RealGM

Nobody wants to say it out loud, for fear of a jinx, but there are whispers around the Lakers that Andrew Bynum will be back by the end of March or early April. Sooner than most thought and in plenty of time for the playoffs.

Tuesday he showed up to a Lakers practice and was quick to show off how fast he is recovering.


"He said the swelling is minimum right now that he has," Jackson said. "He's walking without aid. So he feels pretty good about what he's doing. We know that this first two weeks is going to be kind of sketchy. As he starts healing, things will start changing a little bit."

After last season, when Bynum’s recovery dragged on worse than a Gray’s Anatomy story line, everybody around the Lakers is gun-shy about saying anything positive this time around.

But the whispers are there — he looks good. He’ll start rehab soon. And with a little luck he will be back with plenty of time to get in shape before the playoffs.

Just don’t say that too loud.

dcash4 wrote:the original article was posted FEB. 11, so that gives us the same time line from the article on pg. 2...so without any further updates of any setbacks, looks like we're down to 5 to 9 weeks.

Erik Eleven wrote:

Spanish_Laker wrote:... do we need him? I don´t think so. We´re playing our best basketball without him...

Are you saying we can afford to trade him? What did he average before he went down again? How many blocks? How many rebounds?

If you don't like him back in the starting line-up because Gasol is now flourishing offensively at the five spot, then maybe you should propose Bynum coming off the bench. But saying we don't need him is insanity. He's our defensive anchor. Gasol is not.

Against Cleveland, Jazz, Celtics, Orlando et cetera, Bynum will singlehandedly change the opponent's game plan altogether.

Okur is much stronger than Gasol, but has nothing on Bynum. Enter Bynum and all of a sudden Okur won't be able to stay on the floor. With Gasol guarding Okur, Memet will push Pau out of the paint all night and then on the other end shoot weak side threes all night long, and make life hard for Gasol.

Gasol can't defend big Z very well either because of Z's length, he's not strong enough to D up Perkins, he has no chance in hell guarding Dwight. Bynum always plays great against Duncan. How exactly do we not need him? You mean on offense?

It's not about offense. This game is won with defense.

By JEFF EISENBERG
The Press-Enterprise

Andrew Bynum did not attend practice on Wednesday, but a Lakers spokesman said the injured center has begun riding a stationary bike and using a Precor machine as part of his rehab.

Bynum has been out since Jan. 29 as a result of a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The prognosis when his injury ocurred was that he would miss about 8 to 12 weeks.

Also the right ankle that Kobe Bryant tweaked late in Tuesday's victory at Oklahoma City is a non-issue, and he will be ready to play Thursday against Phoenix.

Before we get started, I present the obligatory Andrew Bynum Medical Update:

For several days, he's been riding the stationary bike and using the elliptical machine.

No word on whether or not it was set to "Hill" or "Fat Burner," but it's good to know AB is getting active again. Oh, and Kobe's ankle? Not an issue. As you were.

Andrew Bynum, walking without so much as a slight limp, showed up in the Lakers locker room Thursday and declared himself pain-free.

Not home-free, just pain-free.

Bynum has been sidelined since suffering a tear of the medial collateral ligament in a game Jan. 31 and only recently began riding a stationary bike and working out on an eliptical machine. His return date is pegged for sometime between late March and early April and there isn’t any rush to get him back on the court.

Sean Zarzana, Bynum’s personal trainer, couldn’t pinpoint an exact date for Bynum to return playing, saying that the 21-year-old center has a long future ahead of him, so “we don’t want to rush things.”

“I’m optimistic,” Bynum said. “It feels really good and there’s nothing that I’m really concerned with.”

Andrew Bynum working toward return

Lakers center Andrew Bynum (27 points, 15 rebounds) and Timberwolves center Al Jefferson (34 points, 13 rebounds) played big in a Jan. 30 meeting, but each went down to injury soon after this game. Injured center hasn't started running yet. Nuggets Coach George Karl wonders how much the team really misses him. The Lakers might not seem as if they miss Andrew Bynum, losing only one game since his knee injury, but they'll obviously welcome him back whenever he returns. He has started riding a stationary bike, using an elliptical machine and doing partial lunges and squats with his lower legs



He continues to lift weights to maintain his upper-body strength but has not yet started running.
All indications are that he will return between March 30 and April 27, within the original eight-to-12 week forecast released by the team after Bynum suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. "It feels fine, very little pain," Bynum said Thursday. "The swelling's all the way down. I'm optimistic. I just hope it keeps going the way it's going now." Bynum never returned to the court last season after injuring his other knee in mid-January, though he said circumstances were different this time.






He wasn't sure when he would return. "I have no idea," he said. "Right now, all I know is it feels good to me and I think I'll be able to at least come back and contribute. "It's cool because when I come back in, they'll all be jelling together and I'll just have to work my way back." With the way Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have been playing down low, Bynum is almost a certainty to come off the bench when he returns. Bynum is averaging 14 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots in 29.1 minutes a game.

The Laker Kid wrote:Rush his recovery... we need him ASAP

The Laker Kid wrote:Rush his recovery... we need him ASAP

rand0m wrote:With this injury, if Drew isn't cleared to play by the finals then he definitely deserves the slower healer label...