Andrew Bynum is blowing up this season — averaging 18.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game, he is putting up numbers that are making Lakers fans rethink their Dwight Howard fascination. He is showing more polish and power, getting more shots right at the rim (7.7 attempts per game) and he is a beast on the glass. He needs to work on recognizing and passing out of double teams (turnovers are an issue) but this season is a big step forward in his evolution.
Part of the success we’re seeing from Andrew Bynum this year is that the Lakers have invested a lot of time in energy and coaching and tutoring him. What, you think we’re talking about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Ha. What’s he know compared to Kwame Brown?
Kwame told the Los Angeles Times he deserves some credit for the player Bynum has become. Seriously.“He’s a grown man now,” Brown said of his former Lakers teammate. “He’s grown into his body well. He’s a lot more physical than when he first came in…
“That was my young fella,” Brown said. “I taught him everything he knows… I’m one of the better defenders in the league and we played against each other every day in practice,” Brown said. “I told him if you can score against me, you can score on anyone.”
Um.... no.
To be fair, Kwame is a pretty good man-on-man defender on the block. Ask him to recognize and make help rotations and he moves at the speed of a three-toed sloth. Ask him to catch a sharp pass and you see the “manos de piedra.” But body up a guy in the post? That is the one thing he can do.
That is also very different than saying he helped Bynum evolve. Drew made his big leaps long after Kwame was disappointing fans elsewhere.