope that isn't the case this time around. I expect the offensive efficiency to drop somewhat and rebounding. Bynum's length just can't be replaced. This is THE time for Kobe to earn his MVP.

GREAT NEWS THAT BYNUM IS ONLY OUT FOR EIGHT WEEKS. I HOPE WE ARE HEARING THE FULL STORY. HOWEVER I HAD A INCLINATION THAT THE DISLOCATED KNEE CAP WAS A POSIBILITY SO I WILL BELIEVE THE REPORT.
ANYWAYS PEOPLE ASUMEING THAT BIG BYNUM CAN GET HEALTHY ENOUGH TO PLAY FOR ABOUT A MONTH BEFORE PLAYOFF TIME I THINK WE STILL OF A LEGIT CHANCE AT BECOMING CHAMPIONS. LOOK THE LAKERS SCEDULE IS NOT THAT TOUGHT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. MOSTLY A BUNCH OF POOR EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAMS ON THE ROAD WHIC THE LAKERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE. LOOK KWAME IS NOT GOING TO TURN INTO AN ALL START BUT THE GUY IS PLAYING FOR HIS CONTRACT SO HE WILL PUT UP SOME RESPECTABLE NUMBERS FOR US. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD END UP GOING ABOUT 21-9 DURING BIG BYNUMS ABSENCE. WHEN HE GETS BACK NO ONE WILL WANT TO PLAY US.

Never

Thanks for the quick shot of Schadenfreude. We could have been stuck with a bloated, unmotivated yet still swaggering Shaq. The reminder of his fall from grace is not a healthy Bynum, but it's still pretty choice.

Also, to whoever been using the "Bynumite" tag: nice.

My Kwame watch is officially starting tonight. Now it's time to put up or shut up. I wish him and our Lakers the best, go Lakers!!!

It's imperative we support all Lakers...everyone (yes even Luke Walton lol)...because we're gonna need all of them.

We went to an impressive stretch in early 06 with Kwame-Ronny combo...seeing as Drew didn't get a lot of time...we can again.

But I think getting help becomes the foremost need...like it hasn't been (sarcasm alert). This is why I thought we needed more...we need a legit PF. You have to have a plan for when things are tough...this is it. What's Mitch's plan?

"I really don't think this injury is going to greatly affect the Lakers on the offensive end, other than possibly offensive rebounding. "

Bynum's presence has made a huge difference offensively. He provides a significant threat on the interior. It forces perimeter defenders to play off their man, because if they drive in Bynum is a great target for them to give a quick pass to. That means that they get better looks on their outside shot. It also means that the interior defenders have to hesitate before moving in on a penetration; that results in more free throws and/or more uncontested interior shots by the perimeter players. And now there is much less of a cost to pay for teams that double on Kobe.

Voice of Reason....

I agree with your math and thinking. A 50 victory season is still within reach, especially if the rest of the walking wounded (Vlad, Mihm and Sasha) can get back on the court and in the flow.

Drew's great play brought a sense of hope and anticipation to this Laker season. It replaced the feelings of angst and frustration that most fans felt with Kwame starting. Kwame is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you are going to get. Here's hoping that Drew makes a full and complete recovery and continues building a stellar career.

Durability and longevity are talents within themselves. That's one reason why I've always felt that comparisons to Kobe with Lebron and DWade are a bit premature. They simply haven't accumulated the body of work that #24 has nor have they done it for as long a period of time. NBA history is littered with great players whose star was diminished by injuries causing an untimely end of their careers. Andrew Toney and Otis Birdsong come to mind immediately. Bill Walton is another example.

I'll mainly miss Baby for his high skill level. It made each game fun to watch. Come back soon, Drew. Come back healthy.

How can I prevent a subluxing kneecap?
A subluxing kneecap is best prevented by keeping your thigh muscles strong, especially the group of muscles on the inner side of the thigh.

Get to work, DREW!!! We need you!

defensive player of the year is going to belong to garnett who has made a horrible defensive team into the best defensive team in the league. Kobe still has a chance to win MVP though his numbers are not that great , especially his assist to turnover ratio and shooting percentage.

