Lakers Andrew Bynum

Reporting from Miami Andrew Bynum finally had a bad night. In a sign of how far the Lakers' center had progressed, it was difficult to call 13 points and 12 rebounds a bad experience, but he insisted on it. "It took me a while to get going today. I don't really know why," Bynum said after the Lakers' 94-88 loss Thursday to the Miami Heat. "I was roaming. I just wasn't being quite as active. I'll watch the tape a little bit. " Bynum saw his rebounding spree (50 in the previous three games)

Nearly every time Andrew Bynum muscled his way inside, two barricades stopped his imposing presence. One roadblock came in the form of Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, whose physical approach to defense suddenly prevented Bynum from bullying his way to the basket. The other barrier simply reflected Bynum missing routine hooks, post-up shots or "bunnies," as he likes to call them. The Lakers' 99-96 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series featured Bynum shooting only two of 13 from the field, leading him to say, "My touch today was a little off around the rim. " Yet, Lakers Coach Mike Brown gushed afterward that Bynum "was an absolute monster.

The carrot remains dangling there for Kobe Bryant to grab. With two regular-season games left, the Lakers star has a legitimate shot to grab the NBA's scoring title. He leads the league with an average of 27.89 points, while Thunder forward Kevin Durant strails with 27.79 points. A significant performance for Bryant in the Lakers' game Sunday against the Thunder would widen the gap and lead to ongoing commentary on how he's beating Father Time in his 16th NBA season. But he maintains that hardly sounds enticing.

Mike Bresnahan covers the Lakers for The Times and ties up loose ends before all their playoff games. The Lakers trail Oklahoma City, 1-0, in their best-of-seven series. The Lakers pulled off a stunner: Andrew Bynum talked on the day of a game. It's not the shocker Lakers fans hoped to see two days after their team got bludgeoned by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but I was definitely surprised. Before every game, Bynum acts like the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series.

SAN ANTONIO -- Lakers center Andrew Bynum is not interested in playing in the Olympics this summer, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bynum, 24, wants to rest during the off-season and prevent further wear and tear on his knees, which have each undergone surgical procedures in recent years. The U.S. is short on centers because Dwight Howard will undergo back surgery and miss the Olympics, which begin July 29 for basketball. Bynum has not been contacted by USA Basketball, but is expected to stand by comments he made to The Times earlier this season.

Andrew Bynum suffered a left ankle injury late in the first quarter and left the Lakers' game Sunday against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers called it a sprained ankle and X-rays were negative. He will not return Sunday and will be reevaluated Monday. Bynum, who appeared to come down on another player's foot, had played 49 consecutive games since a four-game suspension to start the season. He was averaging 18.3 points and 12.1 rebounds before Sunday's game. He was scoreless with three rebounds when he left with 1 minute 49 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Basketball doesn't live and die for statistics the same way baseball does with WHIPs, OBPs, and batting averages with runners in scoring position in the second game of Tuesday doubleheaders. But there's one recent stat that's standing out for the Lakers. They are 7-1 with Andrew Bynum in the starting lineup. Bynum is averaging almost 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots since becoming a starter two weeks ago. "Size-wise, he's an impact player," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

Laker fans can take a deep breath. Andrew Bynum has some good news to share about his health. "My knee feels really, really good right now," he said after posting 13 points and 13 rebounds in the Lakers' 104-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Bynum said he felt discomfort in his surgically repaired right knee after it was hit by Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant during last week's loss to the Thunder. That prompted Bynum to "ice the heck out" of his knee to minimize swelling before undergoing a lubricating injection Friday.

Andrew Bynum, the one with the still-smarting knee and the curiously shaky game, played Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard to a relative draw, more than enough to allow the Lakers to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals with ease, 100-75. Bynum was averaging only 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in the playoffs before Thursday, but he had nine points and nine rebounds despite fighting foul trouble throughout the game.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum had arthroscopic surgery Wednesday for torn cartilage in his right knee. The Lakers announced that Bynum is expected to be available on a limited basis at the start of training camp and that he should make a full recovery by the start of the regular season. Bynum's brother, Corey Thomas, said Bynum will rehabilitate the knee for six to eight weeks. The Lakers start training camp Sept. 25, which is earlier than normal because they will play an exhibition game each in London and Barcelona, Spain, in early October.

