Andrew Bynum Sends Gerald Wallace to the Hospital

Gerald Wallace spent Tuesday night laid up in a Los Angeles hospital, possibly with a collapsed lung and fractured rib. When you see the name "Gerald Wallace" you may assume this is another of those unlucky crashes on a reckless drive to the rim. Nope. The reckless one here was Andrew Bynum.

That hip check and flailed arm by Bynum is rather egregious. It looks like Bynum missed his rotation and needed to make up ground fast to save face. What better way to show you care about defense than to throw most of your weight into a leaper's body?

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer agrees.

After 21 years of covering the NBA, I think I know the difference between rugged and dirty. What Andrew Bynum did to Gerald Wallace Tuesday was dirty. ... Hopefully, this was about youthful indiscretion, not malicious intent. Because as talented as Bynum is, I'd hate to think his destiny is to end up a hockey goon.

This is about a sometimes lazy defender who didn't want to be pulled from the game, always a possibility with Phil Jackson. You let Wallace slice in for a dunk there, you're getting lashed. But maiming a guy isn't the acceptable cover.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

1-28-2009 @ 10:52AM

matthew said...

This is the second time in as many weeks Bynum has delivered a cheap shot to an airborne player, after going at LeBron James' face last week.

Being dirty and throwing cheap shots at exposed players is not the same thing as being tough. At what point does Bynum start getting fined?

1-28-2009 @ 1:29PM

jaybird said...

shut up

1-28-2009 @ 1:28PM

well u knew the job was dangerous when u took it gerald, remember u use to play for the queens? bynum keep guarding the rim playa

1-28-2009 @ 1:41PM

themistler said...

Wow. Your comments, especially your reply to matthew, are truly productive.

I think a part of it is youthful indiscretion, but Bynum has nonetheless had a fair amount of time to grow up defensively, and that does not appear to happening.

1-28-2009 @ 8:10PM

Angie said...

Jaybird your the guy at the court with all the looks of a balla, headband 8 wristbands on - wrist, biceps, each calf, one around the neck and of course some Jordans on. Bu you have absolutely no game i bet, well i do and i have played big ten ball and some over seas professionally and what your praising as good d is actually a dirty cheapshot who was out of position. But you wouldnt know that of course. Bynum play hard playa, play strong, be tough but not dirty, you got skills big boy, use them.

1-28-2009 @ 1:53PM

dj kahn said...

Jaybird's comments would be surprising/mystifying/outrageous if he weren't a Lakers fan. Keep reppin' that spray-tan IQ, playa.

1-28-2009 @ 2:10PM

toanobrown said...

After watching this a few times, I can't say it was dirty, what was he supposed to do step aside and be made into a poster. Wallace is frail maybe he should tone down his highwire act. Looked more like the Knicks during the Jordan rule era

1-28-2009 @ 2:30PM

daimonjim said...

"It looks like Bynum missed his rotation and needed to make up ground fast to save face."

Then it's an honest mistake right? Aren't a lot of fouls the result of a late rotation? At least he didn't take out the jumper's legs, like the way James Posey low-bridges opposing rebounders or the way Bruce Bowen walks under landing jump shooters. My point is, at least Bynum's intentions were sportsmanlike. He wasn't trying to hurt him, he was protecting the rim.

"What better way to show you care about defense than to throw most of your weight into a leaper's body?"

If it was Derek Fisher who did the exact same thing that Bynum did, what are we looking at? Would Gerald even hit the floor? I think the better question would have been whether or not he would have finished the dunk. It would have been a foul for sure, but probably not a flagrant and we would definitely not be talking about whether or not it crossed the line.

To me, you have to judge the act, not the result. Is Bynum supposed to be penalized because he outweighs Gerald Wallace by so much? If that's the case, then maybe Tony Parker should be penalized for being too quick. Being really big and being really small have distinct advantages in this game. What we saw last night was a byproduct of Bynum's advantage in action. It's HIS great equalizer.

That said, it was a hard foul, the right call was made, and it should be left at that. Play on.

1-28-2009 @ 2:51PM

woodnnicholsla said...

BYNUM IS JUST A CHEAPSHOT WHO PLAYS FOR AN OVERRATED COACH AND TEAM. HOW OFTEN DOES KOBE(RAPIST) GET AWAY WITH FOULS THAT DO NOT GET CALLED.

1-28-2009 @ 11:25PM

diffuzhun said...

Kobe fouled out didn't he? Kobe gets hit with more uncalled fouls than anyone.

On Bynum's love tap, we've all seen harder fouls much worse than that. Wallace is just weak so he broke.

1-28-2009 @ 3:30PM

Bryan said...

typical Ziller post

there was no malice
he wasn't looking to hurt him

I read the title of this post and instantly new it was another one of Ziller's Laker hating rants

Mr.Ziller you are the Skip Bayless of NBA fanhouse

1-28-2009 @ 5:37PM

razorblade1112 said...

he threw his elbow into wallaces chest. how can u not say it was dirty?

1-28-2009 @ 6:15PM

Martin said...

It's amazing how people can determine intent based on a ten second clip of the event. Anyone who watched the whole game would have seen that Bynum immediately bent over to apologize to Wallace and appeared very upset during the time that medical personnel were attending to him. A cheap shot would have been a blow to the head or taking out his legs. Bynum did neither.

Moreover, every player is taught to attempt to prevent a dunk by fouling a player. The goal is to foul him hard enough to make sure he can't make the basket but not hard enough to hurt him. That goal is difficult to achieve every time. But anyone who thinks that was a cheap shot needs to get off the couch and play the game occasionally.

1-28-2009 @ 6:53PM

Bob Barker said...

well now we know...

1-28-2009 @ 7:14PM

TFC4036 said...

this is easy, Bynum should be suspended and fined heavily for this hatchet job. This punk has been hiding behind his "youth" for way too long. he is a thug and is lucky Wallace doesnt charge him with assault.

1-28-2009 @ 7:48PM

Palikaria Greek said...

He should be fined heavily. Saw both cheap shots

1-28-2009 @ 7:59PM

rayyz said...

King Stern will never let his chosen team suffer. He should be fineed ans suspended for at least 10 games. But that woulfd hurt revenu!

1-29-2009 @ 9:51AM

richcantwell109 said...

rayyz...your post captures it exactly. Laker fans fear not. The commish will not let last years disappointment happen again. hoopfan's comments do sound racist, but from my experience, where you grow up playing does influence how you play. Bynum is not the savior his fans think he is. Check the teams he plays well against, they all have no real center!

1-28-2009 @ 8:34PM

userbub12487 said...

all he did was throw a lung collapsing, rib fracturing elbow at a player in a defenseless position.

1-28-2009 @ 9:37PM

figgyshmek said...

It's a terrible shame it happened, but there was no intended malice by Bynum if you watched the entire game. Compared to Wallace's own action moments earlier, when he purposefully locked Kobe's arm with his and tried to take Kobe down with no remorse, arguing his own foul. Now that was intended malice. Karma, people, karma. Better sportsmanship, less injuries.

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