This One Hurts

Andrew Bynum's knee injury is worse than expected. Bynum will miss the next 2 to 3 months with a torn MCL in his right knee. His injury will likely keep him out until at least May. Even though Bynum may recover, the Lakers shouldn't count on him coming back at all this season. It will take Bynum time to get in game shape after his knee heals and no one knows how long that will take. Remember last season he was sidelined almost the entire season with a left knee injury.

Bynum's injury seriously hurts the Lakers chances of winning a NBA championship this season. Bynum's injury weakens the Lakers frontcourt and their depth on the bench. I expect that Lamar Odom will move back into the starting lineup. The Lakers won't miss Bynum as much against the Mavericks, Hornets, Nuggets or Jazz. But Bynum's toughness will be missed in potential playoff matchups against the Rockets, Spurs, Suns or Blazers. Pau Gasol lacks the toughness to defend Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Shaq or even Greg Oden. Expect Kobe's scoring to skyrocket as the Lakers will rely on #24 even more.

The Lakers may want to explore trade possibilities to add a proven low post scorer and defender. I like Pau Gasol as a player but he is definitely not the answer at center. And don't get me started on the possibility of Chris Mihm playing major minutes during the playoffs at center. There is no way that he could deal with any legitimate big man. I will be looking at some of the Lakers trade possibilities over the next few days.

Lakers beat the Grizzlies 116-98

The Lakers crushed the Grizzlies 116-98 for their 6th win in 7 games. L.A. is off to a 2-0 start on their current road trip. Kobe Bryant scored 25 and Pau Gasol added 24 points. Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo scored 23 and 21 points respectively. The win was overshadowed by an injury to Andrew Bynum. Bynum went down in the first quarter with a knee injury. Hopefully this injury is nowhere near as bad as the one that kept him out for most of last season. The Lakers desperately need the scoring and interior presence that Bynum provides. The Lakers can get through the regular season without him but they need Bynum if the want to win a championship. His athleticism is needed against the Spurs, Rockets, Suns and Celtics.

The Lakers play their next game tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.

Lakers beat Wolves 132-119

This one went pretty much as expected. The Lakers rolled to a 132-119 victory. L.A. led by 15 going into the 4th quarter. Kobe was unstoppable, putting up 30 points, 8 rebs, 5 assists in 35 minutes of work. Andrew Bynum more than held his own against Al Jefferson with 27 points and 15 boards. Bynum played solid defense making Jefferson work for every basket. Pau Gasol dropped in 21 points and 9 rebounds of his own. For Minnesota Al Jefferson had 34 points and 13 rebounds. Randy Foye chipped in 27.

All five Laker starters scored in double figures. The Lakers are starting to look like the Lakers of the early 2000's with Shaq and Kobe. They have a strong inside game with excellent perimeter shooting. This team has more offensive weapons than the Lakers championship teams of 2000, 2001 and 2002. Bynum and Gasol are the perfect complements to Kobe's game. Nights like tonight show just how potent the Lakers are offensively.

This was the start of a tough six game road stretch. The Lakers face the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow night at 8. They follow that with games against the Knicks, Raptors, Celtics and Cavs. The last two will be tough tests as the Lakers face off against the Eastern Conferences two best teams.

Bobcats clip the Lakers in double OT

It took 6 quarters but the Bobcats pulled it out. The Bobcats played the Lakers tough as they always seem to do and escaped the Staples Center with a 117-110 win in 2OT's. The Bobcats have won 5 of their last 6 games against the Lakers. Charlotte dominated the Lakers in the paint shooting 47% from the field and outrebounding the Lakers 53 to 42. All five Bobcats starters scored in double figures led by Boris Diaw with 23 and Raymond Felton with 22.

The Bobcats looked faster then the Lakers tonight and exploited L.A.'s defense with their quickness. Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace were too much for Pau Gasol and Luke Walton to handle. Odom played major minutes tonight as his size and quickness were needed. Kobe kept the Lakers in the game all night with his great shooting going 15 for 28 and dropping 38. Kobe added 8 rebounds and 5 assists for an all around great game. Andrew Bynum has a big night with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks. The Lakers bench had an off night tonight contributing only 19 points.

I think that the Lakers would have won if Kobe played the whole game. Kobe fouled out at the end of the first overtime. The Lakers were outscored 14-7 in the second overtime with Bryant on the bench. The Lakers two man game was not enough to beat the Bobcats complete team effort. Bobcats star Gerald Wallace was injured in the 4th quarter on a flagrant foul by Bynum.

Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum was named Western Conference player of the week. Bynum averaged 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2blocks. His dominant play led the Lakers to an undefeated record last week.