Official Press Release:
"After MRI tests and an examination by team doctor Steve Lombardo of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group earlier today, it has been determined that Lakers center Andrew Bynum suffered a subluxation of the patella and a bone bruise of his left knee in last night's game. Bynum is expected to be out a minimum of eight weeks. Bynum is expected to make a full recovery."

There we have it. The final verdict is a "subluxation of the patella and a bone bruise of his left knee." This is not nearly as bad as we expected when we saw Andrew on the floor unable to put any weight on his left leg, however, after seeing his post-game interview, we thought that just maybe it was a sprain.

The Lakers now face the daunting task of starting Kwame Brown. I could go on for another week about my (and just about everybody else's) dislike for Kwame, but I won't waste your time. These next eight weeks will extremely trying on the Lakers, especially heading into a nine games in 14 days road trip at the beginning of next month. There's no doubt that Ronny Turiaf will need to step up his game at the 5 coming off the bench.

There is also hope among Laker nation that some type of trade could possibly go down to either ship Kwame out, or beef up the center position, however no rumors have surfaced as of now, and I realistically don't see anything coming to fruition at this point in time.

Lakers fans... these next two months are going to be a grind.

More on Patellar Subluxation (via knee1.com): The patella, or kneecap, rests on the groove between the femur and the tibia. Subluxation is a partial dislocation, which occurs when the patella slides partially off track.

[8:07 PM]
Andrew Bynum went down with 8:52 in the third quarter. As of now, no information has come out of the locker room, but we do know it is his left knee. He was down for quite some time, and once he did get up he wasn't able to put any pressure on it.

[8:17 PM]
The LA Times Lakers Blog, live-blogging from Staples Center: "To say the energy has gone out of the building a little would be an understatement."

[8:22 PM]
Patrick O'Neal just reported that an X-Ray was taken and came out negative. The staff says it is most likely a sprain, but Andrew will get an MRI tomorrow morning. The MRI always provides a more precise and clear picture, so it now turns into a waiting game.

[8:40 PM]
Yahoo Sports (via TICKER) reports: With just under nine minutes left in the third, Bynum went up for a rebound. As he came down, his left foot landed on top of teammate Lamar Odom's foot, causing his left knee and ankle to turn awkwardly. [story]

[9:01 PM]
Bynum's departure nearly lead to the Lakers' demise tonight. After blowing a comfortable lead going into the final minutes, Kwame Brown bricked a dunk on a potential three-point play with just seconds left in the game. The Lakers took a one point lead going into the final Grizz possession where, ironically enough, Kwame nearly blew the game again by clearly fouling Kyle Lowry on what would have resulted in free throws and potentially the win... I say "what would have" because, thanks to the horrific officiating all night, there was no foul on the play. The Lakers got a gift tonight on the wings of what has to be the lowest point, morale-wise thus far in the season. Final Score: Lakers 100, Grizzlies 99. | Leaders: Kobe Bryant: 37, Lamar Odom: 10 and 10, Andrew Bynum: 10 and nine, Jordan Farmar: 10. | MEM Leaders: Mike Miller 27, Pao Gasol: 21 and 18, Rudy Gay: 11.

[9:40 PM]
Good news out of the locker room:

There you have it. It's really starting to look like a sprain, but we'll get the final verdict tomorrow morning pending his MRI.

[I will keep you posted as information surfaces]

Andrew Bynum, fresh off of rebounding to a career high, let the good old F-bomb fly in tonight's post-game interview with Patrick O'Neal on FSN. Now, it is a suppressed F-bomb, and he does realize what he said almost in mid-word, but nevertheless; AB can say whatever the heck he wants. He's giving LA its first exciting center since you-know-who left town.

Warning kids, this video contains foul language.



This might bring Lakers fans back a few years to Shaq's infamous interview with John Ireland. - Again, foul language, but this time in a much more intimidating and angry manner.

Oh yeah, the Lakes won their 24th game tonight, beating the Bucks 110-105. Bynum pulled down 17 rebounds on his way to 25 points. Kobe, reportedly ailing from an Upper-Respiratory Infection, lead the team with 37 points. The Lakers are now a half-game behind the Suns for command of the the Pacific Division.

If you caught tonight's match-up between the Lakers and the Sixers while channel surfing through League Pass, or browsing through the night's scores online, you most likely registered the Lakers' 124-93 victory as nothing more than a huge win. Well, those following the game, or those lucky enough to have taken a look at the box score just may have noticed something special.

Andrew Bynum rebounded from his weak showing on Sunday; literally, pulling down 16 boards en route to 17 points. The big lead allowed for the bench mob to get some crucial playing time. Rookie, Javaris Crittenton shattered his season high, scoring 19 points in just 23 minutes, Jordan Farmar contributed with 16, and Trevor Ariza (robbed of his starting job) put up 11.

D-Fish tacked on 17, Kobe, along with Ronny Turiaf added 15 a piece. Turiaf, starting for the suspended Lamar Odom shined in the spotlight with the pressure on, adding five blocked shots to the mix and leaving my dad and I with validation of the "there's no need for Lamar Odom" theory.

However, the truly awesome element of tonight's box is the simple fact that, with 15 points, Kobe Bryant was tied as the fifth leading scorer for the team. Please don't take this as Kobe hating, because I do try to shy away from some of the more rudimentary aspects of blogging about the Lakers; rather, take this as a novelty... something that hasn't happened in my memory of Kobe as a super-star, and will likely never happen again... unless, of course the stars align as they did tonight; and I'm not talking about the star on the back of Lamar's head.

Lakers 124, Sixers 93 [Fox Sports]
Postgame Locker Talk [Lakers.com]