Andrew Bynum

The Lakers are planning a big celebration for their ring ceremony on opening night, but one person's appearance might mean the most. Longtime Lakers consultant Tex Winter is planning to attend. Winter, 87, spent most of the summer in an assisted-living apartment in Oregon after suffering a stroke in late April while attending a basketball reunion in Manhattan, Kan. The modern-day architect of the triangle offense has slowly been recovering, demonstrating good comprehension and an ability to say specific words, though he still has trouble formulating sentences.

You're thinking it. The rest of the NBA is thinking it. I bet deep down, some folks who show up for work in purple and gold sweats are even thinking it. Andrew Bynum's right knee may have just cost the Lakers a championship. It's a nutty thought, but then so was the notion that, when he injured his knee at this same time last year, Bynum might miss the rest of the season. He did.

The education of Andrew Bynum continues on many fronts near the midpoint of his fourth NBA season. For Lakers special assistant coach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, it's a chance to emphasize the importance of the big picture. When they go over game video, often at Bynum's home, the league's all-time leading scorer details the significance of the other nine players on the court besides Bynum.

What can I say, but the same thing I always say at this time of year. . . . Thank heavens that's over. I used to wait until it actually ended, but, barring even more bizarre outcomes than usual in the final days, it effectively has with the Cavaliers two games ahead of the Lakers in the loss column and the Celtics 2 1/2 up on the Magic, with the tiebreaker in hand.

A little over a week after leaving the team in New York, Lakers center Andrew Bynum appeared at practice Monday and gave Lakers Coach Phil Jackson an update on his injury. Bynum suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee Jan. 31 against the Memphis Grizzlies and after getting an exam in New York the next day, he was told he would be out eight to 12 weeks. Jackson said Bynum informed him that he had flexibility in the knee and he showed off a brace he was wearing.

It was a Sunday night in L.A., and yet there was traffic everywhere. Andrew Bynum couldn't shake Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett and a slew of help in the lane as the Boston Celtics showed why they have allowed a league-low 86.8 points a game. Bynum had only eight points and two rebounds in 22 minutes in the Lakers' 110-91 loss on Sunday. He took two shots, had two turnovers and eventually fouled out. After a string of reputation-boosting games, this was not one of his finest.

It's not as if the Lakers needed the reminder, but Andrew Bynum supplied one anyway. The Lakers and Indiana Pacers were possible trade partners during the off-season, but the Lakers refused to part with Bynum and Lamar Odom for six-time All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal. Bynum delivered his latest thank-you note Sunday night against the Pacers, a 23-point, 13-rebound effort that drove the Lakers to a 112-96 victory at Staples Center.

NEW ORLEANS -- When Andrew Bynum became the youngest player ever drafted, the Lakers were cautious about the time frame for his development. "Certainly at 17 years old going on 18 years old, he has a long way to go," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said in June 2005. "We don't know what he's going to be like in two or three years, but if he works and he's competitive, he has a chance to be a very, very good center and there just aren't that many centers."

As soon as Andrew Bynum went down in a heap and didn't spring up, as soon as a grimace spread across the Lakers center's face and he reflexively clutched his left knee, what should have been an easy night against the Memphis Grizzlies became anything but routine. The fans knew it right away. They stood in front of their seats, the pricey courtside vantage points and the distant ones, craning to get a look at him.

There went the kneecap felt 'round Lakerdom. Here's a test for Lakers fans who are limping around today in sympathy with Andrew Bynum: What does his knee injury mean for the team's chances? A) There goes first place in the West. B) There goes first place in the Pacific. C) There goes home-court advantage in the first round. D) There goes the season. E) There goes the franchise. F) All of the above. The answer is, all of the above.