Andrew Bynum is injured. Again.
The Los Angeles Lakers center hyperextended his right knee in Tuesday’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs—who rested their starters before the playoffs begin this weekend.
Bynum injured his knee after stepping on DeJuan Blair’s foot in the second quarter. While the Lakers will be wrapping up the regular season against the Sacramento Kings, Bynum will undergo an MRI to assess the severity of the injury.
“There’s always concern,” Phil Jackson said, according to the Associated Press. “We’ve seen him go down a couple of times that have been debilitating, so there’s a concern. It was kind of a freaky play, but they usually are, and that’s what basketball is.”
The 23-year-old center is considered the Lakers best defensive player, especially as a shot blocking presence in the low post. He also takes the pressure off of Pau Gasol who is not the defensive player Bynum is.
“He allows us to be the dominant team we’re capable of being,” Derek Fisher told the Associated Press. “It’s hard to think about not having him for any significant length of time. It was tough to see. He’s so important to what we do, so to even think for a second that he might be out, the impact that would have on him after all of his work, it’s tough to deal with in the moment.”
-With Associated Press