- 6,599
- 439
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
Originally Posted by tmoney85
one of the greatest videos ive seen
Wow, sometimes iforget how long he's been playingat such a high level.
Ridiculous!
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: this_feature_currently_requires_accessing_site_using_safari
Originally Posted by tmoney85
one of the greatest videos ive seen
[h1]Brittle Bynum has become tough enough[/h1]
LOS ANGELES â After every game, Kobe Bryant makes it look like he's burrowing his feet in soft, relaxing sand during a day at the beach. After the Lakers' game in Toronto this season, Andrew Bynum tried it.
Bryant is used to soaking his feet in postgame buckets of ice water to minimize inflammation from all the pounding. He'll often chat comfortably with reporters while his feet are submerged in icy water. Yet when Bynum tried to do that in Toronto in late January, he became a cartoon.
There was shivering, teeth chattering and overwhelmed gasping. There very well could have been icicles hanging from his ears, too.
But this was the season that Bynum vowed to get more professional and maintain his body better. On Sunday after Game 1 against Utah, Bynum sat there unflappably with those feet once reserved only for UGG fleecy slippers now chillin' in the ice water. On Tuesday in Game 2, we saw a more distinct people-can-change inspiration from him.
Many were surprised by the way Bynum started this postseason so strong despite coming off that strained left Achilles' tendon. Many are shocked that he is giving the Lakers so much now that he has torn cartilage in a right knee that needs surgical repair.
The frame remains predisposed to knee injury â the wide pelvis and knock-kneed frame are here to stay â but the spirit inside the brittle body has changed.
Bynum got a scare a week into the season with a sprained right elbow and missed two games. He wound up slowed by an upper respiratory infection and some tightness in the right knee that suffered the torn MCL last season. Before the All-Star break he bruised his left knee and then bruised his right hip three days later; the latter was the injury that really taught him some things about playing in pain and got him popping those anti-inflammatory pills he's back on now (to go with ice, stim, laser and every other kind of treatment to decrease the swelling).
Our athletes are expected to be tough. Yet our athletes expect even tougher from fellow athletes, particularly teammates. And when your team leader is the toughest Gary Vitti has seen in 25 years as Lakers trainer?
Here's how Bryant put it within his team late Tuesday night, finally meeting with reporters an hour and 15 minutes after game's end because of all the physical therapy he got on his sore right knee: "Which one is going to be the first punk? Because we will talk about you like a dog, like a chump. Nobody wants to be a chump."
Well, there are a lot of Lakers with injury issues, but only two were cited after their victory Tuesday night by hard-nosed Jazz coach Jerry Sloan as embodying qualities "you admire."
Bryant and Bynum haven't always been together. Bryant pointed out early on that when he was a preps-to-pro prodigy he sure wasn't as "passive" as Bynum. Then came the infamous parking-lot video of Bryant wanting to ship Bynum out.
Bryant's word choice for Bynum now? "Sensational."
"It's good to see him at a young age figure out how to play through these injuries," Bryant said.
In fact, what Bynum is doing now mirrors Bryant's M.O.
- Don't dwell on the pain: Bynum said he's "not focusing on it" while on the court. Phil Jackson said: "During the game he never complains."
- Reach into Vitti's bag of tricks: Bynum wears a heavy tape job that keeps his right knee flexed forward slightly at all times, and then his knee brace is locked in a position that decreases the chances of the frayed meniscus getting painfully pinched between the two bones.
- Embrace the adversity: Said Bynum: "I feel good, man. I'm out there; I'm contributing. It hasn't stopped me from playing. I'm going to battle through it. It's something to look forward to. I have another challenge."
- Use your head: In Bynum's 17-point game, he focused on a strategy of deep post-ups that minimized his need to dribble and turn, while also making it harder for Utah's double-teams to come at him.
- Maximize what you do have: Defending and rebounding is all about effort. Bynum had four blocks (the game high) and nearly a rebound every other minute he was on the floor (14 rebounds in 29 minutes).
- Seize the day: Bynum actually feels better now than he did a year ago, when his right knee was still wobbly â and he recalls clearly how he couldn't play at all two years ago. "This is the best I've felt coming into the postseason," he said. "I'm not going to pass up this opportunity."
Any general manager would tell you that he prefers a player who never gets hurt.
Any sociologist, though, knows the way we prove ourselves in life: by managing our pain.
