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**Sean** · 12-22-2006, 11:11 AM

LAKERS REPORT: Young players earn respect of an elder

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer; December 22, 2006

NEW YORK — The kids were more than all right. They were a reason for victory.

Coach Phil Jackson had said more than once that Andrew Bynum was good for only six to eight minutes at a time, but there was the 19-year-old Wednesday, playing the final 19 minutes 21 seconds in a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Minnesota. Sharing the court with him for a 25-4 run to start the fourth quarter was 20-year-old Jordan Farmar, who finished with seven assists and no turnovers.

It was enough to earn an endorsement from a certain former teenager.

"They're getting ahold of it a little bit," Kobe Bryant said Thursday after the Lakers concluded practice at a Manhattan sports club. "They really had a good performance, and we need that. For us, it's double positive because they're so young. It bodes well for their confidence."

Bynum had seven points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots, his best all-around game since being relegated to backup status three weeks ago.

"Going out there and getting that time was definitely a big thing for me, because I had been playing about 10 minutes a game since about the 12th game of the season," he said. "It was a little new to me.

"Some games, I really wear down after eight minutes and then some games I feel like I'm not tired at all. I don't know why that is. I guess I found my second wind [Wednesday]. And I guess you get your second wind the more you keep playing, the more you experience being out there and pushing through that."

It was all fine with Bryant, who played only 30 minutes after averaging 45.2 minutes in the Lakers' previous five games.

"It was good to have a ballgame like that," Bryant said. "The season's so long, you need that, whether you're 28 years old or 20 years old."

more in link...
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basket...nes-sports-nba

jazzy1 · 12-22-2006, 11:46 AM

LO thing is something to keep an eye on. I expect him back much later than some fans think because he's never had an injury like this before so I'm guessing he's gonna be uncomfortable trying to rebuild confidence in the knee.

So the other guys are gonna have to hold the fort.

PJ is gonna have to get real creative with the line-ups but I think we'll be fine. Gotta make sure Odom is healthy when he does come back.

We can challenge for the title if Odom can get back all the way.

SoCalfan21 · 12-25-2006, 03:02 AM

what was the update on Odom then? i didnt catch anything on him...

**Sean** · 12-26-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCalfan21

what was the update on Odom then? i didnt catch anything on him...

That the Lakers are winning without Lamar Odom is worth noting, although they'd obviously like him back. He did not travel with the team for the six-game trip, staying in Los Angeles for therapy and rest.

He suffered a sprained knee ligament Dec. 12 against Houston and is expected to miss four to eight weeks.

"We'll probably know something after the new year, a little bit [about] how things are going," Jackson said. "The minimum of a month is kind of like a parameter. There's a possibility of two months, so we're not, like, saying, 'Jan. 12, he's going to be back,' or whatever the date was. We just know that this is something that we'll just have to wait."