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.

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.

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.

Marc Gasol and Elton Brown.

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.

"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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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..

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.

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'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..............

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!

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!

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.