This team doesn't need a backup center - it needs a faith healer. I can't recall a similar run of devastating injuries for any franchise; this stuff goes back to the Malone injury during the 'Dream Team' season. I firmly believe we would have won the NBA Championship that year if Malone had stayed health. Then, during PS1 (post-Shaq), Kobe and Lamar suffered serious enough injuries to ensure our trip to the lottery; at least the silver lining was Socks. I don't think I need to remind anyone about last year. I thanked God on Friday night when Andrew went down and bounced right back up, but His wrath was only withheld for a couple of days.

I shouldn't be this depressed about a basketball team, and maybe I need to get a life, but this injury is really hard to take this time. I was convinced my Laker-hater friends who haven't jumped back on the bandwagon would finally get their just desserts this year, and it's going to be a lot harder to take another spring of futility. I'm going to try to remain optimistic, but I'm searching the internet for a support group that doesn't involve drowning my sorrows in a mixture of grain alcohol and fruit punch. Any ideas?

Lamar has got to be the biggest bonehead the Lakers have ever had, and I've been watching the team for a long, long time. For God's sake, when you see the 7 foot Bynum right in front of you trying to get the rebound, then give him just a little space instead of crowding him from the back. LO's complete lack of smarts is dangerous for his own team.

Never

Thanks for the quick shot of Schadenfreude. We could have been stuck with a bloated, unmotivated yet still swaggering Shaq. The reminder of his fall from grace is not a healthy Bynum, but it's still pretty choice.

Also, to whoever been using the "Bynumite" tag: nice.

Most people believe it's all on Kobe. But Kobe's Kobe. He's gonna do what it takes to win (by the way dude that compared Kobe to Nash...totally different).

LO needs to step up. No more inconsistencies.

It's make or break time for him.

Lamar has got to be the biggest bonehead the Lakers have ever had, and I've been watching the team for a long, long time. For God's sake, when you see the 7 foot Bynum right in front of you trying to get the rebound, then give him just a little space instead of crowding him from the back. LO's complete lack of smarts is dangerous for his own team.

Timshow & Mel

Not making this one up. Kareem had been asked if he was working with all the Laker Bigs during an interview and he replied that he'd offered his serivces to Kwame as well. The Capt. was thrown by the reply from Kwame not being a back to the basket post player and that he didn't fell the need. I believe I read that interview on Lakers.com or here on the LA Times. I don't read many other sport pages so its pretty safe that it came from one of these two sources.

FAZE 1

I really don't think this injury is going to greatly affect the Lakers on the offensive end, other than possibly offensive rebounding. But it will hurt them on the defensive end, Bynum protects the rim better than Kwame and his rebounding is really going to be missed. That has been the strength of the Lakers, rebounding. Kwame can replace his presence in the starting line up, but the second unit is going to be severely weakened in that area.

Posted by: jtrincad | January 14, 2008 at 03:45 PM

jtrincad,

Nice points in your post. Andrew will be missed sorely on both ends of the court because of his presence, emerging post skills and being able to open space for his mates to get into the lane.

For the month of January, Andrew's numbers were 17ppg, 10boards, 2 blocks and leading the league in field goal percentage at nearly 64%(70% this month). Hard to replace these numbers. If Kwame and Ronny can get 15pts, 10-12 boards and a couple of blocks each game along with more scoring from LO, we should be fine. It's going to take a combination of Kwame and Turiaf playing well and our bench giving us more to keep winning. Go Lakers!!!

defensive player of the year is going to belong to garnett who has made a horrible defensive team into the best defensive team in the league. Kobe still has a chance to win MVP though his numbers are not that great , especially his assist to turnover ratio and shooting percentage.

good: a patellar subluxation means bynum's kneecap was only partially dislocated.

bad: if subluxation was predicted by congential predisposion to, say, patellar or general ligamentous hyperlaxity, then the chance of recurrence is probably pretty high (absent corrective measures).

The lakers will be ok. I don't just want to see Kwame play any bball. I will be back to my screaming self again, I remember just three days ago that I was relaxed watching a laker game and enjoying every moment. Now I have to deal with frigging Kwame BROWN. I can't stand him anymore. He looks so lazy that it drives me crazy watching that sucker.

