Andrew Bynum Discussion: Out for the season, 2x knee surgery

it seemed like he was making some good decisions with the ball though when he received it in the post. he made good passes out when he got double teamed.

it really didn't matter when he was getting good looks, just as long as there was a good balance, and the offesne was flowing, its all good.

Hoping most of the detractors who try and say Bynum is selfish and can't/won't pass were paying attention tonight. He made plenty of great decisions when faced with the Sun's quick doubles, they didn't always lead to assists but quite a few led to open looks or extra passes to open looks/makes.

Very nice game for Bynum and back on the double-double machine/All Star pace. I think it's clear now that his game elevates to much higher level without Gasol. Hopefully the chemistry will be worked out by the postseason. It would help to have both of them playing together so that they can sort this out sooner.

We are extremely lucky and spoiled to have this kind of luxury. Lose one All Star big man, no problem, we have another.

Great game for Bynum.

Good game by Bynum on the offensive end, I wish he would pick up his rebounding tho.

Drew spent too much time on the perimeter on defense in the first half. He was closer to the paint in the 2nd half, so the rebounds came easier.

Great game from Drew. He will keep producing like this if we go to him and Gasol more often.

Besides, it's January. Dude is a beast this time of the month on both ends.

Just survive January Drew...btw do we play Memphis this month?

Some comments from Rick Adelman:

"You get yourself in the fourth quarter and a chance to win, that's what you're looking for," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "But we didn't finish and they did. Bynum was a handful all night for us."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300105013

"He's about six inches taller than anybody we have," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He was catching the ball really deep. We could've done a better job keeping him out, but that's the best I've seen him finish against us."

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-100105/daily-dime

If only the bench unit can get him involved consistently like they did last night...

Good game Drew!

This team has too much big men depth. It's weird to say, but it's true. We can't maximize our talent when fully healthy. Andrew plays like an all-star EVERY time Pau is out. I think it's up to Phil to figure out rotations. I'd bring Pau to the bench first, not Andrew. Let Pau play the first 6 minutes or so, bring in Lamar, and during the beginning of the second bring Pau back in to run the second unit while Kobe rests.

one thing i hope Bynum changes on offense is don't settle for those stand still mid range jump shots when you just got an offensive rebound. why not attack the rim?

Nice to see Drew have a strong showing last night. He played aggressively and that's what he should have been doing for the past 2-3 weeks regardless of whether Pau was in or not.

I'm giving him SOME leeway because he's obviously still learning how to play the NBA game and I don't expect him to get it overnight. Playing along another 7 footer is not an easy thing to do. And it's certainly easier if your game is already established and you have experience - things he doesn't currently have.

But it's a good problem to have. Anyway, enjoy your run without Pau right now Andrew - but try to remember what it is you are doing and how you're doing it so you can repeat some of it when Gasol returns.

Kobe Bryant 8 wrote:This team has too much big men depth. It's weird to say, but it's true. We can't maximize our talent when fully healthy. Andrew plays like an all-star EVERY time Pau is out. I think it's up to Phil to figure out rotations. I'd bring Pau to the bench first, not Andrew. Let Pau play the first 6 minutes or so, bring in Lamar, and during the beginning of the second bring Pau back in to run the second unit while Kobe rests.

Sorry KB8, but you don't send your 2nd best player to the bench after 6 minutes. You are wanting to bench the player Kobe calls the best big man in the NBA right now. Now if you want to do that with Bynum and have him run more with the 2nd unit when he can dominate the paint I can agree with that.

I think to fully maximize Bynum's play (and to justify the contract) we need to run him more with Odom. I'm ONLY talking about in the first quarter and the third. When the game really matters of course Pau will play, but I think we can all agree Bynum plays best with Odom on the floor.

Sub Pau out, bring in Lamar. Sub out Bynum minutes later, bring in Pau again. Getting Andrew going early seems to get him into the game MUCH more. There are times he barely does a thing before going to the bench.

