Spring is here - humming birds are buzzing, flowers are blooming, birds are migrating to their summer homes, Andrew Bynum is injured.
Every time Bynum makes a play right now, you can see him grimace a little. He will likely need off-season knee surgery to fix a tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee. It hurts to run, jump, do basically all those things that you need to do to play basketball.
But Bynum is going to play through it, according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register.
Bynum had a serious injury to his left knee two seasons ago and then a serious injury to his right knee last season. He has been wearing a brace all season on the right knee, which he hyperextended Friday night while being boxed out by Oklahoma City center Nenad Krstic. Bynum also missed the last part of the regular season with a strained left Achilles’ tendon.
Asked about the frustration of multiple knee injuries, Bynum described the first one as “the worst one,” the second one as a feeling of “Are you serious?” and the third one now as: “I’m used to it.”
He also said: “If I can play through it, I’m in good spirits.”
Phil Jackson was happy with Byum’s play.
“He gave us a really good effort,” Jackson said. “You can tell he’s limited in some of the things he’s doing, but I thought he gave us a good effort.”
Bynum had 8 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers game one win, although it helps that he is matched up on Kyrylo Fesenko this series. But this series is not when the Lakers will need Bynum most. They will need him more in the next round -- to match up with the Spurs front line or punish the Suns smallish one -- and he would be a key in the Finals when the Lakers would face either Dwight Howard or Shaquille O’Neal.