Andrew Bynum Pushes Debut Target to December

Filed under: Lakers, NBA Injuries, NBA Rumors

Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who expected to miss the early parts of L.A.'s quest for a third straight NBA title, now believes he won't be ready to play until December, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Bynum, whose nascent career has been plagued by injuries, had knee surgery near the end of July.



For what it's worth, Lakers coach Phil Jackson expressed confusion to Bresnahan regarding Bynum's prognosis. Jackson said it's expected that Bynum will be cleared for weight-bearing activities by the end of October, and that full action would be permitted a couple weeks later, just a few games into the regular season. But Bynum said he still feels pain in the knee, and apparently thinks his timetable will be pushed back.



Bynum missed 17 games last season. The Lakers went 10-7 (.588) in those games, and 47-18 (.723) in games in which Bynum played. The center missed 32 games in 2008-09; L.A. went 25-7 (.781) and 40-10 (.800) when he played. Clearly, the Lakers are better when they have Bynum at the ready.



Luckily, Jackson has plenty of experience game-planning around Bynum's absences; Lamar Odom has regularly succeeded as a power forward next to Pau Gasol, who can hold his own against most Western Conference centers. The Lakers have a fairly light early schedule for the second straight season. L.A. plays just nine of its first 21 games on the road, and just four of those road games are against teams that made the playoffs last season.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/10/03/andrew-bynum-pushes-debut-target-to-december/