LOS ANGELES -- Five observations from Lakers camp: 1. Hiding in plain sight. Lamar Odom wasn't sure he could continue playing after the death last summer of his 6?-month-old son, Jayden, a victim of sudden infant death syndrome, a catch-all phrase for babies who perish for no apparent reason. Now he finds that playing offers the only sweet relief from mulling over why Jayden was taken from him. To that end, he iced down his sore right shin and strapped a soccer guard to it in order to log 18 minutes in an exhibition game against the Sonics. "I woke up with a little attitude," he said. "I can't help but be moody sometimes. And I could've sat out with this little injury. But it's therapeutic to play." He had a different form of therapy a few days after Jayden's funeral. He was at his house, still grieving while several people within his inner circle approached him about lending them money. To make a point, he took a wad of cash -- he won't say exactly how much -- and burned it. "It was my way of trying to show what's important," he said. While he still has two other children -- a daughter, Destiny, and a son, Lamar Jr. -- and wants to have more, he's not looking to forget Jayden. A crib remains in Odom's Marina del Rey house and photos of him fill Lamar's bedroom. Then there's the tattoo of a smiling Jayden over his heart, matching another on Odom's back of Cathy Mercer, the mother he lost at age 12. He's sure there is a purpose to those close to him being taken away, including his grandmother, Mildred Mercer, who died three years to the day before Jayden. He just isn't sure what it is, other than illustrating that being a professional athlete doesn't mean exemption from life's hardships. "Some people have us as bigger-than-life figures," he says. "But who has the most assists or the most points, when it comes to life, that's not how God looks at us." 2. Man at work. Anybody concerned that Kobe's knee surgery might leave him less effective would have been reassured by watching him work out before the Sonics game. Bryant, shooting alone, worked on a repertoire of moves from the pinch post on both sides of the floor to create open looks. Turnaround step-backs, pivot lefts and rights, shoulder feints left-right, then left-right-left, then right-left-right, drop steps, face-up knee dips and so on. "It's how I've been able to play through injuries," he said, crediting former veteran teammates Ron Harper and Byron Scott for teaching him the value of developing moves that don't require blinding speed. "As you get older, you've got to find different ways to do the same thing." 3. The magical triangle. There were doubts about how long Luke Walton's career might last based on his struggles playing in Rudy Tomjanovich's up-and-down system two years ago. Fast-forward to now and here's Walton, projected to be the Lakers' starting small forward and playing with Rick Fox-esque assurance. As was the case with Kwame Brown, unlocking the secrets to Jackson's equal-opportunity offense to make a significant playoff contribution (12 points, five rebounds) against the Suns has done wonders for Walton. "I haven't felt this confident since my college days," he says. "The previous years I was so up and down every night. It felt good to be able to maintain a high level of play through the end of last season and into the playoffs. I just feel so much more stable." Vladimir Radmanovic, meanwhile, made the crosstown move from the Clippers primarily because of how he sees himself fitting into Jackson's offense. He was a backup power forward behind Elton Brand last season, while he's primarily a small forward for the Lakers. Phone calls from Phil, Kobe, Magic Johnson and fellow Serbian Vlade Divac 10 minutes into free agency sealed the deal. "I didn't have to think much about it," he said. 4. About those hands. It's a popular notion that Kwame Brown's problems begin with small hands that prohibit him from palming a basketball. Brown disputes that, saying he measured his hands against both James Worthy's and Kobe's and found the difference almost indiscernible. The problem, he contends, are the two crushed knuckles he has on his right hand. He busted the fourth knuckle punching a wall in high school and permanently damaged the fifth in an off-court fight his rookie year with the Wizards. He declined to give any more details. Whatever the reason, his improved poise has reduced the number of dropped passes. "I just posed that question to the coaching staff the other day: When did you last see Kwame drop the ball?" Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis said. "Nobody had an answer. The truth is, we haven't for a while now." 5. Reality check. Watching rookie Jordan Farmar in both practice and exhibitions, it's clear he can be an NBA-caliber point guard and is particularly suited to running the triangle. Staying at UCLA certainly would've served little purpose. His floor leadership was evident in the way he ran the Lakers' offense in the fourth quarter against the Sonics, collecting 10 points and five assists. His work ethic was on display earlier in the week when, an hour after practice, he slipped back onto the team's El Segundo court to work on his shot. While Sonics rookie Desmon Farmer crowed after hitting a first-quarter 3, Farmar made one heady play after another down the stretch and barely changed expression. The harsh reality, though, is that he'll be lucky to log any significant time this season because with the offense running through Kobe, the primary responsibilities for the Lakers' other guard is playing solid D and knocking down catch-and-shoot Js. Neither of which is Farmar's forte right now. The bottom line is that there's little chance of him slipping past Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic and Maurice Evans in the rotation anytime soon. "He has a high basketball IQ, he's picked up this offense really quickly, he's a gym rat and he pays attention," Rambis said. "You can't say that about most rookies. He's competitive and has a great work ethic. Does that mean he's earned NBA minutes? We're not ready to make that decision yet." Farmar says, "I definitely feel I can contribute." He definitely can. Somewhere down the line.
