When it seemed like all hope is lost for the oft-injured and troubled Center Andrew Bynum, he silenced his critics again by performing extremely well in his debut game against the Boston Celtics. The newly acquired center tallied 8 points on 3 of 4 FG shooting, and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
The 46-17 Pacers were coming off from a 4-game losing skid and a win over the Celtics can finally turn-around their current slump.
With Paul George and Roy Hibbert performing on a subpar level for the past few games, the addition of Bynum could temporarily patch things up until their stars get back to their groove eventually.
Bleacher Report injury expert Will Carroll was at the game and noticed some very positive things from the oft-injured big man:
"Bynum looked very mobile on the floor. I watched him closely in pregame and he showed no significant deficits in movement. He appeared to be going through a progression and despite a large brace, he was still able to cut, stop and shift his weight."
"Once the game started, Bynum used both his size and mobility to get inside and then jumped for a big dunk, igniting the crowd. He showed some strength and positioning, pulling down some strong rebounds. While he didn't play big minutes, he drew several double-teams and showed no problem getting up and down from the bench, even when he was forced to do so quickly after Roy Hibbert went down hard in the third quarter."
This is the perfect opportunity for Bynum to prove himself again and he is in the perfect position to win an NBA championship with the top teams in the Eastern Conference this year. As a former All-Star with a very high ceiling, it would not be a big surprise if he starts from time to time for the Indiana Pacers.
On January 7, 2014, the Cavaliers traded Bynum, a future first round draft pick, two future second round picks, and the option to swap first round picks in 2015 to the Chicago Bulls for Luol Deng. Later that day, Bynum was immediately waived by the Bulls in a salary cap move that was projected to save Chicago more than $20 million and provide relief from paying the NBA's luxury tax. During his tenure with the Cavaliers, Bynum averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 20 minutes per game.
