Should Lamar Odom Be Given A Key Role?

[The White T-mac]

Idk what you think, but the way he has been playing, he needs to get the ball WAY more. He is better when Kobe isnt there, so maybe that will give Kobe the hint that he needs to give Lamar Odom the ball a little bit.

[MoNeY_MiKe__]

I think he does have a key role but with Kobe out there it's overshadowed. He needs to be more vocal and demand the ball a lot more even with Kobe on the floor. That goes for all the Lakers though.

Kobe may be their franchise player it doesn't mean you can't demand him to give you the ball.

[Camby]

No doubt about it. Lamar Odom's a beast & he has always been one since he was a Miami Heat. Kobe has to realize that he's not the only one who can score in punches. He knows that after seeing Lamar drop 34 points & 13 rebounds that he has a great sidekick & he needs to feed him the ball more. Lamar knows how to handle the rock too, so he's a great floor leader. He has the potential to be just as dangerous as Kobe Bryant. If not, better.

[TheFamily24]

I think OVERALL he contributes to this team the most. He shares the ball, hits the glass, and scores. Kobe is a great scorer, but there's not really that much leadership coming out of him because he's trying to make sure he gets his shots in. Odom just needs to get some boldness in him and lead this team.

[DTP]

I think Kobe takes away from Odom's game a lot and this is one of those guys Kobe has to give the ball to and keep active in the games. I hate when Kobe is out there trying to do it by himself and he can't say he doesn't has help because he does. Odom has all star talent and if he got the ball enough he can make some things happen, I think he proved that while Kobe was out. Kobe pass the damn BALL.

[bennice19]

Odom had a few big games guys.... but relax.... btw the 34 and 13 was against the suns

Odom was scoring a lot of points the first 3 games....... because he was shooting 54% from the field, 85% from the line and 73% from the 3 point line

it isnt Kobe's fault..... Kobe does pass the ball....... Kobe only took 3-4 shots thru 3 quarters against the pistons on friday..... 7 shots for the minnesota game

Kobe is only averagin 12.4 shot attempts per game..... which is fairly low for a number 1 option

4.8apg for Kobe as well.....

Odom is takin 10.8 shot attempts since Kobe has been back

i actually think Odom and Kobe are over passin thus far this season

if yall actually watched the games u'd know other lakers such as Luke Walton(11.2 shot attempts since Kobe returns) are making this a more balanced team.... Bynum and Turiaf have had big games this season as well

but if u guys want to take the easy way out and bash Kobe then fine..... but you have no facts to back any of that shit up.....

[TheFamily24]

Well yea kobe is passin the ball FOR NOW. Kobe said himself wants he's 100% he'll be back to his regular self. WHICH IS NOT PASSING WHEN HE SHOULD. Everybody needs to calm down with Kobe is passing the ball right now. It's still early in the season and he just came off an injury. Of course he's not going to be launching shots right now because he doesn't have his legs back right now which causes him to give up shots. By the all-star break MORE THAN LIKELY kobe will be back to himself.

[bennice19]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TheFamily24 @ Nov 12 2006, 09:58 AM) [snapback]31705[/snapback]</div>

Well yea kobe is passin the ball FOR NOW. Kobe said himself wants he's 100% he'll be back to his regular self. WHICH IS NOT PASSING WHEN HE SHOULD. Everybody needs to calm down with Kobe is passing the ball right now. It's still early in the season and he just came off an injury. Of course he's not going to be launching shots right now because he doesn't have his legs back right now which causes him to give up shots. By the all-star break MORE THAN LIKELY kobe will be back to himself.
[/b]

lol

what do u mean people need to calm down on Kobe passing the ball.... i was the only one in this thread that said that.... the rest of yall were blaming kobe for odom not scoring 34 every game

Kobe was passing the ball quite a bit last season(espically in that suns series) Kobe has no problem passing guys the ball...... but if they are just gonna pass it right back to him then what

ive watched every lakers game for like the last 4-5 seasons

ive seen walton, odom, etc.... go games where they barley looked at the rim

as far as being his regular self that means more then takin shots which i expect will go up from 12 to 18-20 a game..... thats means on defense being a lock down defender, creating shots for team mates by attacking the defense, etc.....

[thunder32]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TheFamily24 @ Nov 7 2006, 06:21 PM) [snapback]31386[/snapback]</div>

I think OVERALL he contributes to this team the most. He shares the ball, hits the glass, and scores. Kobe is a great scorer, but there's not really that much leadership coming out of him because he's trying to make sure he gets his shots in. Odom just needs to get some boldness in him and lead this team.
[/b]

Hecky yeah I dont even have to say anything it's all said right there......

[bennice19]

There's a lot of simple-minded talk about Odom that's annoying not only in its repetitiveness but insistence on being correct.

Every time Odom has a bad game, it's Kobe's fault.

Every time Odom has a good game, somehow we assume that he could have this every time if Kobe just didn't dominate the ball.

Both points of view are a little misguided, a little simple-minded. Guess what, not every game is a turning point.

Like most things in life, you have to consider the context. Such as the opposition.

I guess because we have such high expectations of Odom that we're naturally judgmental about every single game he has. He's not given the benefit of the doubt at all. Each game apparently has tremendous meaning to some fans, as vindication or condemnation. No wonder he seems so inconsistent, one game everybody is about to hail him as the superstar ready to be realized, the next, everybody is calling him a heartless loser.

Give him a break.

Sometimes, Odom has a great inspired game, as he continued his dominance of Marion and Diaw in the payback win over the Suns. Against Mike Dunleavy, he smelled blood and just took it to him. In the Seattle game, he had a lot of fun playing score-and-don't-defend with Rashard Lewis.

