As you know, the Lakers suffered their second loss of the season last night, on an improbable last-second tip by Troy Murphy. What bothered Andrew Bynum the most about the game wasn’t the miracle tip, instead it was his coach’s substitution pattern late in the game.
Bynum, who played a strong game with 17 points and 9 boards, was critical of Phil Jackson’s decision to pull the second unit (of which Andrew was a part of) midway through the fourth quarter.
From the LA Times:
“The second unit played well, got a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. We were all taken out with six minutes to go in game,” Bynum said. “We didn’t get any rebounds [after that]. I don’t know what to say about that.”
He was asked why he was taken out of the game, considering how the Pacers out-rebounded the Lakers 50-41 overall and 19-8 on the offensive end. “I don’t know,” Bynum said. “That’s a question for Phil.”
For his part, Phil explained that he yanked the second unit in favor of his starters because those guys had “fiddled away” the comfortable lead. He might want to listen to his young center, however, and strongly consider the rebounding factor late in the game tonight in Philly.
