Andrew Bynum has a slight knee tear

[elcheato]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --The center of attention for the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz second-round series beginning on Sunday at Staples Center has shifted to the injuries to both teams' starting centers.

Bynum
Bynum

Jazz center Mehmet Okur ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first round against Denver and is out for the rest of the season. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who missed the final 13 games of the regular season with a strained left Achilles, underwent a MRI on Saturday that revealed he has a small tear of the anterior horn of his lateral meniscus in his right knee, the team said.

Bynum suffered the injury in the first half of the Lakers' 95-94 first round series-clinching win on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder while fighting for rebounding position against the Thunder's Nenad Krstic. The fifth-year veteran played 12 minutes in the second half after sustaining the injury.

The Lakers said they became aware of the tear last June when Bynum came in for his end-of-season exit interview, but Bynum was able to play with the injury without it bothering him during the 2009-10 season. When Bynum hyperextended his right knee in the play against Krstic, the tear went from "very small" to "small."

"My knee twisted a little bit," Bynum said Friday night. "It will be alright though."

Bynum is listed as questionable for Game 1 against the Jazz and his status is day to day.

Bynum averaged 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in six games against the Thunder and 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.

"There's some issues," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said after practice Saturday. "He's hoping to play if he's asymptomatic tomorrow."

The 7-foot, 285-pound Bynum had knee injuries derail each of his last two seasons. A dislocated kneecap in his left knee and a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee caused him to miss 79 out of 164 regular season games in the 2007-08 and '08-09 seasons.

Guy keeps getting hurt.. Lakers should trade him next year if he has value. He is not going to last much longer with all these injuries.

 

[Pugz]

yea, i like his game and all but they should look into moving him. those knees will be done in 5 years max.

 

[Mexi]

i know he's always getting hurt
really frustrating

but he'll play tomorrow. he was fine in the last game vs OKC.
luckily, Utah has lead-footed Fesenko as their center

idk if the lakers would look to trade him. you guys really think the lakers could trick a team into taking a guy who always has these little injuries? cmon

he's too talented and young

 

[snipezo]

I think he'll be fine. Might affect his game a bit though.

 

[The Young One]

He's one injury away from being yao ming status.

 

[cruzg24]

He gets injured way too often, he should look into retiring or something.

 

[Pugz]

He gets injured way too often, he should look into retiring or something.

joke?

 

[cruzg24]

I think he will never live up to his potential due to these injuries. And he's on a great team, imagine if he was on a team like lets say the Grizzlies? He would just be another guy out there.

 

[playmaker7]

Bynum is still good but I'm getting tired of all these injuries...dude needs to be more durable. He's not gonna hold up getting hurt like this

 

[RipCity32]

Lol. I remember like that first time he got hurt all the Lakers fans were saying it was freak and it won't happen again, but he's been hurt every year since then, like multiple times lol. I don't see this kid getting much better than he is now because of these injuries.