[sacphil_08Participant]

So Andrew bynum is one of the better young players in the NBA. He has the build of a classic center. He’s long, hes a threat to block shots and rebound very well, as well as alter shot attempts at the rim. He’s developed some nice go to moves on the low block and has become one of the better centers in the NBA. That said, I feel he is overrated WAY too much. It seems that ever since he was drafted 5 years ago that we’ve been hearing how he is so young and will develop into a stud etc. but every year he gets hurt for 15-20 games and something happens in the playoffs to him as well. I believe that the measure of how great a player is isnt based solely off of their talent. Its how many big games have they played in and propelled their teams to victory, were they able to make the long haul and endure the strains of an NBA season? I also feel like bynum is so much of a product of his superstar running mates pau gasol and kobe. Kobe obviously helps all of his teammates in that aspect as far as allowing someone else to be able to get good looks, but pao with his passing abilities really sets bynum up on alot of occasions. Pau will get doubled and he can simply keep the ball high and throw and alley oop for bynum and its an easy finish for him. I think if bynum were the focal point of what the lakers were doing in the post area, he wouldnt be considered a top flight center. He’d get more looks but i dont think he’s as great as he’s made out to be. He has potential yes, but i dont believe the hype. Laker fans can bring the negatives, i’m just stating my personal opinion

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Agreed…..Stay healthy Bynum!!!!!!!

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Agreed…..Stay healthy Bynum!!!!!!!

[sheltwon3Participant]

When Healthy he is a top 5 big man. A lot of his injuries were freak injuries where a player ran into him and hit his knee or something. He is also a pretty decent passer for a big man.

I don’t he is over rated because if he were on another team and did not get injured as much, I can guarantee we would be arguing that he is the best center in the league.

[sheltwon3Participant]

When Healthy he is a top 5 big man. A lot of his injuries were freak injuries where a player ran into him and hit his knee or something. He is also a pretty decent passer for a big man.

I don’t he is over rated because if he were on another team and did not get injured as much, I can guarantee we would be arguing that he is the best center in the league.

[sheltwon3Participant]

I wonder how people would feel about Dwight Howard if he dealt with injuries early on

[sheltwon3Participant]

I wonder how people would feel about Dwight Howard if he dealt with injuries early on

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

If bynum was ableto play in that first finals against the celtics. we could have seen the lakers go for a 4peat this year. As long as he is healthy he is a problem to every league. Even just playing is a problem for other teams. This years playoffs he wasnt 100% and still managed to cause problems

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

If bynum was ableto play in that first finals against the celtics. we could have seen the lakers go for a 4peat this year. As long as he is healthy he is a problem to every league. Even just playing is a problem for other teams. This years playoffs he wasnt 100% and still managed to cause problems

[JoeWolf1]

I hope he can stay healthy, no one even hardly remembers Brad Daughery is anymore. He’s finally starting to hit his stride, he could be a top teir center or he could be out of the league in 2 years because of injuries. I hope its the former.

[JoeWolf1]

I hope he can stay healthy, no one even hardly remembers Brad Daughery is anymore. He’s finally starting to hit his stride, he could be a top teir center or he could be out of the league in 2 years because of injuries. I hope its the former.

[sacphil_08Participant]

You can’t argue the “if’s” in a situation. I could say “if” tracy McGrady was healthy for the majority of his career, then he could be as good as Kobe. Same thing with Antonio mcdyess or penny hardaway etc. Arguing “if’s” is pointless. Dwight Howard doesn’t get injured because his body is in superior shape. I’m not saying Bynum isn’t important I’m saying that whatever he brings to the table is magnified because of his teammates. And let’s face it, he plays for the lakers. You get appreciated alot more when you play for a big franchise like the lakers. Look at sasha vujacic. If he played for Toronto he’d be known as a serviceable shooter who you can bring in for energy but since he’s on the lakers, he’s called “the machine” and not by just fans, commentators and analysts as well.I just feel like a big part of Andrew bynum’s hype came because he was a big man who has a finesse game and would be shown the ropes by none other than Kareem so people wanted to embrace him as the next best thing since shaq or kareem. And now that he has gotten to be pretty good everyone wants to give him all this credit. He averaged 8 rebounds a game last year. He’s huge and his wingspan is crazy and I can think of plenty of guys that were much smaller than him that averaged double digit rebounds. I’m not hating on him I just don’t like when guys get what I feel is unwarranted credit because if their environment and that’s exactly what this is in my opinion

[sacphil_08Participant]

