Other then "He can space the floor." Oh, Odom is actually shooting a better percentage from three this year.
Not surprised. Lakers' fans have eaten caviar the past two years. Now, in this stretch of games, they have been served stale bread. Stay humble, LA fans.
I think Odom has more chemistry with the second unit, while Artest is counted on to defend the opposing teams' best player who starts (unless the best player is a 1, 4, or 5).
Simple. The 2nd unit doesnt really have a great PG. Steve Blake can run it up the court, but Lamar Odom plays the point alot of the times. He is long and can get past his defender because he's usually guarded by another 4 or 5. He can dish out to his spot up 3pt shooters for spot up shots. Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, and Shannon Brown are above average SPOT UP 3 pt shooters so it works out for them quite well.
Hes not the problem, the problem is Gasol only get 8-12 shots while Kobe jacks up 30 shots to try and get his.
Blown out at home by the Grizzlies. Haha, this is the third time they got blown out at home by a bad team in the past couple of weeks.
LA needs a trade that will shake up that team. I bet Artest or Odom gets moved. Maybe they are showcasing RonRon?...
I don't know if Artest is still being used this way if he is starting over Odom... But basically it's so that Artest can take the defensive pressure off of Kobe and let him focus on scoring, and then use Odom as a offensive kick off the bench. The Lakers recent struggles are strange indeed. Clearly they are a better team but I haven't seen the games so I don't know what's going on. But I do think if it continues and it does appear to be on the offensive end...they may make a deal for t-mac. Not sure how that would go over on this board.
Honestly if T-mac can contribute something in the neighborhood of 10 pts per game it could be enough. The question is could you push RonRon to the second unit and have Tmac and Ron on the wings for LA? That could be scary, too bad we didn't think of that...
why do people always think you should start your best 5?? Yes Odom is better than Artest but why have all your best players out there at the same time. A lot of teams start their 3 best players and then the next best player is the 6th man. You need some offense and someone that can score with the 2nd unit while your starters rest. The spurs did this with Ginolbli during their championship years. Mavs also do this with Terry. Makes sense for Lamar to come off the bench and provide a spark.
i wonder if anyone will be willin to help them out on a trade possibility? unless it really really benefits the other team some how. nobody wants them to 3peat.....
I feel a massive trade coming on. If this unit cant get it together in the middle of the season, esp. coming off back to back championships, than there is a problem. Kobe is at fault when he tries to be Jordan. He can't. He gets those moments in the final 4 minutes, but not during the third quarter, and not during times when the team needs to be pushing the ball from all areas. Gasol is a no show, artest is becoming a liability because has seen in major games for the LAkers, the opposing teams best player will still have career nights. Odom is pivotal for the second unit. Outside of that, their bench is probably the bottom half in the league, lets not deny it. they can't even hit spot up shots or even pass the ball correctly. Kobe and Gasol are straining. The only person who seems to be trying is Bynum who has shown some great progress coming from a busted knee (again). I think they should get involved in the Melo sweepstakes because if they can get melo to sign the 3 year extension, theyll have melo, gasol, kobe, odom locked in for the near future. They can easily offer young talents of brown, throw in artest, the two rookies, and a draft pick. It might put them WAY over the cap but if they have any hopes of ever winning a championship in the next 6 years, they need that type of caliber player.
