Andrew Bynum reports progress in injury rehab
Sixers center Andrew Bynum seemed more optimistic today about his ailing knees than at any other time since it was first announced by the 76ers that he would not participate with the team during training camp.
Andrew Bynum reports progress in injury rehab
John Mitchell
Sixers center Andrew Bynum seemed more optimistic today about his ailing knees than at any other time since it was first announced by the 76ers that he would not participate with the team during training camp.
Here are some of the things he said following practice today regarding the state of his knees:
“It’s definitely moving in a positive direction,” Bynum, who has been out with bone bruises and swelling cartilage, said. “I’m feeling better every day. I’m back to the weights and on the treadmill and I should be running here soon.”
That’s key – that he says he ‘should be running soon. That’s really what this is all about, Bynum getting on the floor. Not riding treadmills or swimming. The next crucial step is getting him on the floor, experiencing impact and playing basketball.
Bynum said of number of positive things. He said that his doctor, David Altchek, told him that ‘whatever is going on with the cartilage is going to wind itself up and I should be back at it pretty soon.’
That might be the most important thing. The swelling is gone in both knees and the cartilage, which was introduced as part of the whole equation right around the time that he injured the left knee bowling, is not bothering him.
Bynum said his right knee is not an issue at all. And he described his left knee as feeling ‘much, much better.’
He didn’t give a timeline. However, both he and the Sixers have backed away from timelines. Remember, we are quickly approaching the middle of Jan. If you recall, this is when both Bynum and the Sixers said – the last time they gave a timeline – that they expected him to return to the floor.
What we also know about Bynum is that the inactivity has him feeling rested. He said that his body feels fresh (as well it should), sort of the way he feels during the summer following a season when his body has recuperated from the rigors of the season.
“I feel the way I feel when the summer comes and my legs are fresh. I feel like that right now,” said Bynum.
He remains leery of a possible setback, nonetheless. Here’s what he said about that:
“It’s possible but right now the doctor has said that it will resolve itself. It’s going to be either 100 percent fine or your knee will swell up and give us signals that there is a problem. But as of right now my knee is fine and I think we are out of the woods with that.”
Comments (36)
I'll be glad when this nightmare goes away! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!!! Please Bynum, just go away so we can really start to focus on rebuilding.— ctruitt- but really though, the key quote is: "It’s going to be either 100 percent fine or your knee will swell up and give us signals that there is a problem."
Sorry to sprinkle some reality in here, but even Bynum admits his missing knee cartilage isn't going to suddenly grow back. My money is on he ramps up long enough to pique interest and the knees flare back up right around the time his jerseys start to sell - "That’s key – that he says he ‘should be running soon. That’s really what this is all about, Bynum getting on the floor. Not riding treadmills or swimming."
Last time I checked you run on treadmills. If Bynum truly is "riding treadmills" chances of injury are inevitable - A string of posts following an article about Andrew Bynum and no mention of Jeff Rul...Damn, Copper34. You just spoiled it. Get a forward who can rebound to team with Bynum -- come home, Reggie Evans -- and this team could make noise in the playoffs.— iceman
- I'm amazed at how many people are still buying into this. The Sixers were bamboozled. Bynum's goal was to use this season to get healthy while getting a big paycheck. He never cared about this team he only cared about next season's big contract. He'll play 20 games just to show GMs he's healthy that won't be enough time for the Sixers to get it together.
Pokerbrat: a poser indeed— Cole_World - Cole: This is how cults work. Just when you think all is lost the savior Bynum will rise from the ashes and lead our team to the promise land. Let the church say amen.
- Buying into what, Cole? We all knew this guy was a bit of a knucklehead. Are we to be surprised that he is putting his financial position in front of his new team's needs? He knows he has bad knees to manage. He wants to do so while making the most $$$ possible. The naysayers have been comparing him to Ruland - and suggesting he'd never play for the Sixers. It looks like he will play, this year - and give us a chance to decide whether we want to keep him beyond this year. That is all we wanted. Hopefully, once he gets his deal, he will manage his pain, play his best, and help his team win -- like he did in L.A. — Copper34
- I'm with you John.G all the way bro,when games really count!— Memphisdex
- Bynum's still on the roster?— Bradley85
- johnGiam, tell me you're trying to be sarcastic. Like you've been saying the entire time? Aren't you the guy who said Bynum would start the season? Aren't you the guy that said he'd be back around Thanksgiving? Aren't you the guy who after the December press conference said he'd be back in January? You've been wrong all along. If he's just starting the treadmill, the earliest he'll be back is late February. I don't remember you once predicting that. You're a poser and a liar!— PokerBrat
- @Mattb - Will Bynum on Detroit is really underrated and is only getting 16 MPG. Also, Udrih, Aaron Brooks, Devin Harris, and DJ Augustin all seem to be tradeable for the right price since all of them are only getting less than 22 MPG.— Manok
- Listen closely to what Doug said "We just have to hope and pray that this is going to give us a situation where if he is able to come back there will be enough games for us to fight ourselves into the playoffs.” If Andrew comes back with 30 games to play it may already be too late. Does anyone remember when the Sixers acquired Mutombo during the 2000-2001 season. How smoothly did that team acclimate to adding that post presence? They stumbled their way into the finals and were .500 to close out the season with Deke. Adding Bynum will be an adjustment for all the players as it will completely change the way they play, especially on the offensive end.
