<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The night wasn't about one man or the other, but the occasion of Reggie Miller's last game in Los Angeles after 18 NBA seasons also afforded the opportunity Sunday evening to see a new look for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant moved to the wing and muscled his way to 37 points, Lamar Odom switched to the backcourt and added 13 points, and the Lakers took care of the overmatched Indiana Pacers 103-94 at Staples Center. At assistant Brian Shaw's suggestion, Odom shared ballhandling duties with Chucky Atkins while Bryant posted up the likes of Fred Jones and Stephen Jackson, part of a transformation several seasons in the making for the superstar guard. "We're trying to explore a little with that, with L.O. handling the ball, initiating the offense some," interim coach Frank Hamblen said. "It moves Kobe around also, puts him on the wing some, which is a good thing that teams have to see him at different positions now." Bryant would not be denied Sunday, scoring the Lakers' final 10 points of the third quarter, then hitting the biggest shot of the night with 4 minutes, 31 seconds left, doubling back against Jackson on the wing and burying a 21-footer. Afterward, Bryant said he was pleased working from the wing and said it puts the Lakers in "more of an attack mode" as well as saving wear on Bryant's banged-up body by reducing the amount he has to handle the ball. "I love playing the wing," Bryant said. "I think I'm more of a free-throw-line-and-below player. Throughout the past years, I've had to adapt to being more of a facilitator. But Lamar's natural position since high school has been ballhandler. "So I think he's in more of a comfort zone when he has the ball in his hands and he's making decisions. I just move down to the wing."</div> Source
Man, the Lakers are experimenting a lot these days. Its definitely a good thing because eventually we'll find our stride. I love the idea of Odom initiating the offense. 1) it helps utilize his talents and potential and 2) it definitely reduces the load on Kobe. Hell, we've even seen a Luke Walton & Kobe backcourt recently. I love it. Share the ball among guys that are effective with it.
I have loved this idea since I first heard about it. Lamar is a great point forward, he is an awesome ball handler, and would work miracles for the Lakers there I think. Like the article states, a lot of stress would be relieved off of Kobe, who has been shooting the ball a lot better lately because he hasn't done as much ball handling. I love this idea, and I love B Shaw for proposing it.
