With a 13 point loss to the Bobcats and Kobe's anger management issues fresh in the minds of Laker Nation, here's some potentially good news.
Today, Lakers.com posted a video documenting Andrew Bynum's rehab process. If you don't have three minutes to blow on, basically, music video of a dude working out, here's a synopses:
"On Monday, Andrew continued to workout the knee through a series of of
weight-training exercises aimed at strengthening the area where the
injury occurred. The center also ran for several minutes on the team's
Alter-G treadmill that simulates low gravity situations. Since the
machine controls what percentage of body weight a player runs on, it is
less physically demanding for an athlete returning from an injury."
The knee has had 11 weeks of healing, and from the looks of thing in the video the recovery is going smoothly.
The high point of the video was finally getting to see this $75,000 treadmill that we've been hearing about for the past few months.
Also, after reports of Pau Gasol's return being pushed back to Wednesday, the LA Times is reporting:
"Center Pau Gasol might return Sunday against Washington after a pain-free day with his sprained left ankle.
He did some one-on-one drills Thursday with assistant coach Kurt Rambis
at the team's training facility. Some post moves still bothered him
when he made quick turns, but he felt "pretty good," he said. "I'll
just wait until probably Saturday to go through a full practice, see
how it feels."
Finally, Kwame Brown will make his return to Staples tonight. Kwame hasn't seen minutes in the Grizzlies' last four games, but when he does, he's good for anywhere from 0 to 8 points -- 8 being his high since the trade. On the other hand, Javaris Crittenton might be factor of sorts in this game. Since the trade, J-Critt's high is 22 points and he's seen increased playing time in the past couple of games. Regardless, I'm excited to see Crittenton ball again... AND, I'm more excited to see the greeting Kwame gets IF he manages to sneak into the game. Grizzlies at Lakers [Fox Sports]
[edit: 7:14pm] Well, when it rains it pours. Derek Fisher has been diagnosed with a partial tendon tear in his right foot.
"If this happened during the middle of the season or something like
that, he would probably rest for six to eight weeks in order to heal,"
Lakers spokesman John Black said. "It's a pain and inflammation thing.
If he can play, he'll be on anti-inflammatory and pain medication and
try to play through it."
So there we have it. Both members of the Lakers back-court are now "playing through pain."
I am expecting Vladimir Radmanovic and Jordan Farmar to have HUGE games tonight.
Lakers fans, among the classiest in the league, will give KWAME BROWN a warm ovation tonight (if he gets lucky and sees some minutes). Crittenton will take all of our guards to the rack. I can't wait.
People will expect the Lakers to have a difficult time adjusting to Mihm, Bynum, and Gasol as they slowly return.
The Lakers, on the other hand, will seamlessly transition them in.
What people won't expect is that once the team is complete, the rest of the West will have no idea how to play the Lakers because they have never seen the entire roster on the floor at the same time.
As far as Kobe and his technicals are concerned, now's the time to see what kind of MVP he really is.
I hope the Lakers get the Phoenix Suns in the first round because if it happens there will be no excuses for either team. It will be a war not just for the players but for fans as well.
Thanks for the comment J-Dizzle. I really hopes Vlad Rad has a big game tonight. I'm driving out to Universal City for his appearance tomorrow and I'd rather it be coming off of a solid outing rather than his 1-7 and three points against the Bobcats.
I'm expecting a mix of boos and cheers for Kwame, mainly because I don't know how I would act if I were there. I mean... despite all of the horrible games, he was part of one of the best trades in the history of the franchise. i'm just not sure how the crowd is going to react.
I'm confident that the transition will be smooth too. We all saw how easily Gasol was worked into the picture.
I'm just SO excited to see this team healthy. I've been waiting around for two months to watch a game with Bynum and Pau, and the time is coming...
A first round matchup with the Suns would indeed be epic. ...And a fitting opportunity for a revenge series.
cant.wait.
Last edited by timmoore2 on March 28th at 2:39 PM.
Kwame deservers a warm reception. He played to his abilities in LA, however limited they were.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Andrew. It would be a terrible loss to the franchise if he were to return to early and aggravate the injury once more.
I'm defintely looking for a Lakers-Suns series. Shaq Vs. Kobe.
The Lakers haven't exactly been setting the world on fire lately, but that is more due to no Gasol. It'll be interesting to see if Gasol and Bynum can be reintegrated before the playoffs. I like Turiaf because he brings energy, but is not the offensive threat that the big two are.
To me, you start Gasol at center, and bring Bynum off the bench, which gives the second unit of Farmar, Sacha, Radman an interior presence on both ends.
I'd love a Suns-Lakers series if we get a healthy Gasol back, regardless of Bynum's status. If we don't get a healthy Gasol back, I'd prefer a GS-Laker series.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
