Andrew Bynum tries to dish it out for Lakers
Andrew Bynum, point guard?
In his mind, yes.
The Lakers’ center said he was trying to collect 10 assists in a near-loss Saturday against New Orleans, his latest escapade in a week full of them.
“I wanted to get 10 assists so I was passing but, you know, I didn’t get them,” he said. “I passed the ball a lot to open teammates.”
He finished with two assists in the Lakers’ 88-85 victory. His career high is six assists.
At the same time, Bynum seemed to want more shots. He had only two in the first half and finished with 19 points on seven-for-10 shooting.
He complimented a reporter who asked about his quiet first half.
“Man, that’s a great question,” he said. “I need some more shots, I think.”
Bynum created headlines last week when he was yanked for most of the second half after an ill-advised three-point attempt against Golden State early in the third quarter. He was defiant after the game, saying he planned to keep shooting them.
He hasn’t … yet.
Bynum has grown increasingly more surly and less available with reporters this season, a main reason he was glad the Lakers overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Hornets.
“Y’all would have been on our head if we lost it,” Bynum said. “It feels good that we won.”
She’s a talker
Kobe Bryant met before Saturday’s game with a 105-year-old Lakers fan, Allene Wynn of Pacoima, a potentially nice story that became humorous.
Wynn seemed excited to meet Bryant outside the Lakers’ locker room but also needled him about his shot selection.
Bryant shrugged it off and laughed about it with her.
Then he went out and made three of 21 shots against New Orleans, his worst shooting percentage in games in which he had at least 20 attempts.
“I don’t think this game did anything to relax her,” Bryant said. “She was like the female Tex Winter.”
Winter, a mainstay on Phil Jackson’s coaching staffs, often grilled Bryant about taking wayward shots inside the share-the-ball concept of the triangle offense.
mike.bresnahan@latimes.com twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan
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