Bears: 30 games is sounding about right, but I am hoping for a return by Jan 21 as that stretch of games is crucial to whether or not we will still be in the playoff picture.
On another note, I wonder what is in the works in regards to finding a backup pg? No rumors out there, but Doug did mention that they needed to find a more veteran solution. Minnesota needs a wing player. How about Barea or Ridenour? Bobby Brown from Europe? Any other suggestions?— Mattb - Rev Collins says we all need to hope and pray. Let's bow our heads and pray Bynum comes back to save Dougie's job. Hallelujah
- Bynum comes back Feb 20th, the first game after the All-Star Break (at Minnesota)...Gives him a 30 game schedule, the ploy devised by his agent for this season.— bearsfriend
- When Big Bynum starts playing he is going to make a difference.— Da Fredster
- i liked the new energy I saw in the sixers who were interviewed today. jrue has this twinkle in his eye everytime you get him to start talking about Bynum..Now that they came home and found AB significantly better, Jrue seemed like he was licking his chops today, and I was pleasantly surprised when Jrue talked about how close him and Bynum are getting. ynum gesnabbad rap for not caring, it was great to hear Jrue talk about how excited bynum was for our win in LA and how bad he wanted to be there...DC even Pointed out the new energy he is seeing in Bynum, and it's pretty easy to see. getting real Pumped!!!!— johnGiam
- ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Wake me when he's tipping off a GAME.— PHIILY YA DIG?
- I'm getting soooo excited. time to shut a whole lot of people up is coming real soon. Surprise surprise, games are about to start mattering and here comes Bynum getting in shape, talking about Fresh legs and whatnot.....the bandwagon is pretty empty right now, it will start filling back up with front runners in about a month, see you guys then— johnGiam
- when the 6ers got bynum, i rejoiced: finally, a philly sports team was guaranteed to be a winner! then a friend who is on the lakers' inside set me straight. bynum, he said, is a spoiled, sulking, egotistical head case (seems LA replaced one with another) who strongly resents being traded. he predicted bynum would get hurt, then hurt again, might not even suit up the entire year, then jump ship at season's end. meantime, the second string center we gave up in the deal is playing extraordinary basketball. so it appears the 6ers' braintrust perfectly matches a couple of other clubs in our fair town in ability to properly size up talent.— bubba church & granny hamner
- like I have been saying THIS ENTIRE TIME...right on schedule!!!— johnGiam
- Hoping to see the big guy return after the All Star break! Once his other knee swelled up this fall, a post-All Star break return was probably the most realistic scenario. The real question will be if we will have enough time to jell and develop an identity to make a playoff push?
— gopherkiddd - If he comes back last week of February it'll take at least 2 weeks to get into basketball shape and even longer for the team to get used to playing with him that gets you into March. Season ends April 17th.
- The night that Bynam had his last exam he looked for the first time interested in watching a sixers game when the camers cought him off guard. He dosn't strike me as someone who is too laid-back. I think he really wants to run again. I'd like to see him come back slowly, show what he can do and allow the team to gel. If it takes 2 1/2 years good. I got nothing better to do here in Philly during the winter.— Phillyfan00
- cuyatm - How is Bynum lazy when he is following doctors orders at all times? It's just popular to hate on the guy cause he hasn't played yet.
damageboy - they would have had to guarantee his contract for this season and next if they kept Wayns. It wasn't paying off. He was little more than a pre-season wonder who didn't pan out in the regular season.
beegal99 - That's just how the guy looks. Weight has always been an issue for Bynum. Given that he can't really go all-out in his workouts it will take some time for him to get in shape. It's what every NBA player has to deal with during injuries even worse for the bigs like Bynum.