I still think the lakers will be Ok but I will sure miss Bynum. He just turned into a guy that started making timely plays whether offense or defense. Kwame might be ok as a starter, even if he is, but he won't give us timely anything when we need.

Lamar needs to find his groove, and fisher needs to even lead more. We need our shooters back in the 2nd unit. We have too many slashers on the second unit and not enough shooters with Vlad and Sasha back. Our team will be better once we can get those shooters back.

i've had a couple of hours to digest this 8 week situation... and i still feel like throwing up.

People, calm down. The Lakers were not going to make the championship this year anyway. So without Bynum they lose a few games....and get a better draft pick to help next year.

If I had my druthers, I would not, under any circumstances, let that kid come back early. This season has already proven to us that playoff seeds don't mean much, and it is all about the playoffs.

Let him get back to 100% and let us make an assault of the Western Conference Finals. That's our goal this season. We need him back to his jumping, blocking, dunking self. No lingering doubts in his mind when he comes back.

Bynum, you have nothing else left to prove to us. We believe. Get yourself right, and be ready to battle when you do hit the court again.

--FearlessWhackJob

I'll have to take comfort in knowing the Lakers made this run last season with Kwane starting and Drew riding the pine.

mike T should be banned forever from posting here. his vooodo worked and i bet he was the happiest person on the planet. now he can enjoy watching kwame's calves while he freaking blows lay-up after lay-up. mike T is not a lakers fan, he is freaking kwame's man love.

Amazing_Happens,

Thanks for the info. I think Kobe can really cement his place in history, and in Laker lore if he can win both awards. To do it though, he HAS to keep trusting our guys. As much as I loved seeing Kobe average 30+ points it didn't make us a great team. Kobe HAS to trust our guys, lead us on the defensive end, and provide us with the leadership we're gonna need to get through this 30+ games.

The Lake Show,

That was a MUCH better explanation of the injury than that medical website that is linked to this blog. Thank you.

I just wish we do NOT under any circumstances try to rush him back. He needs to be at least 85% before he's allowed back on the court in a real game. Then use the last month of the regular season trying to round in at about 90-95% by playoff time.

We have been consistently pulverizing the rest of the West this season. We fear none of them, and thus our seeding means nothing. What we need to do is maybe sacrifice a couple games at the end of his rehab to better position ourselves to make it to the Western Conference Finals, and possibly beyond.

And, you are absolutely right, at 20, and new to sports, that final 5% or so is going to be completely mental. He may not have confidence in that knee for quite some time.

Thanks for the info,

--FearlessWhackJob

I think the lakers have a problem with their spacing on the floor. That is why they have too many players spraining their ankles..Every center they have had in the last 3 years has suffered from that..From Mihm, through, Brown, Turiaf and now Bynum..They are the only NBA team with that problem..They better look into it..

Sorry to see some bloggers blaming Lamar or anyone else for THE INJURY. Bad luck is all it is. Meanwhile the rest of the team can't use it as an excuse for not giving max effort. There are still a lot of winnable games out there and as professionals, it's their job to go ahead and win them. A rapidly maturing Andrew Bynum gave them a chance to be an elite team, but they can still be good without him.

Put me down for the Jelani McCoy Bandwagon. He was a great shot blocker at UCLA. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him get to another level if we gave him a chance to play with Kobe, etc.

I say go for it.

Wow! Before reading this blog, I thought I was the only person who feels that Luke W is a liability on the floor. I stayed away from Laker blogs because I assumed everyone had this unreasonable love for how he plays. How wrong I was! And drfdeezy, man I COMPLETELY hear you. I pull my hair out when Luke, Lamar, and Kwame (3 stooges) are on the floor simultaneously. If the Lakers have 18 turnovers in a night, 16 are likely to come among that threesome.

This is a bad injury.

The links AK/BK posted say that the the recovery methods from this method are "controversial".

WOW!

I am just hoping Bynum's career doesn't get curbed by this.

