Andrew Bynam and John Wooden, 2005, originally uploaded by mcdonaldsallamericangames.
In 2005, Andrew Bynum became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game, and with the age limit raised after that, he could retain that record for quite some time. Bynum's had a decent start in the league, definitely showing some flashes. Still, he just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps it's an argument for him having come out a bit too early. I won't say that. I'll just document the first in a line of difficult or questionable incidents that have included injuring both knees, carrying around a Playboy playmate on his shoulders while rehabbing one of said knees, and, y'know, getting dissed by the Kobster in a parking lot vid.
All of this was presaged by a dunk on Shaq. Well, no, let’s start at the beginning. It all began with a Shaq dunk on Drew. Despite being the youngest rookie ever, Bynum wasn’t having any of that. He came back on O, got the ball, spun Shaq out of his shorts, and bam! made it rain. It was a great play, and Bynumite has made a whole slew of great plays. But rook, don’t bang one down on The Sheriff. Wait a few years. Sure I loved the pluck, the idea that Bynum was attempting an Iversonian slap in the face to the old guard, but it was too little too soon. Since then, he hasn’t been able to catch a wave of consistency.
What makes a good big man? Points, rebounds, and blocks. The points are there. At least on that stacked team, with all the attention drawn elsewhere, Bynum seems to inhale points. In fact, watching him peak, he seemed at times to be an even more dominant scorer than Kobe. I definitely saw a bunch of games where Kobe took a back seat and said, “let’s let the kid roll.” The per game averages, of course, don’t tell the tale. However, in 07-08 when he looked like he was going to destroy everything out there, Bynum was running a field goal percentage of .636. Andris Biedrins, who led the league that year (Bynum didn’t qualify, not having played enough games), shot a .626. Bynum also recorded a 127 offensive rating, which is neck and neck with Biedrins who led the league in that category as well.
andrew_bynum_mip_1, originally uploaded by mplsboywonder.
If you continue the comparison to Shaq, Bynum outlasts young Shaq at being a dominant blocker. Sure, Shaq can send ‘em out with the best of ‘em. But his attention flags. His rookie season he blocked a solid 5.7% of the two points shots his opponents took while he was on the floor, and then he didn’t get over 5% until four seasons later. Bynum’s first three seasons saw him consistently over 5%, and his only season under 5% was last season, when he looked wary about letting loose for much of the season. Now 5% is not quite crazy town numbers, like early Dikembe Mutumbo or Marcus Camby, who both hit upwards of 7% before their fourth season. However, Bynum's numbers do put him in the early Alonzo Mourning range. Not bad.
Andrew Bynum, originally uploaded by ngoyes22.
When Andrew was on, guys had to make sure their heads didn’t get torn off. That’s something you just can’t teach. There’s a reason there was all that talk (that didn’t come to fruition) about the Lakers being tougher with Bynum in the rotation in ’09 compared to their embarrassment at the hands of the Celts in ’08. Even a killer instinct like Kobe’s does not equate to the kind of nasty streak that Bynum is capable of. You build quality defenses on intimidation of that order. Bynum has shown the potential to be one of the great defensive anchors in the history of the league. Recognize.
