<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EL SEGUNDO - When Von Wafer drove to the basket and had his shot rejected by Andrew Bynum, Kwame Brown yelled, "Yeah 'Drew, get that (shot)!" If Bynum is to find a steady role with the Lakers this season, defense likely will be his ticket. Bynum won't turn 19 until Oct. 27, and his body still is developing, but he has grown an inch to 7-foot-1 and has the long arms to be a good shot-blocker. "I'm playing defense a lot better, which I think surprised a lot of people," Bynum said after practice Thursday. "My offense, I'm working on that, but I'm just focused on playing defense and getting rebounds, and I'm doing that pretty well." Bynum didn't play much last year as a rookie, but that could all change early this season. Chris Mihm had right ankle surgery in July, hasn't been able to practice and has no timetable for his return. That could leave Bynum backing up Brown at center. "I knew Chris had his surgery in late summer, so I prepared for the back-up center role," Bynum said. Kobe Bryant walked past Bynum, grabbed his biceps and joked, "Look at that boy. He's eating all my pancakes. He's getting bigger." Actually, 15 pounds bigger. "I lost a lot of baby fat and then gained some muscle," Bynum said. "I feel stronger. My initial off-the-block, as far as getting up and down the court, is better from all the squats I was doing. I'm able to contest shots that I couldn't get to last year."</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I feel stronger. My initial off-the-block, as far as getting up and down the court, is better from all the squats I was doing.</div> Man that's great. I'm glad he is not just focusing on upper body strength, and I'm *really* glad that he is doing squats. He will be a beast some day.
