Andrew Bynum thought something was wrong with his game. He believed he wasn't playing with the same gusto as he was at this time last season, when he was running and jumping and dunking and rebounding with remarkable success.
So, he watched a stack of videos, which confirmed his suspicions.
Something was wrong. He discovered he wasn't playing with the same gusto as he was at this time last season, when he made a major career breakthrough.
"I don't think I'm taking advantage of the opportunities I'm getting," Bynum said before the Lakers played against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Staples Center. "I just need to go out there and put more energy to it.
"When I watched last year's tapes and this year's tapes, there's a difference you can see pretty clearly."
Bynum refused to play the blame game. He said his left kneecap was not the reason for a decline in production. He was averaging 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds before Sunday's game, down from his 2007-08 averages of 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds.
"I'm not taking easy or not trusting the leg," the 7-foot Bynum said. "It feels fine. It feels like it's good."
Bynum, 21, suffered a season-ending kneecap injury last Jan. 13. He missed the rest of the regular season and all of the playoffs. He underwent surgery May 21, and was back to full strength by the start of training camp.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Saturday he noticed that Bynum was not playing with the same efficiency he displayed last season. He said Bynum's endurance was evident, but that he had difficulty sustaining his energy.
Bynum decided several days ago that it was time to go to the video.
"I got some tapes from last year before I got injured and I've just been looking through them to see where I can improve," he said. "I'm just going to go out there and play harder (Sunday against the Trail Blazers).
"Basically, I'm encouraged. You see you're able to do it. You just have to go out there and make it happen. It's a combination of things, but I believe it's more effort."
Re: Bynum can see a difference -- and it's not good.
I think everyone has noticed this difference - hope he can get back to how he was playing last season in this next month. If he can get back to doing that, and Kobe/Gasol and everyone else continue to play at the level they've been playing at recently, this team will be far better than they are right now.
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Re: Bynum can see a difference -- and it's not good.
Because he can shoot that baby jumper now, he's been prone to wandering around the FT line more, instead of trying to get good position on the block. His baby hook has also not been anywhere near as effective as it was last season. He has got to work on that because he really had it down to a T.
I will give him some benefit of the doubt and say that he has oftentimes gone long stretches without receiving one decent pass in the post. More than that, the Lakers have to try to give him the ball more because he is a force down low.
__________________ Chick Hearn: This game is in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the lights are out, the eggs are gettin' cool, the butter's gettin' hard, and the jellooooooo's jigglin'!
The 2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers
PG: Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar
SG: Kobe Bryant, Sasha Vujacic, Sun Yue
SF: Ron Artest, Luke Walton, Adam Morrison
PF: Pau Gasol, Josh Powell
C: Andrew Bynum, D.J. Mbenga
Re: Bynum can see a difference -- and it's not good.
He needs more touches in the post. Also, I think we clear out to much when Bynum gets the ball. They are trying to eliminate the double team but instead it takes away his post-repost game and then he doesnt have the close corner 3pt shooter to make the team pay for the double.
Re: Bynum can see a difference -- and it's not good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elcap15
He needs more touches in the post. Also, I think we clear out to much when Bynum gets the ball. They are trying to eliminate the double team but instead it takes away his post-repost game and then he doesnt have the close corner 3pt shooter to make the team pay for the double.
Agreed. I'm all for his level of energy going up.
But the guy gets ignored consistantly on offense night after night.. Guys like fisher can be shooting 20 percent and chucking away.. Bynum can be 3-4 and never see the ball in the post again no matter where he is positioned.
We spend to much time having Bynum come out and set screens, when Gasol could not only do it but probably do it better being a tad bit more moble. Not to mention Gasol has range, so being out there isn't going to hurt his game at all.
Bynum can see a difference -- and it's not good.
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