"I understand my situation," Bynum said. "I'm comfortable with it."
Link:
http://www.ocregister.com...-247272-bryant-game.html
Nice ready. Just wish Drew would have been more serious about training & conditioning earlier in his career.
Also my last 2 cents. Bynum this year in the playoffs so far is hell of a lot better and is contributing on both ends of the court compared to last year in the playoffs when he was coming off another injury. Drew is always going to be hated on by a lot of Laker fans on here and we will continue to see pipe dream trades & rumors pop on here about him because of the injuries, his salary contract, not being dominant enough in the post, not being the next great Laker center.
CP...youre smiling cause bynum is schooling undersized centers and guys like fesenko/koufus?Originally Posted by CP1708
I smile big every time Drew makes a new poster in each playoff game, just know that everyone.
However, if the Suns do find a way to finish the Spurs, Bynum is gonna have a rough time (provided we get by the Jazz) The Suns will want to run Bynum to death. We may only see him to start halves and then let Gasol and Odom take care of the rest. We'll see.
But again, that's a long ways away. We need to get this game 3 vs Utah. This is a nice long 3 day break, Kobe and Bynum and Artest will have the most treatment you can ask for. If we lose game 3, game 4 is 48 hours away, not even close to as much time to recoup a little. So we NEED this game 3 to dagger the Jazz and let them know, we ain't playin around.
Yuku really only post the vids? and not the response that took me like 10 min to write?Originally Posted by MJsaver
Originally Posted by tmoney85
one of the greatest videos ive seen
...............
Wow,� sometimes i�forget how long he's been playing�at such a high level.
Ridiculous!
��
CP...youre smiling cause bynum is schooling undersized centers�and�guys like fesenko/koufus?
VS.
Undersized Centers?.. Please explain to me how Bynum really has had any advantage in terms of size?
MAYBE Ibaka?.. but dude was definitely the most athletic out of any, and could hold his own aside from always jumping for the block.
Dwight rarely ever gets dunked on, Shaq will flagrant foul a dude before he ever gets dunked on, but I wouldnt be opposed to seeing him dunk all over Yao
Edit i just re-read your statement and realized that you may have meant Krstic and Ibaka were undersized, and Fesenko/Koufos were just plain old garbage, which i agree
Originally Posted by tupac003
100% Agree Ska.
I think the Magic are a vastly improved team. Vince has done great for them and Nelson is going to be 100% this time.
Can we beat them I think so but its going to be difficult.
I couldn't watch most of the season due to my deployment but we didn't beat them at all this year did we? Also they would have home court right?
Edit i just re-read your statement and realized that you may have meant Krstic and Ibaka were undersized, and Fesenko/Koufos were just plain old garbage, which i agree
yup thats exactly what i meant...once drew starts playing well against the elite centers CONSISTENTLY then i'll smile
whats up tupac how you doin fam?
No your not crazy. I agree with you they don't scare me at all. The Lakers front court of Bynum, Gasol, and Odom is going to destroy them every game. Drew especially has dominated Amarie for the past 3 years. Nash will get his #'s. JRich will get some also but he's also going to be in foul trouble a lot during the series trying to guard Kobe.Originally Posted by tupac003
Am I the only one not worried about the suns?
Honestly I just feel that the suns got 2 good match ups and that's it. No way they are ready to beat a defending championship team like us.
Call me crazy. Call me what you want but I want these suns.
Originally Posted by 5am6oody72
$@!% Bavetta and Joey Crawford tonight...not good news IMO. People may look back and say "but Joey didn't call that foul on Fisher last year against the Spurs!" Anyone else remember the game up to that point? We were getting royally screwed almost all game long. That one no call on Fish seemed to be a make up call for the rest of the game. Both Bavetta and Crawford seem to always ref pivotal games in a series when a team needs to get back into it.
Originally Posted by TH0MAS CR0WN
I am NOT worried about the Suns. How fitting that this is the year the Suns finally beat the Spurs in the playoffs, and the Lakers finally beat the Suns
I can't wait
Originally Posted by Mamba MVP
^I'd rather have it that way instead of having Smush, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Kwame out there. That wasn't a 'fair' fight. KB was just on some otherworldly type stuff to even get us wins. Now we have the upper hand and oh how I can't wait to stick it to those clowns. Only if ZoDogg were still here, this series on NT could be REALLY epic
And CP will you give a shout out to Ron for his perfomance tonight