Laker Nation Approaches the Ledge
Bynum out 2 months
When Andrew Bynum came down on Lamar Odom’s foot in the third quarter last night, I (along with every other Laker fan) saw what was turning into an unexpectedly great season practically go up in flames.
As Bynum writhed on the floor in obvious pain, clutching his left knee, terrible thoughts raced through my mind: visions of 5-game losing streaks; an inability to close out tough road games; Kobe being forced to don the Superman cape every night; losing to the Suns all the time. Basically, a repeat of the last two seasons.
Holly sent me a text message late last night saying a friend of hers had just left the Laker locker room and things looked to be on the up and up for young Andrew. But I had a feeling it was bad. And I was right, unfortunately: An MRI revealed today that after suffering a subluxation of the patella and a bone bruise of his left knee, Bynum is expected to miss the next 8 weeks at the very minimum. Ugh.
The good news? He’s expected to make a full recovery. The bad news? Everything listed above.
70 Responses to “Laker Nation Approaches the Ledge”
Jan.14 at 5:57 pm
white hot eboy says:
Damn. Sorry, Holly, Marcel, jay, Bodie, etc. At least the squad has a good enough record to stay afloat for a while.
Jan.14 at 5:58 pm
dma says:
kwame brown’s contract year to the rescue
Jan.14 at 5:58 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Quiznos!
Jan.14 at 6:00 pm
WeS says:
I saw it when it happened last night - whats really funny is how Kwame was just terrible when he came in…
Jan.14 at 6:01 pm
Tom says:
dma: if our hopes rest in Kwame’s hands…..well you all can finish this sentence.
Jan.14 at 6:01 pm
Elvis says:
Kobe will definately go on a tear starting…TONIGHT! Cant wait but i do hope Bynum get healthy soon cuz the lakers need him.
Jan.14 at 6:01 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
it could have been worse…
Jan.14 at 6:02 pm
Tom says:
It’ll be interesting to see if Kobe just goes buckwild now or if he still tries to work in the system for a bit more.
Jan.14 at 6:02 pm
Tenorca says:
File that one under “sucks a million d*cks.” The Lakeshow should still be able to play about .500 ball with him out, so best case scenario is this just affects their playoff seeding. I might hate the Lakers, but nobody wants this. Hope he heals fully and quickly and loses to the Warriors in the second round.
Jan.14 at 6:09 pm
bouncyman says:
Any other year we’d have enough wins to stay afloat for a while… but this year at 25 and 11, we’re 4.5 games out of eighth place…. Lakers should be fine though.. make a strong push after the ASG
Jan.14 at 6:13 pm
Kadavour says:
Same damn thing happened last season. Luke and Lamar were playing inspired ball, the Lakers got to 23-11, becoming EVERYONE’s dark-horse for the playoffs, then the injury bug bit. It would be interesting to see everyone’s attitude on the court tonight. Hopefully guys step up.
Jan.14 at 6:15 pm
john says:
here we go again
Jan.14 at 6:19 pm
Dan says:
I know you’re sorry, Eboy, but I know what you are thinking, and no, this blow to the Lakers will not somehow help the Heat. Sorry, my friend.
Jan.14 at 6:19 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
Damn, Mutoni, I slept a little easier after hearing how upbeat Bynum was in the locker room. Woke up this morning with that uneasy feeling and waited all day for the MRI results to come back. Thankfully there was no cartilage or ligament damage and the boy will fully recover. Beyond that, I have no words for how I am feeling.
Jan.14 at 6:20 pm
TADOne says:
Kobe to average 35 ppg in the next 2 months. Mark it down.
Jan.14 at 6:21 pm
john says:
damn u injuries, damn uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.. now kobe gotta score 50, kwame betta step up
Jan.14 at 6:22 pm
TADOne says:
So who takes his spot on the All Star team?
Jan.14 at 6:24 pm
Bryan says:
Maybe Lamar Odom will step up.
Jan.14 at 6:26 pm
white hot eboy says:
There’s always the future HOF’er stowed away on the bench.
Jan.14 at 6:27 pm
TADOne says:
“Lamar, please put down the bong, we need you”.
Jan.14 at 6:29 pm
Tom says:
so what exactly is a subluxation?…..i’ve never heard of this injury before, usually its a sprain or ligament tear.
Jan.14 at 6:33 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
it’s like a dislocation of the kneecap. A temporary dislocation that is very painful and will take some rehab and time off to heal.
Jan.14 at 6:34 pm
bouncyman says:
wikipedia says
A subluxation[1] is an incomplete or partial dislocation (Latin: luxatio)[2] of a joint or organ.