Kobe Bryant 8 wrote:I think to fully maximize Bynum's play (and to justify the contract) we need to run him more with Odom. I'm ONLY talking about in the first quarter and the third. When the game really matters of course Pau will play, but I think we can all agree Bynum plays best with Odom on the floor.

Sub Pau out, bring in Lamar. Sub out Bynum minutes later, bring in Pau again. Getting Andrew going early seems to get him into the game MUCH more. There are times he barely does a thing before going to the bench.

What we really need is for Pau to get healthy from his hamstring injuries.

So far, this season, he's resembled a 2nd center instead of a PF. His jumper hasn't been as good as last season, and he hasn't driven to the basket as much either. This is not good for spacing.

If anybody should consider coming off the bench for part of the regular season, it might be Pau, especially if his body needs rest from all the competition he's had over the last 2 1/2 years. We need him to win a championship, and I think it would be wise to preserve him on the bench until until mid-March. We've proven that we can win in the regular season with LO and Bynum, we just need to get to the postseason healthy. The prospect that Pau might have an injury that could take him out for the postseason is starting to worry me.

Revgen brings up a good point. Pau has been playing more like a center even when Drew was in. It takes time to develop chemistry. Not all the time of course, like with Kobe and Pau.

I'm pretty stoked to have this as our problem.

I agree with waht you guys said about Pau playing like a C and I think that's the major issue right now. BUT, I don;t think Pau is a bench player at all. I mean, he could be, but having a starting 5 with Pau in it makes us much more dangerous. Odom can come off the bench and play 4-5 positions. Bringing Pau off the pine would hurt our versatility.

I think Kobe and Phil really need to make a more concious effort to get Bynum low pst touches. Let him play about 33-36 mins a game but make those mins count. Feed him. Also, Pau needs to really adjust to Drew. He needs to get back to that midrange face up game.

You know Pau will not come off the bench. The best you can do is start them both, send Pau to the bench early to rest his body -- and then Phil should not play them together again during the game except in special situations where we can really abuse the opponent with the "towers." But again, Pau is not coming off the bench. Bynum could, in theory, but that probably won't happen either.

We all noticed than whenever Gasol and Odom on the floor together, they both spread the spacing/floor so well and the offense looks fluent, and Bynum plays best with Odom on the floor too, as he is more offensively aggressive and look more active

I know Pau isn't a bench player. The point is to keep him from experiencing further injury until mid-march. Not to turn him into a bench player.

Bynum is fine on offense but his court awareness on the defensive end leaves some to be desired. He jogs back defensively and tends to get lost in transition.

gcclaker wrote:Bynum is fine on offense but his court awareness on the defensive end leaves some to be desired. He jogs back defensively and tends to get lost in transition.

He runs a helluva lot better than Shaq ever did.

He also runs a helluva lot faster than Yao, Big Z, and other legit 280lb+ 7-footers. When I see posters calling him a "sloth", it's almost as if these are young posters who are used to seeing the new breed of smaller KG-Dwight-Bosh big men that move quickly.

revgen wrote:

gcclaker wrote:Bynum is fine on offense but his court awareness on the defensive end leaves some to be desired. He jogs back defensively and tends to get lost in transition.

He runs a helluva lot better than Shaq ever did. He also runs a helluva lot faster than Yao, Big Z, and other legit 280lb+ 7-footers. When I see posters calling him a "sloth", it's almost as if these are young posters who are used to seeing the new breed of smaller KG-Dwight-Bosh big men that move quickly.

Agreed...on the fact that Bynum is younger and I don't think he is a stiff in comparison to the players you mentioned in the CURRENT season except maybe O'Neal who in his prime younger years was capable of running up and down the floor just as fast. The youngster is still getting it together in his overall game but I feel he needs some sense of urgency on the boards along with a more concerted effort on the defensive end. Abdul-Jabbar already commented this season that Bynum still needs to work on having his head on a swivel to better himself as far as his court awareness goes.