— George Karl's outfit Saturday was only the second most unexpected sight in the Pepsi Center in a 24-hour span. Headed to a Kentucky Derby party, the Denver Nuggets' coach wore white pants and white shoes paired with an orange-and-white striped shirt and a Carolina blue tie. And then there was the piece de resistance , a peach jacket with orange and blue pocket squares. "Someone bet me $1,000 I wouldn't wear it," Karl said, smiling. Karl's fashion statement still took a backseat to the look-at-me declarations Denver big men JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried had made Friday during the Nuggets' 99-84 victory over the Lakers in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series.

DENVER — Funny time for Andrew Bynum to suddenly become a critic of Andrew Bynum. All it took was one of the best two-game stretches of his career. The Lakers center followed a record-setting triple-double that included 10 blocks in his playoff opener with a 27-point, nine-rebound effort in Game 2 that somehow fell short of his expectations. "I left a lot on the court today," Bynum said Tuesday after the Lakers' 104-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets that gave them a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series that resumes with Game 3 on Friday at the Pepsi Center.

There's apparently another way that Andrew Bynum wants to expand his game. And we're not talking about shooting three-pointers. We're talking about his fashion look. After sporting an afro while attending St. Joseph High in Metuchen, N.J., Bynum said after Thursday's practice at the team's facility in El Segundo that he wants to rock that look again. "I want to grow it," Bynum said. "I want to get it back. " Even though Bynum wore a comb pick in his hair following practice, Laker fans shouldn't get their hopes up for the Lakers center to feature the afro during the postseason.

A day after accusing the Lakers' Andrew Bynum of repeatedly playing illegal defense, George Karl was again handing out verbal citations. This time, the Denver Nuggets coach targeted his own big men. Forwards Kenneth Faried and Al Harrington and centers Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee made a combined six of 27 shots in the paint during the Lakers' 103-88 victory Sunday at Staples Center in Game 1 of their opening playoff series. Bynum had a lot to do with that, blocking 10 shots and altering many others.

                                        Among the highlights of my conversation with the Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry on the Lakers-Thunder game: --What he makes of the NBPA executive committee asking for Derek Fisher's resignation as president. --How Mayberry measures Fisher's shooting struggles and locker-room presence with Oklahoma City.

The carrot remains dangling there for Kobe Bryant to grab. With two regular-season games left, the Lakers star has a legitimate shot to grab the NBA's scoring title. He leads the league with an average of 27.89 points, while Thunder forward Kevin Durant strails with 27.79 points. A significant performance for Bryant in the Lakers' game Sunday against the Thunder would widen the gap and lead to ongoing commentary on how he's beating Father Time in his 16th NBA season. But he maintains that hardly sounds enticing.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum , still recovering from right knee surgery, has set his own timetable for when he wants to play in a game. "Realistically, I'm looking at three weeks," Bynum said after he increased his practice load Saturday. "That's just me, what I want. The training staff and other people may see things different. Why so? I'm not sure. " That's because the last time the Lakers gave a date in which the team had hoped Bynum would return was around Dec. 10, when Los Angeles starts a six-game trip in Chicago.

SAN ANTONIO -- Lakers center Andrew Bynum is not interested in playing in the Olympics this summer, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bynum, 24, wants to rest during the off-season and prevent further wear and tear on his knees, which have each undergone surgical procedures in recent years. The U.S. is short on centers because Dwight Howard will undergo back surgery and miss the Olympics, which begin July 29 for basketball. Bynum has not been contacted by USA Basketball, but is expected to stand by comments he made to The Times earlier this season.

The moment the shot went into the basket, Andrew Bynum pumped his right fist. Tiger Woods has routinely done the same thing after putting for birdie. But Bynum's gesture meant something different. He nailed a 13-foot turnaround jumper in the final minutes of the Lakers' 112-108 overtime victory Sunday over the Dallas Mavericks, and he finally felt some relief from an otherwise poor shooting performance. "I was missing so many shots," said Bynum, who was nine for 24 from the field.