<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SALT LAKE CITY ? If there's one complaint Phil Jackson heard often in his first stint as Lakers coach, it was: "Do something!" Jackson would elect to recline on the bench, not calling timeout while his players tried to figure out how to get momentum back. Or Jackson would leave Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in the sandbox alone, wanting them to learn to play nicely. Jackson's new task of developing Lamar Odom's game started out similarly. Odom was given the complicated guard role in the triangle offense, but Jackson generally avoided shortcutting the offense to help Odom. Jackson's belief is that the best way to learn the triangle is to find your way in it. The time has come, though, for Jackson - who questioned Odom's "sense of purpose" Sunday - to step in. Jackson has tweaked the triangle in some formations to create more scoring chances near the basket for Odom, who had been floating on the perimeter most of the season. The alterations helped Odom score a season-high 27 points Tuesday in San Antonio. He also tied his season high with 16 rebounds - nine coming on the offensive end. Asked about the changes Wednesday, Odom said: "Just to find a way to get down on the box a little bit and start mixing it up with some of these small forwards. Start trying to pound 'em out a little bit." Odom believes he is a better shooter when on the move, suggesting that he develops a rhythm for his shot through movement. That can be a problem in the triangle, which is more about spacing leading to shots than creating shots. "It really helps if you can catch the ball and shoot it instead of having to put it on the floor in this offense," Jackson said. "But we're developing some things for him that will incorporate his skills. That's a sign of a sound offense is that you do that. And as a coach, that's part of my responsibility."</div> Source Hopefully the Spurs game was a sign of things to come for Odom. The Magic number for him and Kobe is 55 points on 45% shooting. If they can manage efficient output, the Lakers will start winning these close games.
Odom needs to be more assertive offensively, he just passes too much. For the Lakers to be in the playoff picture he needs to average 20+ points every game.
The only problem with Odom is that he is not consistent. These are his ppg against the last 8 opponets; New York-13 pts, Clippers-18 pts, Chicago-6 pts, Seattle-23 pts, New Jersey- 8 pts, San Antonio-27 pts, Utah-12 pts, and Minnesota-24 pts. Lamar Odom as no consistency what so ever. His numbers are up and down as each game passes.
