Lakers thank lucky stars for not trading Bynum

With 23 points and 13 rebounds, Lakers’ Andrew Bynum reminded his teammates, coaches and organization owners just what he was worth Sunday, Jan. 6, when Los Angeles took on the Indiana Pacers - a team with which the Lakers had engaged in previous trade talks, ironically involving Bynum and Odom for Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal.

The match up, in which Bynum outscored O’Neal by more than ten points, resulted in a 112-96 victory for the Lakers, who were weakened due to the absence of Odom, who was suspended for his behavior in last week’s game against the Celtics, and Chris Mihm, who is out for close to a month from an Achilles heel injury, according to an article published Monday, Jan. 7, on the Los Angeles Times official Web site.

Trade talks during the off-season between the two teams did not become a reality, and Bynum admitted that he was pleased with the outcome of those talks that was the case after Sunday’s game, the Times reported.

“Definitely happy to be here,” Bynum said in an interview with the LA Times. “I’m happy they didn’t trade me. They saw me work out this summer, and I guess they thought we would do all right with me down there.”

Another thing for Bynum and the Lakers to be happy with: now 2-1, the team is getting closer and closer to regaining its grip, after losing to several teams with terrible losing records. Kobe Bryant, who has been on top of his game with scoring throughout the season, had another solid game Sunday with 26 points and joining him was Derek Fisher with 22 points. Bryant reflected positive attitude after the game, praising Bynum for his assisting skills and overall game performance.

Surely the rest of the team was thanking its lucky stars as well after Sunday’s performance.

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