And sometimes, Odom has off-nights. Sometimes, he is just outplayed. We saw that with Zach Randolph, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the best post threats in the league. Sometimes he gets a little tired. We saw that in the rematch against Seattle. Sometimes he can't figure out an elite defense, against Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace.

Hey it's understandable. Both his success and his defeats. Little of both have anything to do with Kobe Bryant. He handles the ball just as much in victories as in losses.

Regarding the Grizzlies game tonight, Odom didn't have a great game because the offense ran through him. He had the ball in his hands the usual number of times. Kobe ran the offense plenty of times, and even Smush Parker had a great game making plays for other players tonight.

Why did he have a good game? Because the Grizzlies are pitiful in the frontcourt. Hakim Warrick and Mike Miller couldn't guard Odom for their lives, and Odom naturally took advantage of that. Look at how many rebounds he got.

Unfortunately, Odom cannot play like this every night against a team with a good frontcourt. Let's not expect that from him.

Let's not read too much into single games, whether victory or loss.

He had a great game against the weak Grizzles, as he should have. But let's not pretend that Odom can do this against every team in the league, and blame Kobe when it doesn't happen.

And when Odom struggles against a good frontcourt, let's not condemn him for that being a measurement of what kind of player he is.

As far as I'm concerned, Odom is the same type of player that he was in the second half of last season. Great shooting percentages, good against mediocre teams, a little limited against the better ones. But he tries hard nearly every game. The one step he really needs to take is to fight through adversity, when he's facing a tough opponent or gets in foul trouble, and finds a way to pull his team to victory. That's the next step for him. That's the sign of a leader.

And that's what Kobe does, which is why in any Kobe v. Odom discussion, Kobe gets the nod - EVERY SINGLE TIME. Kobe will fight through adversity. He will perform at the highest levels when challenges. He RISES to the occasion. Mortals win when they should win, lose when they should lose. The greatest players impose their will on the game. They change the tide. They control their fate.

[TheFamily24]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ben_nice @ Nov 12 2006, 05:15 PM) [snapback]31777[/snapback]</div>

lol

what do u mean people need to calm down on Kobe passing the ball.... i was the only one in this thread that said that.... the rest of yall were blaming kobe for odom not scoring 34 every game

Kobe was passing the ball quite a bit last season(espically in that suns series) Kobe has no problem passing guys the ball...... but if they are just gonna pass it right back to him then what

ive watched every lakers game for like the last 4-5 seasons

ive seen walton, odom, etc.... go games where they barley looked at the rim

as far as being his regular self that means more then takin shots which i expect will go up from 12 to 18-20 a game..... thats means on defense being a lock down defender, creating shots for team mates by attacking the defense, etc.....
[/b]

Of course guys are going to pass it right back to him because he hasn't gotten them accustom to getting the ball often.

[bennice19]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TheFamily24 @ Nov 14 2006, 07:39 AM) [snapback]31926[/snapback]</div>

Of course guys are going to pass it right back to him because he hasn't gotten them accustom to getting the ball often.
[/b]

u really are clueless........

[TheFamily24]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ben_nice @ Nov 14 2006, 10:26 PM) [snapback]32008[/snapback]</div>

u really are clueless........
[/b]

No my friend you're clueless it's ok to be a kobe fan but you still have to be realistic. Reality is Kobe doesn't pass the ball as often as he should.

[bennice19]

Originally Posted by TheFamily24

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ben_nice @ Nov 14 2006, 10:26 PM) [snapback]32008[/snapback]</div>

No my friend you're clueless it's ok to be a kobe fan but you still have to be realistic. Reality is Kobe doesn't pass the ball as often as he should.

no the reality is... Kobe is 25th in the league in assists

19 of the guys ahead of him are pg's
4 others are combo guards(wade, iverson, arenas and barbosa)
and the other 2 are T-Mac and LeBron

him and Lamar basically average the same amount 4.8 and 4.7... and Kobe has averaged 5.2apg the last 8 seasons

and for those who say Kobe hurts Lamar as a player and his stats

Lamar: 18.6ppg 9.4rpg 4.3apg the last 10 games
Kobe: 28.5ppg 5.1rpg 4.6apg the last 10 games

Lamar is taking 13.7fga and shooting 47%
Kobe is taking 20.3fga and shooting 47%

you could say that its because its only 10 games but Odom finished the last 30 games last season including the playoffs averagin similair numbers

17.7ppg 9.5rpg 5.9apg 54% on 12.6fga

and Kobe was still getting his numbers in those games as well

34.3ppg 5.4rpg 4.3apg 47% on 26fga

i just gave ya the stats for 40 of the last 45 games odom and kobe have played together

the last 30 games of last season Kobe was taking 26 shots a game and it has dropped down to 20 shots a game this season... yall might point to the injury but i point to more depth

Cook and Vujacic played 17-18mpg last season, Cook missed 1 game and Sasha played in all 82 games... and this season they arent in the rotation really

they drafted Farmar whos taking Sasha's minutes and has started to cut into Smush's minutes as well.... they traded and got Mo Evans for free basically.... they signed Vlad Rad whos been a bust thus far but a lot of it has to do with his injuried shooting hand

Walton and Bynum got better and are playing with a lot more confidence

Kwame's injury was a little setback but hes starting to continue the strong play he finished last season at

Kobe knows for this team to get to the next level, his must continue to look for his team mates and keep their confidence high and it'll keep defenses honest and open the floor up for him to make plays either for himself like the utah game recently or others

[baldmonkee]

Odom leads the Lakers is both assist per game and rebounds per game, he didn't have to be given a key role on this team, he's taking it, and the longer he and Kobe play together the better this team is going to be.