Jan.14 at 6:35 pm
bouncyman says:
does anyone know what mihm’s status is? we’re gonna need what little post offense he provides with bynum out
Jan.14 at 6:35 pm
TADOne says:
Disclocation of the kneecap?! Ouch!
Jan.14 at 6:36 pm
Tom says:
Holly is up on her medical game, Vitti better watch out
Jan.14 at 6:36 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
I think he’s about 2 weeks away from playing.. but if we are counting on Mihm to be our saving grace than I need to drink these sorrows away. Maybe we’ll look into signing someone to some 10-day contracts.
Jan.14 at 6:39 pm
TADOne says:
Counting on Mihm will turn you into an alcoholic Holly.
Jan.14 at 6:42 pm
Tenorca says:
Ugh. Going from Bynum to the Mihm/Kwame quinella is like from Scarlett Johansen to a trany with giant balls.
Jan.14 at 6:49 pm
bouncyman says:
mihm as a savior = vomit
mihm as a stop gap to staunch the bleeding = acceptable
we don’t need him to be great…we just need him to not suck as badly as kwame does on offense
Jan.14 at 6:50 pm
Holy Baller says:
Any way you look at this it is bad for the Lakers. You finally find someone to compliment Kobe, you finally get Kobe to pass to someone, then it all goes up in smoke.
Jan.14 at 6:50 pm
Tom says:
2 weeks holly? so what, they’re just being overly cautious with the 2 months then, make sure it sets back into spot ok.
Jan.14 at 6:53 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
ohh no no no, Tom. 2 weeks for Mihm. I heard from a very reliable source that after the MRI results the actual timetable was 4-6 weeks but the Lakers want to be safe and cautious (which I totally agree with), and they are saying 8.
Jan.14 at 6:58 pm
Jusdeep says:
This had to happen when they were playing their best ball of the season and just moved up to NUMBER 1 in nba.com power rankings(That means ahead of boston). wow.
Jan.14 at 7:00 pm
bouncyman says:
I honestly believe that if the Lakers and Spurs end up on opposite side of the brackets, Lakers can make the Western Conference finals…Spurs is the only team I see the Lakers having major major problems with…
Jan.14 at 7:04 pm
raynmann says:
kobe goes for 35ppg, 8 rpg, 5 apg, for the next 8 weeks, lakers stay top 4, and ends up the mvp
Jan.14 at 7:08 pm
Tom says:
I wish I could be as optimistic as raynmann over here
Jan.14 at 7:24 pm
bouncyman says:
As unrealistic as it may be, I’d much rather Kobe keep his averages and Lamar go for 17 12 and 4 over the next 8 weeks and keep the Lakers afloat
Jan.14 at 7:26 pm
Tom says:
I’d like to see Kobe still try and work in the system before just going off, I always wonder how good he would be if they used him in the post like they used mj, it would open up a lot of the other guys too.
Jan.14 at 7:54 pm
john says:
o.k. it’s mihm time and kwame time.step up time
Jan.14 at 7:58 pm
Krayzie Bone says:
Kobe is not lebron, he can’t rebound like that. It’s more likely given his talents that he could average the reverse on the assists and rebounds. I think the team will struggle, but that that struggle will put them about where utah is.
Jan.14 at 8:30 pm
hursty says:
why not sign luke schensher from the d-league? he played for the bulls for a season, then went to portland for a month, hes got good fundamentals etc and hes 7-2,3.
Jan.14 at 8:36 pm
Joey E. says:
diehard lakers fan here those of you saying that Kwame must step up and have faith in him, obviously didnt watch him last night. that frightened me.
Jan.14 at 8:55 pm
Galo says:
Damn…the kid was doing great. Too bad. Thankfully I’m not a lakers fan. Thank god my team has NO CHANCE WHAT-SO-EVER of winning anything. This way I don’t get disapointed.
–
TO the dude who asked Mhim’s status: HE SUCKS! That’s his status.
Jan.14 at 8:56 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
Since i dont really care about the Lakers, im just glad to have the old 45 FGA Kobe back.
Jan.14 at 9:02 pm
Ill WIll says:
I never ever thought it would come to this, BUT: Chris Mihm needs to come back soon. Kwame Brown is simple NOT the answer at center. No way.
Jan.14 at 9:03 pm
Ill WIll says:
Well, whoever has Kobe on their fantasy hoops squad, it will be a very very productive 2 months ahead.
