Andrew Bynum injury taking toll on L.A.

[The Regime]

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as he nears a return from offseason surgery on his right knee.

 

But head coach Phil Jackson is right behind him beeping his horn.

 

Speaking before the Lakers played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Jackson said Bynum's extended absence is starting to take a toll on big men Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Gasol is averaging 38.7 minutes per game after averaging 37.0 last season. Odom is at 34.6 minutes per game after averaging 31.5 last season.

 

"We're playing Pau too many minutes [and we] don't have a backup for either he or Lamar right now, so that's a real problem," Jackson said. "We put all our eggs in the basket of Andrew coming back and we hoped he'd be back by this time, by Nov. 15, by Thanksgiving time, by [our last] road trip, etc. We don't know when Andrew is coming back."

 

On Saturday Bynum participated in his first full-contact workout since his July 28 operation and told reporters afterward that he planned on returning to game action within three weeks. Jackson refrained from adhering to his 23-year-old big man's timeline.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5861351