Bynum Ineffective After Promising Start

Filed under: Celtics, Lakers, NBA Injuries, NBA Playoffs, The Bonus, NBA Finals

BOSTON -- Andrew Bynum said his knee felt "all right'' Sunday. His stats didn't look all right.



The Lakers center scored six points in the first 6:32, perhaps causing some to forget he's playing with a torn meniscus in his right knee that will require surgery after the season. But Bynum didn't score another point the rest of the night and didn't have a single rebound after the first quarter as the Lakers lost to Boston 92-86 at TD Garden to fall behind 3-2 in the Finals.



Actually, Bynum only had a single rebound the entire game while playing 32 minutes. He had no points and no rebounds while playing 22 minutes after the first quarter.



"More than anything else, Andrew was out of rhythm in the game,'' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "I think he'll feel much more comfortable (in Tuesday's Game 6 in Los Angeles). He's really only played limited minutes since (last) Tuesday.''







Share That's when Bynum tweaked his knee in Game 3. He was limited to 12 minutes in Game 4, and had his knee drained for a second time during the Finals shortly after that game.



"My knee is all right,'' said Bynum, who said he won't have the knee drained again. "On the flight back (to Los Angeles after the game) I'll get treatment. ... I got it drained and that took some of the pressure off.''



Bynum didn't deny he had a tough outing. He acknowledged "some of that's true'' about what Jackson said of his recent inactivity.



"Yes, it's frustrating,'' Bynum said. "Especially times like now. I was a little disappointed, but I'm going to be playing in Game 6. We are going to attack. We have to force a Game 7. ... It's going to be very tough for them to beat us in a Game 7 on our court.''

CELTICS 3, LAKERS 2

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At least the Lakers still have homecourt advantage, with a Game 7, if necessary, being Thursday at the Staples Center. And there is precedent for the Lakers winning in such a scenario since the NBA Finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985.



In 1988, the Lakers trailed Detroit 3-2 before taking the title. The only other time in six total attempts a team trailing 3-2 with two possible games at home has come back was Houston doing it to New York in 1994.



Don't ask Bynum about details from the Lakers' 1988 comeback, which came before he celebrated his first birthday. But he's determined they can do it again.



Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson

 

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