Los Angeles-
The turmoil over the summer led to Kobe Bryant stating that Andrew Bynum step up or trade him. Now Andrew seems to be the missing link to the Lakers hope of making it the playoffs! Andrew Bynum was having what appears to an outstanding year has been greatly missed... Kareem Abdul Jabbar needs to work with Kwame Brown or the Lakers may fall out of the playoff race! Andrew Bynum has become a great asset to the Lakers as he has been the only consistent player to put up numbers along side Kobe Bryant. A leaky roof which delayed the Laker-Cleveland game today about 15 minutes was no answer to stopping King James! LeBron James scored 41 points in leading the Cavaliers over Lakers.
Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao was helped off the court with 3:12 left in the third quarter with an injured left ankle. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:14 to play, and Larry Hughes also scored 16 points for the Cavaliers (24-19), who have beaten the Lakers in their last five meetings. The Cavaliers took a 94-93 lead on a basket by James with 1:16 remaining, and Bryant drew an offensive foul nine seconds later. After an empty possession by each team, James ran the shot clock down before hitting from outside with 20 seconds to go, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead.
Lamar Odom had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Lakers (27-15), who have a 2-4 record since the loss of Andrew Bynum injuring his left knee. It was also the fourth game without Trevor Ariza who broke his right foot. Neither player is expected to return before the middle of March.
The Lakers have lost their third straight game without Andrew Bynum. This has been their longest losing streak of the season. The Lakers next upcoming game is against the New York Knicks. Many of us would imagine should be an easy win but with no strong presence in the paint, will this Laker team find victory? They begin a nine game road trip against a few of the top teams in the east. Will this Laker team prevail or fail?
