Off-season Outlook: Andrew Bynum

You love him, you hate him… it’s Andrew Bynum!  The enigmatic center is next up in our series of player reviews.  Few Lakers have had such an up and down season as young Bynum, so let’s take a closer look.

Umm, Drew?  Weren’t you still recovering from a knee injury at the time of this photo?  That doesn’t seem like good rehab to me (though I wouldn’t mind giving it a try).

2009 Recap:

Bynum started this season setting about his way of proving himself worthy of the hefty contract extension the Lakers signed him to last off-season.  He did struggle a bit the first few weeks to find a rhythm playing in the same frontcourt as Pau Gasol, but eventually figured it out and became a double-double machine.

After he exploded for 42 points against the Clippers in late-January, it seemed Bynum was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the top centers in all of basketball, but then he had to go and get injured again.  Bynum tore his the MCL in his right knee and ended up missing all of February and March before finally making it back to the court for the final four games of the regular season.  Without Bynum, the Lakers found their interior defense sorely lacking and couldn’t wait to get their young pivot back.

That zeal to see Bynum return might have proved highly detrimental to Bynum’s future though.  The doctor’s cleared Drew to play the rest of the season, but he clearly wasn’t back to 100% healthy.  By the time the playoffs rolled around, it was obvious that Bynum’s knee was still bothering him as he had the lateral mobility of sedated a rhino, turning him into foul-collecting stiff most of the playoffs.  Bynum tried to fight through the pain, but the more he tried to do, the more he damaged his confidence.  Eventually Phil Jackson realized that Bynum’s best use was as a part-time center who could take up space and eat up fouls against the likes of Yao Ming and Dwight Howard, but provide little else.  In 23 post-season appearances, Bynum played 24+ minutes just once, never collecting more than nine rebounds or scoring more than 14 points.  It is pretty safe to say that meager production like that wasn’t exactly what anyone had in mind when Bynum was placed back on the active roster.

I know, Drew.  I don’t like looking at your post-season stats either.

Homework:

No Laker has more to prove next season than Bynum, especially with his massive extension kicking in.  He’s going to have to work on a lot of different areas this summer to avoid becoming the highest paid back-up center in the Association:

• Get in shape. Part of the reason Bynum’s minutes were limited in the post-season was a lack of conditioning, which was never his strong suit before the injury anyway.  If he wants to play starter’s minutes, he is going to have to get his butt in prime shape.  It also likely wouldn’t hurt him to drop a few pounds from his frame, possibly reducing the load on his fragile knees.
• Stop fouling. Even when at full health, Bynum seems to have a hard time understanding that just because he has six fouls to use in a game, it doesn’t mean he is obligated to use them all.  I’m all for aggressive defense, but there is a fine line between aggressive and stupid, a line Bynum treads all too often.
• See a doctor. This lingering knee injury issue needs to be cleared up immediately.  It would be better for Bynum to find out now if he needs more surgery rather than during the middle of the season.
• See a sports shrink. Maybe I am overreacting, but Bynum was a mental mess in the post-season and he needs to do something to get his head on straight again.  Maybe just having the summer off will do the trick, but he is still just a kid and has a ton of pressure on him as a cornerstone of the premier franchise in basketball, so seeking the assistance of a sports psychologist is actually a pretty good idea, even if it is just for a quick mental tune-up.

Tags: Andrew Bynum, Player Review