Lakers center Andrew Bynum is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after results of an MRI on his injured right knee showed a tear of the medial collateral ligament, the team announced Monday.
Los Angeles begins life without its young big man at Madison Square Garden on Monday night but is still a 5.5-point road favorite on WagerWeb.com. No question their futures odds will change because of this injury.
Bynum was injured when Kobe Bryant tumbled into him after an off-balance drive Saturday against Memphis. Bynum missed the Lakers’ final 67 games last season (including playoffs) after sustaining a briefly dislocated left kneecap that eventually required surgery.
Emerging in his fourth NBA season as a dominant big man, he has been one of the Lakers’ top players lately, averaging 26 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocks the last five games. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Jan. 19 through Jan. 25. Bynum is averaging 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.87 blocked shots in 46 games this season. Phil Jackson called the injury a “great disappointment.”
The injury was reminiscent of the one that ended his season a year ago. Again it came against the Grizzlies, again it was caused by one of his teammates, and again it occurred in the midst of the best stretch of his young career.
Without Bynum, the Lakers will probably go back to the lineup that got them to the Finals last year, with Pau Gasol moving from power forward to center and Lamar Odom leaving his role of sixth man and taking over at power forward.
The Lakers have a rematch with the Celtics later this week. Boston coach Doc Rivers said Bynum made all the difference in Los Angeles’ Christmas Day win.
“He makes you change the shot,” Rivers said. “We had three or four of them where we double-clutched for no reason – other than the fact that in the left of your eye he was coming. Size makes you miss layups.”
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