Andrew Bynum surfaced in the Sixers' locker room around 6:20 for a 7 o'clock tip Monday. That's on time for an inactive player, and it is the way it is with him and the Sixers any more.

Nobody, apparently, is in any hurry to have him play, not even with the Sixers desperately trying to stage a playoff-push.

“I'll see him and say 'Hi,'” Doug Collins said. “And I watch him. You can see him starting to move around a little more. I think the big thing with him is that he just had the injections in both of his knees, and he came back, and I think he feels good about that. I really don't talk to him much about that. I am trying to focus on the guys we have playing. But he is starting to feel better. Hopefully, that's going to continue.”

It might. But who knows?

The All-Star break is next week, and Bynum is heading back to L.A. It must be because he can better rehab his knees there. It can't be because he needs the vacation.

The relevance of Bynum and his absense was heightened Monday when Nik Vucevic, the fifth leading rebounder in the NBA, had another 14 rebounds for the Magic. The Sixers, remember, crammed Vucevic into the multi-pronged deal for Bynym, desperate as they were to make a relevant offseason move.

The Sixers won, 78-61, over the Magic, which was missing four key players, including Chester High All-Delco Jameer Nelson. That ran their winning streak to three and continued to nudge them back into the Eastern Confrence playoff race.

At some point, Bynum would help.

However ...

“I don't have any idea,” Bynum said, “about that yet.”

 

Check out my column on the Sixers, their missing center, their patience and Vucevic, who could help them now, in the Daily Times Tuesday and, as always, on delcotimes.com