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Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum, shown being defended by Brooklyn's Reggie Evans in the season opener, says he has pain in his knees but looks forward to playing more minutes

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Andrew Bynum offered his most candid comments yet about the state of his knees before the Cavaliers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at The Q.

Preparing to play his third game of the season, Bynum acknowledged that he had experienced "little, sharp pains'' and said he wasn't sure his explosiveness would return. He's still working on his conditioning and timing.

At the same time, he said he was looking forward to increased minutes and playing in both halves.

Of the pain, he said, "Nothing too bad.''

Asked about having to change his game if his explosiveness doesn't return, he said he would rely on footwork and skills instead of athleticism.

Powerful forwards: Forward Tristan Thompson knows he has to play against the best players in order to become one of the best players in the league, and he certainly had his hands full the last two games.

On Saturday, he faced off against Indiana's David West and on Monday he took on Minnesota's Kevin Love, the reigning Western Conference player of the week. Love is leading the league in scoring, averaging 29.7 points, and is second in rebounding with 14.7 as Minnesota started 3-0.

As good as the two players are, they're totally different.

"David West is more of a bull -- back you down, [shoot] turnaround jumpers,'' Thompson said before Monday's game. "Kevin Love's a lot of pick-and-pops, pump fakes … it's kind of like playing a 6-10 guard that's not afraid to throw it in the post. It's kind of like guarding Carmelo Anthony a little bit.''

Thompson relishes the competition.

"Most definitely,'' he said. "Me being one of the young bigs, I take this as a challenge. Kevin Love and David West -- those guys are All-Stars. Me being an up-and-coming big, that's the platform. Every night I want to go out there and compete, earn my respect, make a name for myself.''

Uncle Wes: As the first character to join Kyrie Irving's Uncle Drew video series for Pepsi MAX, Love -- aka Uncle Wes -- was thrilled to see the latest video featuring Nate Robinson and WNBA champion Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx.

"It's a lot of fun making that,'' Love said. "To see Nate out there and Maya out there having a good time put a smile on my face. It's a lot of fun to watch, to be a part of it and say I was a part of it."

He was especially impressed by Moore's take as the character Betty Lou.

"Her accent was down pat,'' Love said. "I was blown away by it. She had a lot of the mannerisms down. She had a lot of the different sayings down. I respect Maya in more ways than one.''

The last word: Brown on the advice he gave to struggling rookie Anthony Bennett: ''Go out there, have fun, be the animal that you were in college. … Be yourself. Just attack. If you're open from 3, shoot with confidence. You'll be fine. Be the man that you were last year.''