The Los Angeles Lakers will be without center Andrew Bynum for atleast 8 weeks after tearing his medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the first quarter of their Saturday night win over Memphis.

“It’s better news than I expected to hear because of the shot that I took,” Bynum said on Monday.

The Lakers know they’ll miss Bynum on the court but even without him they know they can beat anybody in the NBA.

“This is a team that went to the Finals last year that we put on the floor, so they’re confident in what they can do,” coach Phil Jackson said. “We know we’re going to miss his presence, his rebounding ability. But this is a very capable team.”

Without the 21-year old Bynum, Lamar Odom will have to step up and become more of a factor for the Lakers.

“Without Andrew in the lineup of course we still feel really confident,” Odom said. “We still feel very confident of our ability to play at a high level. It’s too bad we have to do it without him, because we love having him around.”

Losing Bynum hurts, but as long as Kobe remains healthy I’d still take this team over any other team in the NBA.