You can’t argue the “if’s” in a situation. I could say “if” tracy McGrady was healthy for the majority of his career, then he could be as good as Kobe. Same thing with Antonio mcdyess or penny hardaway etc. Arguing “if’s” is pointless. Dwight Howard doesn’t get injured because his body is in superior shape. I’m not saying Bynum isn’t important I’m saying that whatever he brings to the table is magnified because of his teammates. And let’s face it, he plays for the lakers. You get appreciated alot more when you play for a big franchise like the lakers. Look at sasha vujacic. If he played for Toronto he’d be known as a serviceable shooter who you can bring in for energy but since he’s on the lakers, he’s called “the machine” and not by just fans, commentators and analysts as well.I just feel like a big part of Andrew bynum’s hype came because he was a big man who has a finesse game and would be shown the ropes by none other than Kareem so people wanted to embrace him as the next best thing since shaq or kareem. And now that he has gotten to be pretty good everyone wants to give him all this credit. He averaged 8 rebounds a game last year. He’s huge and his wingspan is crazy and I can think of plenty of guys that were much smaller than him that averaged double digit rebounds. I’m not hating on him I just don’t like when guys get what I feel is unwarranted credit because if their environment and that’s exactly what this is in my opinion

[OhCanada-Participant]

Lots of ifs…If Oden stayed healthy he would be Dwight Howarding the Western Conference.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Lots of ifs…If Oden stayed healthy he would be Dwight Howarding the Western Conference.

[HotSnotParticipant]

Since when do injuries equal lack of ability? His injuries are flukes, not the result of subpar conditioning (which has only improved since he entered the league.) Bynum IS still young… infact he is 2 years younger then Dwight Howard. One thing I have noticed about Bynum is the way he stands. His legs appear to bow outwards from the knee down… maybe thats what makes him more injury prone?

I don’t think LA gets past OKC in the first round of this past playoffs without Andrew Bynum though. He was the difference. LA’s bench was so thin and a Gasol/Bynum 4-5 combination was just too much for OKC to overcome. Game 2 was won on a last second shot (lakers by 3) and game 6 was a last second air ball grab by Artest after a Kobe miss with about .5 seconds left (lakers by 1). My point is the series was much closer then it appeared. OKC could have won that series 4-2. It was the Lakers frontline that made the difference and if you take away either Pau or Bynum the Lakers don’t get it done. You can check out Bynum’s contributions here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3936/gamelog;_ylt=Amn.wqTsO4U654B8ZcPR5bIhPaB4

Those games appear to be pretty big.

As far as Bynums stats being a product of his teammates… I don’t think Bynum gets any plays called for him, ever. His rebounds and blocks are his own doing. He relies on good positioning and being aware of play development. He keeps the ball up when he has it in the post, shoots a high FG and FT % which is rare for any center and allows him to play late in games. Bynum is also big enough to match up with any center in the league IE Howard, Shaq, Perkins etc. His offense has become reliable enough that he needs to be guarded on that end of the floor even if he’s playing away from the basket. I would argue that Bynum and Gasol are the best 4-5 tandem in the league. They just compliment eachother so well.

Bynum also makes alot less then a bunch of centers in the league…

Lastly, if you check out his seasonal stats compared to all other centers in the league here…

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=C&sort=25&qualified=0&conference=NBA&year=season_2009

go back through the last 3 years. I know Bynum is frequently injured, which means he’s never really better then maybe 75% when he’s on the floor and yet he is still improving and his production is still increasing.

I’m not even a Lakers fan but I was one of those guys who thought Bynum with the 10th pick by the Lakers a few years back was a wasted pick. All I see is a Center who continues to improve and has tremendous respect around the league.

[HotSnotParticipant]

Since when do injuries equal lack of ability? His injuries are flukes, not the result of subpar conditioning (which has only improved since he entered the league.) Bynum IS still young… infact he is 2 years younger then Dwight Howard. One thing I have noticed about Bynum is the way he stands. His legs appear to bow outwards from the knee down… maybe thats what makes him more injury prone?

I don’t think LA gets past OKC in the first round of this past playoffs without Andrew Bynum though. He was the difference. LA’s bench was so thin and a Gasol/Bynum 4-5 combination was just too much for OKC to overcome. Game 2 was won on a last second shot (lakers by 3) and game 6 was a last second air ball grab by Artest after a Kobe miss with about .5 seconds left (lakers by 1). My point is the series was much closer then it appeared. OKC could have won that series 4-2. It was the Lakers frontline that made the difference and if you take away either Pau or Bynum the Lakers don’t get it done. You can check out Bynum’s contributions here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3936/gamelog;_ylt=Amn.wqTsO4U654B8ZcPR5bIhPaB4

Those games appear to be pretty big.

As far as Bynums stats being a product of his teammates… I don’t think Bynum gets any plays called for him, ever. His rebounds and blocks are his own doing. He relies on good positioning and being aware of play development. He keeps the ball up when he has it in the post, shoots a high FG and FT % which is rare for any center and allows him to play late in games. Bynum is also big enough to match up with any center in the league IE Howard, Shaq, Perkins etc. His offense has become reliable enough that he needs to be guarded on that end of the floor even if he’s playing away from the basket. I would argue that Bynum and Gasol are the best 4-5 tandem in the league. They just compliment eachother so well.

Bynum also makes alot less then a bunch of centers in the league…

Lastly, if you check out his seasonal stats compared to all other centers in the league here…

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byposition?pos=C&sort=25&qualified=0&conference=NBA&year=season_2009

go back through the last 3 years. I know Bynum is frequently injured, which means he’s never really better then maybe 75% when he’s on the floor and yet he is still improving and his production is still increasing.

