Andrew Bynum Goes Down With a Knee Injury

No, this is not a headline from last year. It’s the grim reality the Los Angeles Lakers are facing after Andrew Bynum went down to a knee injury for the second straight year.

A driving Kobe Bryant fell into Bynum’s right knee after missing a layup attempt, sending Bynum to the floor in pain. Bynum grabbed for his knee immediately and had to be helped off the court.

The MRI on Sunday revealed a torn MCL, which doctors estimate will keep Bynum out of action for 8-12 weeks.

While this hurts the Lakers, the injury is not as devastating as it was for them last year. With Gasol in the lineup for almost a full year now, the Lakers are in a better position to handle this loss. Unfortunately, the injury comes at a time when Bynum was playing at his best, coming off a week in which he earned Player of The Week honors.

The most likely scenario is that Odom steps into the starting lineup and the Lakers field the team that made it to the NBA Finals last year, which is not a bad option. The Lakers are one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and because of that they have been able to cope with all the injuries that have plagued the team so far.

The Lakers are also better equipped this year to handle Bynum’s loss due to the recent play of forward Josh Powell. Powell has earned Jackson’s confidence based on his play during Lamar Odom’s injury.

Lamar Odom moving to the starting lineup to replace Bynum will have the biggest impact on the Lakers second unit. Up until now, the Lakers had one of the top benches in the NBA. Jackson normally would employ either Gasol or Bynum with the second unit, which created havoc on opposing defenses.

This second unit will now have to play without a dominant center, most likely using Powell at the four spot and Chris Mihm at the five. This unit will find it very difficult to create offense in half-court sets and will depend on transition scoring to get most of their points.

That, in turn may lead to more minutes for the starters and affect them as they make their postseason run. A better scenario might be to remove Luke Walton from the starting lineup, giving the second unit a player that is well-versed in the triangle offense. With Powell playing the five spot and Walton at the four, the Lakers would be better suited in the half-court game, hence helping keep the starters’ minutes down.

The biggest question Bynum’s injury creates is whether GM Mitch Kupchak will make a move before the trade deadline. There was speculation that Lamar Odom might be moved because he is in the last year of his contract and was unhappy playing bench minutes. This might create an opening for Kupchak to get something in return before Odom leaves via free agency.

The best-case scenario right now is for Bynum to return for the playoffs, but as Lakers fans already know, that might not happen. The Lakers are still the top team in the west and will most likely finish as the top seed yet again. However if Bynum doesn’t return in time for the playoffs, the Lakers may find themselves without the interior toughness they so desperately need.