<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What's the appeal in that? One of the league's top three centers (when healthy) going up against a player who's not even one of the league's top three up-and-coming big men? I mean, pretty much every other team in the NBA has a more interesting Shaq match-up.</div> Hard to say where Bynum is at with his progress. The local media doesn't cover the team, they cover the drama surrounding the team, or they create their own drama by writing hack job articles. Bynum wasn't in the Summer League so there's no visual evidence to see if he's any stronger, more polished etc. The only blurb mentioning Bynum was he has been dominating in practices and his harshest critics in the Laker organization are starting to come around. I have no idea what it means, but there's a little hope and I like the fact he's been working hard and training everyday this summer. Unlike his previous two seasons. Last year Bynum looked fantastic in a few games early in the season. 18 points / 9 rebounds / 5 assists in 24 minutes versus PHX 20 points / 14 rebounds / 3 blocks in 29 minutes versus MIN 12 points / 13 rebounds / 4 blocks in 28 minutes versus CHI Bynum also had a strong January after Kwame was injured, and a solid February. Unfortunately, he hit a wall because of conditioning. The Lakers were forced to play him more minutes than they expected last year because of all the injuries to their front court players. As a result Bynum looked like garbage the final two months of the season and into the 1st round. He finished averaging 7.8 PPG 5.9 RPG 1.6 BPG. This will essentially be his sophmore season, since rarely played in his rookie year. My expectations of him have dropped off, but I'm hoping he proves me wrong and shows some fire this year. I'd be happy if he could contribute 8 to 10 PPG, 10 to 12 RPG, and 2 to 3 BPG on a nightly basis.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Hard to say where Bynum is at with his progress. The local media doesn't cover the team, they cover the drama surrounding the team, or they create their own drama by writing hack job articles. Bynum wasn't in the Summer League so there's no visual evidence to see if he's any stronger, more polished etc. The only blurb mentioning Bynum was he has been dominating in practices and his harshest critics in the Laker organization are starting to come around. I have no idea what it means, but there's a little hope and I like the fact he's been working hard and training everyday this summer. Unlike his previous two seasons. Last year Bynum looked fantastic in a few games early in the season. 18 points / 9 rebounds / 5 assists in 24 minutes versus PHX 20 points / 14 rebounds / 3 blocks in 29 minutes versus MIN 12 points / 13 rebounds / 4 blocks in 28 minutes versus CHI Bynum also had a strong January after Kwame was injured, and a solid February. Unfortunately, he hit a wall because of conditioning. The Lakers were forced to play him more minutes than they expected last year because of all the injuries to their front court players. As a result Bynum looked like garbage the final two months of the season and into the 1st round. He finished averaging 7.8 PPG 5.9 RPG 1.6 BPG. This will essentially be his sophmore season, since rarely played in his rookie year. My expectations of him have dropped off, but I'm hoping he proves me wrong and shows some fire this year. I'd be happy if he could contribute 8 to 10 PPG, 10 to 12 RPG, and 2 to 3 BPG on a nightly basis.</div> I never said he wasn't promising. Of course he is, but he's not any more promising than Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, etc., nor any of the established big men. There are very few teams with centers that are either less talented or less promising than Bynum, so what makes a Bynum-Shaq match-up special? If I wanted to see the future's top big man vs. the past's top big man, then I'd watch any of the aforementioned players before Bynum. BTW - Most players can put up good numbers in a game or two, so I don't see what those few games mean. Alexander Johnson, for example, is out of the league, and he put up 23 points, 10 rebounds against the Wizards in 25 minutes; if you're good enough to be in the league, you're likely capable of having strong statistical performances every once in a while, provided you're given the chance. Bynum needs to show consistency before he separates himself from the class of players like Andray Blatche and Amir Johnson and can be mentioned with the likes of Jefferson, Bogut, etc.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I never said he wasn't promising. Of course he is, but he's not any more promising than Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, etc., nor any of the established big men. There are very few teams with centers that are either less talented or less promising than Bynum, so what makes a Bynum-Shaq match-up special? If I wanted to see the future's top big man vs. the past's top big man, then I'd watch any of the aforementioned players before Bynum. BTW - Most players can put up good numbers in a game or two, so I don't see what those few games mean. Alexander Johnson, for example, is out of the league, and he put up 23 points, 10 rebounds against the Wizards in 25 minutes; if you're good enough to be in the league, you're likely capable of having strong statistical performances every once in a while, provided you're given the chance. Bynum needs to show consistency before he separates himself from the class of players like Andray Blatche and Amir Johnson and can be mentioned with the likes of Jefferson, Bogut, etc.</div> Bynum and Shaq isn't special, people are just holding onto the little confrontation they had two seasons ago when Bynum shoved Shaq after dunking on him, and then Shaq elbowing him in the face. I agree, Bynum needs to show consistency, and those few games don't mean jack unless he can play like that every night. I mentioned those games, because he looked fantastic in them. The stats speak for themselves, but Bynum was playing with a lot of confidence and aggression in those games. He was focused on flushing it on defenders instead of trying to finesse the ball into the rim.
What they should do is have a Warriors-Suns Christmas day matchup, fun will be had by all! So with Smush leaving does that mean Fisher is starting? Is Shamond Williams coming back? Will Farmar and/or Crittenton get much run (I was a fan of both coming out of college)?
Yeah, Fisher will probably be the starter. Famar will be the backup point guard, and I'm not so sure about Crittenton. He looked great in the summer league, but he's still extremely young and raw. I'm not so sure how much playing time he'll get, but he'll most likely be behind Fisher and Farmar on the depth chart. Also, because of Crittenton's height, he may be able to play shooting guard at times as well. Shammond Williams will not be back next season, I believe he's going to play overseas
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I never said he wasn't promising. Of course he is, but he's not any more promising than Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, etc., nor any of the established big men. There are very few teams with centers that are either less talented or less promising than Bynum, so what makes a Bynum-Shaq match-up special? If I wanted to see the future's top big man vs. the past's top big man, then I'd watch any of the aforementioned players before Bynum. BTW - Most players can put up good numbers in a game or two, so I don't see what those few games mean. Alexander Johnson, for example, is out of the league, and he put up 23 points, 10 rebounds against the Wizards in 25 minutes; if you're good enough to be in the league, you're likely capable of having strong statistical performances every once in a while, provided you're given the chance. Bynum needs to show consistency before he separates himself from the class of players like Andray Blatche and Amir Johnson and can be mentioned with the likes of Jefferson, Bogut, etc.</div> Did Bynum steal your gf in highschool or something? you seem to have it in for him, from the moment he was drafted and you claimed he was really 6'9'' all the way into today where you keep insisting Bynum has no trade value despite being a lottery pick who has showed promise at the tender age of 19. It's a matchup worth noting because Bynum was anointed the Lakers next franchise big man - fair or unfair - and Shaq happens to be the last. Bynum also took a jab at Shaq on draft night, and Shaq later took a jab back at Bynum later that year. Then no one can forget Shaq dunking on Bynum, then Bynum shaking Shaq the next play, and then the physical confrontation. Even if there's a difference in talent level, that doesn't mean it isn't a notable matchup given the circumstances btw, in the article from the Miami Herald that reported this story, they say the Heat get a 6'4'' guard known for being a solid on-ball defender ... hah!
