In last week’s column, I covered the trouble Phil Jackson was having with finding a good spot for Lamar Odom to play now that Andrew Bynum is back from injury. The LA Times’ Laker blog says that things might be going a little better in that regard this week:
As mentioned in yesterday’s practice report, talk again surfaced about the best role for Lamar Odom this season. Could, perhaps, that snug fit come as a sixth man off the pine? Phil Jackson used LO off the bench for much of yesterday’s workout and after some sluggish possessions, the versatile forward acquitted himself nicely in unfamiliar territory. It should be stressed that Jackson hasn’t committed to this concept, even while noting that a quality sixth man can play starter’s minutes, which could very well be interpreted as a reassuring hint dropped. Thus far, Odom hasn’t been thrilled with the notion of joining the bench mob, but he does dig the increased preseason opportunities to handle the rock.
I think this is going to come down to Lamar Odom’s (or Andrew Bynum’s) willingness to come off the bench. A frontline of Odom, Gasol and Bynum, while imposing, probably isn’t going to work from an offensive perspective. The three would do best in a rotation, which means one of the three will usually be on the bench. For the most part, this will work fine, but what about crunch time?
