LA TIMES: ODOM is now Practicing Mainly w/2nd Unit
Lakers' Lamar Odom practices mainly with second unit
Coach Phil Jackson says the veteran forward 'would really helps us' as a sixth man.
By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:38 PM PDT, October 11, 2008
It was only one practice, with a slew of them still remaining before the regular season, but Lamar Odom was not on the starting unit for most of Saturday's session.
Odom played primarily with the second string before being shifted to the first unit toward the end of practice
"We're having Lamar come in and play off the bench so that he can start thinking about how he can help the team and what he can do when he does that," Coach Phil Jackson said. "But I don't know if I'll experiment with it in a game yet."
The answer could be gleaned as soon as tonight when the Lakers play Sacramento in Las Vegas.
Odom has not been sharp in the team's first two exhibitions, averaging 1.5 points, two assists, four rebounds and 2.5 turnovers.
Jackson recently said Odom appeared to be playing a game of curling or "doing some other kind of sport" on the court in a Lakers exhibition loss to Utah.
Jackson and Odom have been at odds since training camp began, with Odom bristling a couple of weeks ago when Jackson hinted at a sixth-man role for him. Odom left Saturday without talking to reporters.
Jackson said Saturday that Odom as a sixth man would "really helps us."
"We know that we can stick a lineup out on the floor that's probably going to be 6-7 and taller and play this game that we have," he said.
If Odom became a reserve, he could still play substantial minutes, Jackson said.
"If the team's successful out on the floor, you want to keep that group going, so if a guy comes in and plays, you play him until he's tired," he said. "We [could] really get a sixth guy who can play 34 minutes with ease."
Odom, in the last year of his contract, averaged 14.2 points a game last season, the second-lowest of his career.
He averaged a career-best 10.6 rebounds a game, along with 3.5 assists in 37.9 minutes a game.
In Saturday's practice, Odom played small forward, power forward and ball-handling guard.
Quelle: L.A. Times
Mal sehen wie sich Phil entscheiden wird
Aber sicherlich keine schlechte Idee und falls dann soll Lamar sich damit abfinden und die 2.nd Unit ordentlich anführen und nicht meckern...