Andrew Bynum can’t be helped by Kareem

Kareem and Bynum (Getty)

Andrew Bynum no longer feels that he needs the services of Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Bynum unilaterally ended the relationship this past week. Instead of training Bynum, Kareem will now spend much of the season in his home in New York. For a player that has only started 128 career games, Bynum is excessively confident. Around the same time last year, Bynum was proclaiming that he was going to be a 20 and 10 player. When all was said and done, Bynum averaged just 14 and 8 and was a minor piece on a Laker team that played better with a Odom and Gasol front court.  Bynum’s cocky, I’m better than Kareem attitude, may add to the Lakers’ brewing personality problems as they try to repeat as champions.  When Bynum started speaking out of turn last season, Phil Jackson put him in his place.  Phil is lucky that they only let Bynum fire his assistant coaches.

Europe Gets Dunked On

The NBA tries to build basketball’s international appeal by sending a few teams into Europe for training camp.  While in Europe, the teams compete against local franchises like the Nuggets did yesterday against Partisan Belgrade.  For members of teams like Partisan Belgrade it’s an opportunity to gain NBA experience.  However, by taking part in the NBA’s experiment, they run the risk of being enshrined in Nene’s line of 18 by 36 inch color glossy wall hangings.

What’s up Doc? Injury Updates

AP Photo

Earlier today I wrote about Delonte missing practice.  Well he’s back so I guess the chicken trick worked.  Good job Z!  SI

Of course, there now are more injury reports that I missed out on.

76ers – Dalembert’s shoulder problems from last year have returned in the first few days of practice, but he says it’s not as bad as it was last year.  Of course it’s not as bad, it’s the first week of practice!

Celtics – Bill Walker has officially torn his meniscus.  He will miss 6-8 weeks.  On the bright side, I don’t think he’s torn that one before, and he’ll have time to explore some new pain medications.

Rockets – Shane Battier, perhaps the Rockets’ best player this year, has pulled a muscle.  But don’t worry it’s not ‘severe.’

Hornets – Emeka Okafor could miss the rest of the Hornets training camp with a sore knee.  Trading the oft-injured Okafor may not have been a bad idea after-all.

Training Camp Injuries Piling Up

Get the Delonte West KFC Shirt at I love the hype

We’re only a few days in and teams are already being bitten by the injury bug.

Celtics

Bill Walker may have torn his twice before injured ACL.  Assessment: Bill has some potential, but he’s not part of the Celtics’ core rotation.  The Celtics know Bill Walker would have been a lottery pick were it not for the knee problems.  Providence Journal

Knicks

Eddy Curry tore  his Plantaris muscle and will miss 3-5 days of camp.  Assessment: Not a shock or a big blow.  It’s debatable whether Curry will even play this year.

Oddly according to the New York Post, the plantaris is a vestigial muscle which only 40 percent of the population still have.  Since the muscle has basically no function,  Curry will only miss a few days of camp after the Knick’s medieval medical staff drain the blood.  New York Post

Thunder

James Harden, the Thunder’s top pick in the draft has rolled his ankle. He left practice, but the severity of the injury is unknown.  Assessment: The Thunder are relying upon high draft picks to make their team better, but a rolled ankle will not keep Harden out for long.  Seattle Times

Kings

Tyrese Evans, the King’s top pick and point guard of the future suffered a bone bruise in his knee and is now listed as day to day.  Assessment: Welcome to the NBA, young fella.  Something to consider if you’re drafting him in fantasy, as these injuries can linger.  Espn

Warriors

CJ Watson sprained his left knee ligament (MCL) and will miss 1-3 weeks.  Assessment: It makes no difference to the Warriors.  It’s not like they are going to run out of guards anytime soon.  SFChronical

Cavaliers

Delonte West, while not injured, has disappeared down a Bugs bunny hole and as of yet has not practiced with his team.  Assessment:  Have the Fudd-like Ilgauskus lure him out of his hole with a plate of KFC chicken.

How Tall is Anthony Randolph?

Copyright NBAE 2008 (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Media Day is always fun, players across the league return to camp with extraordinary tales about muscle gain and weight loss.  Occasionally, in the case of young players, like the Warriors’ Anthony Randolph, they also claim to have grown taller.

The NBA is interesting in that player measurements are rarely if ever up-to-date or accurate.  Kevin Garnett, who came into the league as a 6’10” 18 year old, is listed at 6’11,  but has admitted to reporters in the past that he is in fact  6’13″(i.e. 7’1″.)  Randolph at the age of 20, is claimed to have grown anywhere from 2 to 4 inches over the summer from his listed height of 6’10”.

To put his claim to the test, we’ll use the latest NBA photograph of Randolph available, taken Monday during the Warriors’ Media Day.  To find Randolph’s height we need a reference, and the orange roundie he’s holding makes a good one.  A regulation NBA basketball has a diameter 9.55 inches.  The basketball in the photo has a diameter of 74 pixels.   From head to toe, Randolph is 644 pixels tall, or 8.703 basketball talls.  Translated into familiar terms, this makes Randolph 83.11 inches tall, or 6’11 going on 7 feet.  It’s evident that Randolph did grow some from his listed height of 6’10, but he didn’t make any fantastic leaps in height and he is certainly not anywhere near 7’2″.    Still, if this growth spurt keeps up, by the end of the season, maybe even the end of the calendar year, the Warriors will have a bonafide 7 footer.