There were times earlier in his career when we would not have seen this Andrew Bynum. You’d watch Lakers games and see that he was so concerned about getting his shots that he’d rush to release the ball towards the rim as soon as he caught it on a post up, as if the ball itself were some sort of McGruber esque time bomb that was going to explode in the blink of an eye unless it was hurled safely through the net. This is a player who could be summed up by the phrase, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
But that was your father’s, or at the very least, your slightly older brother’s Andrew Bynum. This is a new Drew. And Association, you’ve officially been put on notice. The most recent version of Bynum doesn’t give a bleep about getting his shots up. He just wants to win. And that is ninth circle of hell bad news for the rest of the league.
With Drew finding his stride the Lakers are now a team that has their roles clearly defined and embraced. Kobe, the alpha dog scorer. Gasol, the trusted sidekick. Fisher, the veteran leader. Artest, the stopper. Odom the jack-of-all-trades off the bench. And now Bynum, the devastating enforcer and glass eater.
Perhaps this means that it’s not just Bynum, but rather the entire Lakers team that is coming under the influence of the secret. If that’s the case then you’ve been forewarned. Miami might not be the only team shedding tears in the locker room when this season is all said and done.