First off, does anybody else start thinking of the beat from Under Pressure by Queen when they read the title of this article?...No?...Just me?....Awkward…
Anyway,
on to the actual point of this article. As you all know a blockbuster trade
recently occurred in the NBA. The focal point of this trade was sending Dwight
Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers and Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers.
These two big men are considered by most to be the number one and two centers
in the league, respectively. When such high profile players are involved in a
trade, the following question often arises: Who is under the most pressure to
perform for their new team?
If
you were to ask Shaquille O’Neal, he would say Dwight. But I am here to tell
you that the great Shaqtus is wrong. However, I do understand where he is
coming from. There is always added pressure when you are part of the Lakers
organization because, for them, every season is essentially championship or bust.
When you add that to the soap opera Dwight caused in Orlando, he is most
certainly under a lot of pressure. I mean, the man was so indecisive that it
felt like he was taking advice from a magic 8 ball.
That
being said, for the first time in his entire career Howard is not going to be
the first option on offense. Hell, he’s not even gonna be the second option. I
could even make the argument that he’d be the fourth option (behind Kobe
Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash). Regardless, the whole point is that he will
no longer be forced to try to be an offensive force when it matters the most,
for that role is reserved for the Black Mamba. This will allow him to save most
of his energy and effort for what he does best, defense, while the majority of
his points come from offensive put-backs and alley-oops.
Then,
on the other hand, there’s Andrew Bynum.
For the first time in years he was able to shake the injury bug and stay
relatively healthy for an entire season. The result? 18.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 1.9
bgp, and his first All-Star appearance. It was most certainly an impressive
season. Unfortunately for Bynum,
injuries aren’t the only problems that have plagued him throughout his career.
Immaturity has been an ongoing issue and this season was no exception. Bynum
was benched multiple times for lack of effort and poor decision making,
including shooting an infamously ill-advised three point shot for which he was
not the least bit remorseful.
Essentially, in only his first year of legitimate production Bynum developed a diva
attitude worse than Miss Piggy (yes, that’s a Muppets reference – Terp Pride).
Keep in mind, Bynum was really only the third option on offense which is not
exactly a pressure filled position. Well it is now time for him to put his money
where his mouth is. He is going to the focal point of the 76ers offense, which
of course means he’ll be the focus of opposing defenses. It’s time to put up or
shut up for Bynum, because if he doesn’t rise to this occasion people all over
the NBA will start to wonder if he’s worth all the trouble.
On
a side note, I will say that I do believe Sixers fans have good reason to be
excited about this season. I’m not personally a big fan of Bynum because I believe
you should never have to add “when he tries” while referring to how good a player
is; however, there is no denying his talent on the court (when he tries). Since
this is a contract year for Bynum, he is most certainly going to be looking for
a max contract when the season is over. So although it may be for the “wrong”
reasons, I believe we are going to see an Andrew Bynum that tries a lot harder
than he has in the past. I would also like to point out that while Kobe Bryant
sat out seven games in a row in April, Bynum flourished as the first option on
offense, putting up 23 ppg and 14 rpg. While I acknowledge it’ll be very
different having to carry a team for an entire season, I think he’ll step up to
the plate.