Bad bad bad bad luck.

i'm as down on kwame as everyone else is. throwing the ball in to him at the post is like pitching it down a black hole. but one thing i've noticed: kwame seems to be one of those players who needs minutes. he comes out trying to do everything at once and then gradually settles into his game. keep a good thought, anyway.

"i've had a couple of hours to digest this 8 week situation... and i still feel like throwing up."

Posted by: sixonezero

Definitely agree. Definitely..............

LakerFaze,
I am not surprised. Why would Kwame want to work with Kareem given his highly developed and complete game.

Might also cut into his video game time.

bronxlakerfan,

>>>Kwame is like a box of chocolates...
>>>you never know what you are going to get.

Kwame Gump. Very nice image.

Runnnn Kwame Runnnnn!

People, calm down. The Lakers were not going to make the championship this year anyway. So without Bynum they lose a few games....and get a better draft pick to help next year.

Posted by: e. johnson | January 14, 2008 at 04:16 PM

Yeah, great, we get an 8 seed and a first-round humiliation, but at least we get the #20 pick as opposed to the #24 pick. WHHEEEE!

There is no way to sugarcoat this nightmare. We get to relive the same damn season we have had the last two years.

Lakerfaze,
"The Capt. was thrown by the reply from Kwame not being a back to the basket post player and that he didn't feel the need."

My trust in management has faltered. We LUCKED into Fisher. Bynum was a *great* draft picking and bringing in Kareem was even greater... but to sit back and have Smush start for two years and have Kwame as our main big for two seasons (even after the above happened), I'm highly disappointed. We need another hallelujah Ariza trade and hopefully sooner than later.

Without Drew, we're about the team we were a year ago. That team *could* win, but the question was always if they would win... let's pray.

e. johnson ,
"The Lakers were not going to make the championship this year anyway."

Well, you may be right... who knows. I'm confident in saying that the Lakers were a top 4 team in the NBA. Whether or not they'd be able to put it all together in the playoffs more than a San Antonio or the Eastern Conference titans, that remains the big question. I'd say it was at least worth talking about. Now that Drew will pretty much have to go back in time and regain much of the improvement that he has gotten thus far, I'd say NOW we're not in the discussion for the Finals. It would take some miracle working to get this team ready in the short of time we're talking about.

Maybe, just maybe this will somehow turn into a positive... maybe management gets rid of the few remaining losers on the team. Maybe somehow this does something with the team that bolsters their confidence. I don't know... I'm just thinking that somewhere we'll get something good out of this more than just Kobe achieving a third straight scoring title.

Lakerfaze... again I say to you just as I say to everyone on this blog... I'm cheering for Kwame because we need him now more than ever, but make no mistake of this... I want him GONE. GONE. We cannot afford to have clock punchers who turn down a chance to learn from the greatest. Idiot in so many ways that I cannot express...

GET RID OF KWAME AND GET RID OF HIM NOOOOWWWWW!

Bynum out 8 weeks?

Kobe-ball time?

Not good.

Hey, if the Suns could play well without Amare for a year, it will be no problem for us to play 8 weeks without Bynum.

Right........

OK, Lakers. Now prove you are worthy to get the ring.

The Lakers were ripping through opponents so hard that by game time a few days ago they were favored to beat Milwaukee by 14 points. You could bet $220 bucks to win $100 bucks that they wouldn't beat the Bucks by more than 18 points! At one point in the game one of the younger Lakers guards went flying through the middle of the Bucks defense trying to show off how great he was, ended up flinging a pass in no particular direction that should have gone out of bounds. Instead, this 9-foot Bynum arm shot out and latched onto the ball and lofted it straight into the hoop. That is exactly what Bynum brings to the Lakers: he turns their crap into gold.

When Lamar is being a bonehead and Luke becomes a defensive liability, the Lakers still have Kobe and Fisher to stabilize things. After that Bynum carries the team across the threshold of reliability, out of the random cold chance of instability into flat-out dominance.

Now, without Bynum, games like tonight's against Seattle go from being laughers to being white-knuckle affairs. Just as bad is the systemic imbalance that BK touched on. Everybody has to strain themselves that much harder just to keep up with mediocre teams now. The amount of extra effort needed to win can easily lead to further injuries on the part of other players, especilaly those most responsible for t