Kareem on Bynum’s Mini-Resurgence

The Lakers’ special assistant offered his thoughts on Young Andrew’s strong performance during the Lakers’ 40-point beatdown of Houston in Game 5: “Bynum seemed to lose more confidence with every game, bottoming out with a scoreless effort Sunday against the Rockets and failing to look at the basket whenever he received a pass in the post. Abdul-Jabbar’s reasoning? ‘Playoff basketball is something he hasn’t experienced and that certainly has its effect,’ he said. ‘Teams are targeting him now. He’s getting the kind of attention probably that he’s wanted to get all along, but he’s got to adjust to it. I think it’s all about him adjusting to the intensity and the ferocity of the playoffs. It’s another step up.’ Bynum stepped up almost immediately after starting Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals in place of Lamar Odom, who played sparingly because of a bruised lower back. Instead of picking up quick fouls, as had been Bynum’s recent tendency, he picked up quick points, scoring on an alley-oop dunk, an eight-foot bank shot and a dunk off Derek Fisher’s miss, all within the first 3:07 of the game.”