Filed under: Grizzlies, Lakers, Nuggets, Raptors, NBA Injuries, The Works
In The Works today: a basketball version of baseball's tried-and-true OPS, and we preview the Grizzlies and Raptors.But first, a thesis on how Phil Jackson (and Kobe Bryant) created a monster named Andrew Bynum.
L'Enfant Terrible
Phil Jackson, upset with Andrew Bynum's lengthening timetable for recovery from knee surgery, has announced to the world that Bynum, a would-be star making eight figures, perhaps ought to be a situational, short-minutes player ... like Yao Ming. It might be the closest Phil's ever come to flipping the bird at one of his players, and it tells of a real, potentially Shaq-like disconnect between the legendary coach and the ingenue.It's a truly absurd suggestion; the only reason Jackson made it was to get additional press for his displeasure with Bynum and to get Bynum's blood going. This is the Zen Master, after all. He knows exactly what he's doing. But while "what he's doing" may help the Lakers this season by booting Bynum into gear, and while it certainly will help Jackson's already rock-solid reputation as a brilliant motivator, are these tactics counter to the long-term interests of the Lakers?
Bynum, after all, is about to turn 23 years old. The Lakers' core is much, much older, with Kobe Bryant already 32, Pau Gasol 30, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom both nearly 31. You can win into your 30s -- the Celtics have helped prove that. But no one counts Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce as the "future" of the Celtics; that's Rajon Rondo. Bynum is L.A.'s Rondo, the hope that the team won't fall off the face of the Earth when the aging superstars do.
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