Jan.14 at 9:28 pm
ak47 says:
The next two months will determine whether Kobe gets MVP this year. The whole team needs to step up with Kobe stepping his game up a little higher ala Chicago Bulls in ‘98 when they lost Pippen for a few months. They were still able to keep afloat thanks to MJ and Pippen fit right in as soon as he got back. If the Lakers can do that their season will be fine and Kobe will be MVP.
Jan.14 at 9:57 pm
BK says:
I was at the game Sunday night and the whole crowd went dead silent when Bynum went down.
Jan.14 at 10:16 pm
jdubbs says:
As a hardcore Wizards fan who’s been missing agent zero all year i say: suck it up, lakers fans, you still got Kobe and Odom and a great bench. If you can just play .500 ball until bynum comes back, you got nothing to worry about. The West is wide open this year.
Jan.14 at 10:23 pm
jay says:
blahhhghhh
Jan.14 at 10:39 pm
wat the f says:
lakers will be fine with brown, he will step up and be good and they will win the 5 games for an 11 game win streak
Jan.14 at 11:23 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
If you put the future in Kwame’s hands you KNOW he’s gonna drop it. Piece of cake.
Jan.14 at 11:38 pm
fishbowl says:
I hope Kobe has big shoulders.
Jan.14 at 11:45 pm
Mike says:
This is a bad thing for the Lakers but if you look at it Kobes about to rip it up. This is his chance to show why he still is the best player in the world. Lakers need Andrew Bynum back and lets just hope he still plays as well as he did when he got injured. BUT ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS. ITS KOBE TIME.
Jan.14 at 11:59 pm
LAN says:
f*ck i actually started watchin lakers games caus of this kid. owell good time 2 bulk up even more and come bak bigger than shaq in his prime
Jan.15 at 12:26 am
Myles Brown says:
….
Jan.15 at 12:31 am
TC says:
damn, tough break for the Lakers!! The Lakers were becoming a fun team to watch but now this……
Jan.15 at 3:05 am
hursty says:
kobe drops 48 and a game winner in OT. geez, talk about stepping up.
Jan.15 at 3:53 am
bootlace says:
Kobe, you got your shot at a MVP right here…dont screw it up.
Jan.15 at 3:58 am
15AM says:
@hursty: luke schensher was not even able to properly play in the german top league this season and was cut after a couple of months. i don’t think he as anything of an answer. even a pat burke would do better than him, and he is available … imagine burke starting against the suns and going for a 15-15-5 statline!
Jan.15 at 5:52 am
Bigi says:
Now we see if the Lakers are for R.E.A.L.!
Jan.15 at 6:39 am
neaorin says:
Holly, how reliable is that “4-6 weeks” source of yours?
Jan.15 at 8:51 am
SLAM ONLINE | » …the more they stay the same says:
[…] Very interesting change to the tone of the season last night. News came down that Andrew Bynum will be out of action for at least 8 weeks, right as the Lakers were playing their best team ball in years, riding high on a six game winning streak. The natural reaction was for people to wonder how Kobe would respond, how he would adjust his game. […]
Jan.15 at 9:18 am
mat smith says:
thats bad, kareem had really got him going, I wonder if kobe will now realise how impatient he had been about drew, his earlier comments regarding a kidd trade were way off, he should have been alot more understanding about high schooler’s entering the “L”, im a suns fan but I wish drew a speed recovery, I was enjoying watching him grow as a player.im sure he will come back strong, its not like he has an amare type injury.
Jan.15 at 5:57 pm
SLAM ONLINE | » These Are The ‘New’ Lakers says:
[…] Everyone knew the script coming into last night: With the tough news regarding Andrew Bynum’s injury breaking just a few hours before tipoff, the Lakers were understandably a bit down. Kobe knew this; Kobe reacted the only way he knows how: The right way. By taking over. […]
Jan.15 at 6:11 pm
ak47 says:
The Lakers will be fine and this is the year that Kobe finally wins MVP.
Jan.15 at 8:40 pm
alloushig says:
sucks! We just have to make the playoffs, no matter what seed we are. Then, with Andrew back, we’ll go for it!
Jan.15 at 9:58 pm
tt says:
Kobe was not impatient with Bynum. He was just merely fustrated. Lakers didn’t really use Bynum that much until Kobe complained & the injuries of Kwame & Mihm
Jan.16 at 11:10 am
Thomas says:
This is bad. I’m a Laker fan and I was sooooooo upset when I saw that happen. With this tough set of games against teams like Pheonix, Denver, and San Antonio; the Lakers won’t look pretty and Kobe better get the Superman cape out of the closet.