Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum will start upon returning
As the two-time defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers have started the 2010-11 campaign off on the right foot. However, the team, which is undefeated through its first five games this season, could get even better with the return of their oft-injured
centre, Andrew Bynum.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson expects the big man to be back in the line-up by Thanksgiving, saying, “Three weeks away? It might be reachable.” Although, the Lakers centre continues to rehab in his recovery from off-season
knee surgery, Jackson is hopeful that things will soon return to normal once Bynum heads back out on the floor.
“We just have to see what it’s like when he gets on the court,” the head coach told the newspaper. “He just has to be patient and build his strength up and conditioning.”
Regardless of what occurs between the present and Bynum’s return, however, Jackson assures his team and the media that the all-star calibre big will retain his spot in the starting line-up once the storied franchise places him on the active roster.
“We like what we see from these five guys [in the starting line-up], however, there are extenuating circumstances with [Bynum],” Jackson told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “He has a knee that [puts him] in a situation [where] he’s got to get himself prepped before a
ballgame. He wears a brace because of it and, as a consequence, once he’s warmed up you hate to have a guy sit down for 15 minutes and cool off and have to start all over again.”
According to the Orange County Register, Bynum has recently begun running on a treadmill, a major milestone after such a debilitating procedure. And, although Jackson is pushing for his return in the next few weeks, Bynum surmises that he won’t be ready for
action until December.
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