Andrew Bynum’s injury weakens the Lakers

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As Mike Bresnahan reported earlier today, Lakers center Andrew Bynum is out eight to 12 weeks because of a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Realistically, this means Bynum might not play until May, or until the second or third round of the NBA playoffs, which start April 18. And even if he makes it back by then, he obviously won’t be in game shape.

The time frame for Bynum’s recovery is similar to what Lakers forward Trevor Ariza faced a year ago when he missed the last 44 games of the regular season because of a fractured foot. Ariza was injured in January, didn’t return until the third round of the playoffs, played in only eight postseason games, and had little impact in the NBA Finals because he was rusty.

With Bynum out, Pau Gasol moves to center, and Lamar Odom becomes the starting power forward. This gives the Lakers the same starting lineup they had in the second half of last season after Bynum went down because of a left knee injury. The obvious negative is they lose size and a defensive force in their front line. Gasol is not the defensive threat Bynum is, and is more easily pushed around when fighting for rebounds.

So check out the rebounding numbers when the Lakers play at Boston on Thursday and at Cleveland on Sunday. Last season, particularly in the Finals, the Celtics were too strong for the Lakers and outrebounded them.

One plus for this year’s Lakers team, though, is they still have Ariza, an explosive player off the bench, and backup center Chris Mihm is healthy; neither player was available in the second half of the 2007-08 regular season.

Also, the Celtics miss forward James Posey (he jumped to New Orleans) and forward P.J. Brown (who retired) -- so their bench is weaker than last season. Throw in Cleveland, with LeBron James having an MVP-like season, plus Orlando and the Lakers, and it’s a pretty even group of elite teams now that Bynum is out.

-- Barry Stavro