In addition to the winning, I miss Bynum. He was such a beast, and I thought he was going to be absolutely amazing for another ten years. Miss that dude, miss his skills, miss even his attitude. You?
When he was challenged, motivated, and healthy he was a beast. Problem was he wasn't always up to the task and sometimes he was and his body wasn't ready. Those factors prevented me from buying him as a franchise big, which is really a shame cause when he was dialed in and healthy he was a joy to watch.
Bynum is probably my favorite player ever aside from Kobe. I was too young to really appreciate Shaq but I was able to witness Bynum's entire development in my "prime" as a fan (back when I was in middle/high school so I'd have time to watch every game and my entire life revolved around the Lakers). I remember going from not knowing who the hell he was when we drafted him, to watching him dunk on Shaq live and starting to gain some hope, and then seeing him eventually develop into a cornerstone of our championship teams. Not to take anything away from Pau, because he was definitely the better player and the main reason we won those titles, but I don't think we would've won without Bynum in the paint. And a lot of people forget this: a few weeks before we traded for Pau and before Bynum got hurt, we were actually at the top of the western conference standings due in large part to Bynum. He's the last true elite center IMO. Absolutely dominant post moves, he could hit free throws, had a nice touch on the baby jump shots and hooks. He was almost unstoppable in the paint in today's NBA with that combination of skill, size, and length. When he was dialed in, he could get you 30 rebounds or 10 blocks in a game. I think his "attitude" issues were severely overblown. The media needed something to talk about, so they exaggerated this stuff and a lot of fans ate it up. If only he had a solid set of knees...
Miss him cause it gave #17 some relevancy. With him in it, we had the potential to get #17.....instead, we're now Linked with mediocrity. And I'm Linked into having a crappy handle.
I miss the "Bynum Will Never Be Special" thread. It was epic. And yeah prior to the freak injuries both of them, he was on a progression to be EPIC.
as many ups and downs as he's had i do miss odom. for a good stretch there he really made the offense work and i hope he's doing better now in his personal life, haven't heard anything lately which hopefully is a good thing
07 Bynum was like 2015 Hassan Whiteside: long, great hands, could finish at the rim and protect the paint. He just didn't have the heart...hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
I liked Bynum a lot. You could watch him and see the confidence growing and his game just expanding and then BAM! injury. Then the next year, he'd get on a roll and again, freak injury. Feel bad for him. Feel bad for us. At his best, he was better than Howard and any other center during that time period. Doc Rivers said that's the player that gave them the most trouble (he didn't mention Kobe, but I think that was just an obvious oversight).
...and those top of the key three pointers. Seriously, I liked the edge Bynum brought to the game. Never pouted being on the bench while Gasol, Odom and Artest closed the game. In hindsight he was even up cheering the team from his seat. It was just cruel twists of fate that his knee was damaged badly twice. The one I truly think fondly of was Odom. Did everything...rebounded, scored enough to help, defended, often ran the Tri from the 4 spot, had the team loose, perfect temperament for a key supporting role and singlehandedly made store managers at nearby supermarkets to keep the sweets aisles stocked. Sigh...I wish it was 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 again.
2007 Bynum made me think: Am I dreaming, are we good again so quick? That made him special, he was destroying all star big men like Amare like they were nothing and we were leading the Western Conference when he fell. Of course, that led to the trade.
don't miss his attitude but i sure do miss his play still remember how he came out of nowhere in '07. like someone said earlier, he really was the last true, back to the basket, elite center. such a shame how quickly his body broke down. he really could have dominated for years had his body not given out on him and with a better attitude
I miss the hope that came with young Bynum. I thought randle might bring that back this year, but he was cruelly and immediately injured. I do miss 2008-10 quite a bit, though. oddly, I especially miss the 2008-9 year. it was fun watching the lakers come out of nowhere (even pre pau trade) and stick it to the haterz. not sure when that time will come again, but it won't be with the extra special kobe redemption that that time carried.
I miss Artest. I don't miss Metta World Peace, I miss Ron Artest. The dude who showed up in 2009/2010 and didn't complain about his role. He came in and was a lock-down defender, a guy who could score when called upon, and an enforcer. He was the psycho willing to throw down for his teammates at a moment's notice. Every good team needs a Ron Artest on it.
Yep...his defensive work during that 2010 season were impressive. Pierce, Anthony...to assorted guards both point and shooting. That last second put-back against Phoenix in the WCF is just about right there with .04.
I'll always have a soft spot for Ron Ron. One of my all time favorites. Agreed that every championship level team needs a lock down player like him - Detroit and Chi town had Rodman, We had Coop, Spurs had Bowen . . . there has to be someone who does the dirty work. Bynum showed some real glimpses of greatness but a bad attitude (at times) and bad knees ensured that he was an "if only" player.
The dude was a winner. For one brief stretch there he was on top of the world AND a great complementary basketball player for us.