I’m not even a Lakers fan but I was one of those guys who thought Bynum with the 10th pick by the Lakers a few years back was a wasted pick. All I see is a Center who continues to improve and has tremendous respect around the league.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

I don’t believe Bynum is a Top 5 center.

I can easily put
Howard
Lopez
Bogut
Yao
Jefferson
Kaman

That’s a short list of players who are probably better than Bynum depending on how you look at it.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

I don’t believe Bynum is a Top 5 center.

I can easily put
Howard
Lopez
Bogut
Yao
Jefferson
Kaman

That’s a short list of players who are probably better than Bynum depending on how you look at it.

[HotSnotParticipant]

One last thing, Bynum has shown to be a productive Center even withOUT athleticism. Howard hasn’t. If Howard wasn’t as explosive as he is and tried to play, he’d foul out all the time. He would also have trouble getting as many rebounds and already had a very poor offensive game, so I don’t see him getting as many of those easy lobs/putback dunks he’s known for. He also shoots a low FT%. His PTS and RBS and BLKS would go down.

Bynums are still going up and the kid is always injured.

[HotSnotParticipant]

One last thing, Bynum has shown to be a productive Center even withOUT athleticism. Howard hasn’t. If Howard wasn’t as explosive as he is and tried to play, he’d foul out all the time. He would also have trouble getting as many rebounds and already had a very poor offensive game, so I don’t see him getting as many of those easy lobs/putback dunks he’s known for. He also shoots a low FT%. His PTS and RBS and BLKS would go down.

Bynums are still going up and the kid is always injured.

[sacphil_08Participant]

Once again with the “if’s” Dwight Howard has the athleticism so why bring up thatt point? If shaq wasn’t so huge he wouldn’t be dominant. It’s dumb. Please stop it

[sacphil_08Participant]

Once again with the “if’s” Dwight Howard has the athleticism so why bring up thatt point? If shaq wasn’t so huge he wouldn’t be dominant. It’s dumb. Please stop it

[sheltwon3Participant]

actually Shaq is very athletic for someone that is 7’2 and if he was smaller he would have been a better player because he would still have advantage over most Centers. Shaq would have had to be a bean pole to not take advantage with his height length, athleticism and great feel for the game. Shaq has been one of the best big man passers in the league. I think if Shaq was skinny he would still be a better player than Dalembert and Chandler.

[sheltwon3Participant]

actually Shaq is very athletic for someone that is 7’2 and if he was smaller he would have been a better player because he would still have advantage over most Centers. Shaq would have had to be a bean pole to not take advantage with his height length, athleticism and great feel for the game. Shaq has been one of the best big man passers in the league. I think if Shaq was skinny he would still be a better player than Dalembert and Chandler.

[stanford hoops]

I agree with the poster as far as health issues but everythng else is wrong. When gasol was out bynum was killing, bynum doesn’t need to dominate because he’s on a good balanced team. If he was on another team like the nets then his stats would be better but he would losing . It’s easy to say a center on a bad team is better when he’s putting up better stats but the team isn’t winning so we don’t know how much stock we can put into it. Like how gasol statsin memphis

[stanford hoops]

I agree with the poster as far as health issues but everythng else is wrong. When gasol was out bynum was killing, bynum doesn’t need to dominate because he’s on a good balanced team. If he was on another team like the nets then his stats would be better but he would losing . It’s easy to say a center on a bad team is better when he’s putting up better stats but the team isn’t winning so we don’t know how much stock we can put into it. Like how gasol statsin memphis

[yaboymalParticipant]

if he stays injury free and continues to develop post moves and learn how to use is 7’1 body he will be in discussion for one of the top centers in the league

[yaboymalParticipant]

if he stays injury free and continues to develop post moves and learn how to use is 7’1 body he will be in discussion for one of the top centers in the league

[A2THAMOSParticipant]

Who can guard Andrew Bynum? He doesn’t put up the points because he doesnt have to and your saying you would rather have Kaman and Bogut over Bynum. Yea….rite!

[A2THAMOSParticipant]

Who can guard Andrew Bynum? He doesn’t put up the points because he doesnt have to and your saying you would rather have Kaman and Bogut over Bynum. Yea….rite!

[boxn1Participant]

Over rated,no. He hasn’t been a all star,made any of the all nba teams,and isnt seen as the best at his position. He has been injury prone,but he has also been productive. He is a good team player who does what they ask of him. Could he be more dominate,possibly. But he hasnt been a liability for the lakers on the court. The fact that the lakers for most of the past 3 post season have went to the finals and won 2 straight finals with him not playing,or being hurt and not being able to play starters minutes. Thats a scary thought…..

[boxn1Participant]

Over rated,no. He hasn’t been a all star,made any of the all nba teams,and isnt seen as the best at his position. He has been injury prone,but he has also been productive. He is a good team player who does what they ask of him. Could he be more dominate,possibly. But he hasnt been a liability for the lakers on the court. The fact that the lakers for most of the past 3 post season have went to the finals and won 2 straight finals with him not playing,or being hurt and not being able to play starters minutes. Thats a scary thought…..

[Author]

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