Andrew Bynum gets benched in the Golden State Warriors game; Has a go at Mike Brown – NBA Update
There is trouble brewing in the Lakerland and we have perhaps just started to witness the first glimpses of a player revolt against the head coach Mike Brown.
The man in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers benched franchise talisman Kobe Bryant late in a 102-96 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and on Tuesday, he subbed the other All-Star, Andrew Bynum for more than half the
game. The Black Mamba, although not impressed by the move, had taken the decision in his stride, but with Bynum, the response has been a little out of line.
Brown made the call when the Laker big attempted to knock down a three early in third quarter. The shot was erratic at best and to make the matters worse, there was plenty of time left on the shot clock. Not impressed by the selfish
play, Brown brought the centre out of the game and inserted Josh McRoberts in his place. The backup centre played the rest of the quarter and then again replaced Bynum after three minutes in the fourth.
Bynum’s response on being benched was not subtle. He did not join the team huddles in any of timeout afterwards and finished the game with 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting and five rebounds in just 23 minutes.
"I made one [Sunday], and I felt good about it, shot it; he took me out for it," Bynum said, pointing towards his first career three pointer against the Grizzlies on Sunday. "I don't know what was bench-worthy about the shot, to
be honest with you. I made one [against Memphis], and I wanted to make another one. I swear. That's it. I guess [Brown] took offense to it, so, he put me on the bench."
Not only that, the eccentric centre vowed to keep on taking three’s;
"I guess, 'Don't take 3s' is the message, but I'm going to take another one and I'm going to take some more, so I just hope it's not the same result," He said. "Hopefully I make it."
Brown insisted after the game that the decision to pull Bynum out of the game was to ensure that the rhythm of the team does not get disturbed. He also deflected a question about the body language of his centre after the decision,
saying he did notice anything.
The situation however does not bode well for Brown and the Lakers. The star players in NBA have attitudes and big egos, and when it comes to these traits, the Lakers stand head and shoulders above the rest. Having said that, this
also a fact, that many of the players in the present roster have been part of the glorious last decade in which the Lakers won five NBA championships.
Brown needs to handle his players with care and sorting out players during the game might not be the best way to go.
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