Can we please give all the Lamar Odom being the key to a Lakers’ victory a rest? I mean, really, Lamar is a great player but come on. We’re talking about a guy coming off the bench, even if he basically gets starter minutes over the course of a game.
It really is amazing to me that everyone links Lamar to a repeat, like this one player, on a team of great players, is the only reason why or why not the Lakers will win the 2010 NBA Finals.
That is way too much importance for any player, let alone Lamar Odom. Sure, we can tout all the stats on the Lakers’ winning percentage when Lamar scores and rebounds, but really, that is only a by-product of other factors, not the least of which are matchups and offensive flow.
I won’t deny it, Lamar is a great player. He is one of the best versatile big-men in the league. His skills run the gamut and if he wasn’t on the Lakers, he’d be the first or second best player on a number of other teams.
But, he’s a Laker, by his own choice and the team’s. That’s why the Lakers made him their number one objective last summer to re-sign. And, we’re all glad they did. But, come on, he is not the reason for the team beating Boston and winning another title. Nor will he be the only reason if they fall to the Celtics.
So, can we please stop putting all this pressure on Lamar? Really, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When it comes to Lamar, then if we follow this logic, we’re all insane. I wish he was a different player. I wish he’d do some other things I think he is capable. But he doesn’t or won’t.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
