01-01 - NBA - Lakers' Andrew Bynum has knee drained before critical game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Los Angeles Lakers' center Andrew Bynum has been diagnosed with a small tear in his meniscus, this injury was discovered in the opening round against the Oklahoma City Thunder. (2010) Adding to his warrior mentality, he has started all of the Lakers 16 post-season games thus far, but is only averaging 24 minutes per game.
Along with the tear, swelling has occurred in the area. When asked about having his knee drained on Monday, Bynum was quoted as saying, "It didn't really help," "As soon as I drained it, about 12 hours later all the fluid came back."

I'm hoping he doesn't push it to hard. He is currently in his fourth year of the NBA and has already collected a championship ring. The Lakers are meeting up with a proven Boston Celtics team in this years NBA Finals matchup. This will be the second time they meet in a three year span, the first was from 2008. (in which Boston dominated the Lakers)

Here are some medical facts about his injury: Orthopedics Article
Meniscus - functions to distribute your body weight across the knee joint. Without the meniscus present, the weight of your body would be unevenly applied to the bones in your legs (the femur and tibia). This uneven weight distribution would cause excessive forces in specific areas of bone leading to early arthritis of knee joints.


Some common symptoms of a meniscus tear:

• Knee Pain
• Swelling of the knee
• Tenderness when pressing on the meniscus
• Popping or clicking within the knee
• Limited motion of the knee joint

Table that displays more indepth information on medical procedure and recovery time:

Year:	Procedure:	Recovery Time:
2010	X-rays and MRIs are the two tests commonly used in patients who have meniscus tears. An x-ray can be used to determine if there is evidence of degenerative or arthritic changes to the knee joint. The MRI is helpful at actually visualizing the meniscus. Treatment of meniscus tears depends on several factors, as not all meniscus tears require surgery.	4-8 weeks after surgery