jevans - it didn't matter about making room for Moultrie as they had an extra spot even with Wayns and Moultrie on the roster. What mattered was that there is a league deadline for guaranteeing contracts and the 76ers had to cut Wayns to avoid being forced to pay him for all this season and next. He just wasn't living up to the deal as small as it was. 76ers like to keep one spot open and they had that even with Wayns so it tells me they are on the verge of getting another guard to fill Wayns spot, unless we go for a big.— joecooler2u - damage- Sorry to rain on your parade but we've got a bigger need right now. We have no bigs that can play at a cosistently high level so we need to rely on a rotation every game. I think they dropped Wayns not so much because they didn't value him but because they needed roster space for Moultrie. Is Moultrie the answer? Probably not, but if he gets a few minutes and produces at least something positive, it will be a boost. I like Lavoy but he's not a starter yet. Kwame is Kwame. Spencer would much rather shoot 3's or ill advised 18 ft jumpers. I think Doug is simply trying to mix & match down low to find some competence. As to your comment about sending him to the D-League, I'm not going to act like I know how that process works but regardless I agree they should have tried to send him there.— jevans
- Making progress?! If he gets the hell out of bed he will be making progress!— vietnamvet
- While I am totally encouraged by the latest news, I am puzzled from looking at that picture and wondering if the guy's not way overweight. At the very least, he could have been in the weight room, not bulking up but making himself leaner and cut. He looks flabby.— beegal99
- I am not happy that Wayns got waived. No patience for player development is a sad state of affairs. They could have sent him to the D-League for some court time. He was very impressive in the pre-season and made me (and obviously the Sixers) a fan. I know it was only pre-season but I think he earned his spot. Bummer.— damageboy
- He sees his big contract for next year floating away. So now it's time to think about playing some ball. Lazy waste.— cuyatm
- I'm with you joecool. I remain optimistic that a healthy Bynum combined with an emerging Jrue, Evan and Thad gives us a very talented young core. Bynum must be doubled which leaves Jrue to do his thing. Jrue is still learning at 22 and makes some questionable passes/decisions but I'm encouraged by the fact that teams are truly game planning for him and he's still getting buckets as well as getting teammates involved(3rd in assists with this team???) This trade IMO was never about this season, it was about the next 3 . You do not just put a team together in the NBA and win right away(Bos with KG, Ray, PP and Rondo was the exception but hasn't won since, Miami with Bron, Bosh and Wade didn't win their 1st year) The East is still not better than the West. While Miami is at the top with the Knicks 2nd, 3 through 10 is wide open (even when D.Rose returns to Chi). There are plenty of movable contracts on the Sixers roster(Wright, Swaggy, Ivey, Wilkins 1 year); Hawes, (sigh)Kwame 2 years. Also Wayns didn't show much of anything. Granted DC is notorious for not having patience with young players but Wayns shot was erratic and he showed zero patience in the pick and roll. Not that our bigs, other than Kwame, can actually set a real pick. I also expected more full court pressure from him in limited action but rarely saw it. DC has a lot of work to do and I'm not happy that J.Rich continues to start over Wright but I'm providing a pass until I see at least 40 games of Bynum(this and next year)— Facts before ignorance
- The problem is a healthy Bynum and emerging Jrue will only play together for less than 2 months.
- I couldn't hear anything on that video sixers.com posted other than a ball bouncing and fast speaking by Bynum. Seems like despite the critics Bynum is improving so hopefully this is a good sign for the 76ers as we can use some good news right about now. Ok onto the next thing (until the next Bynum update prob in a week or two) what are they going to do about getting some more ball-handling in here? Looks like they wanted a PG (Shaun Livingston) not too long ago but he got picked up by another team (Cavs) before he could clear waivers...— joecooler2u
- IMO, that was one of Wayns' problems - his ball-handling. He seems to panic when pressured. There should be some guys available (I like Udri and W. Bynum). Re: A. Bynum -- it seems like Mitchell has responded to my repeated (albeit recent) requests for some information. The Big Knucklehead saying his legs feel freshg is a sign that he has decided it's time to start getting the fans ready for the return that has been pushed back for financial reasons. Like I said many times over the past few weeks here, his knees are "fine" -- at least as fine as they've been over the past couple seasons in L.A. This is about his next contract. The good news for the Sixers is that the size of his next deal depends on his play this season - FOR THE SIXERS!! One, two, three, four, five, Sixers ... ten, nine eight, 76ers ... — Copper34
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Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
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