Lamar Odom 6th man appreciation thread.

[TonyMontana]

Well all these years since the trade we came on here and bitched and cryed and complained about L.O inconsistency and not being able to be the 2nd option.
Today we stand here and wondering was there to much pressure on L.O?
Was he really the reasons for our early exit from the playoffs.
All his personal problems off the court, his child death, all the trade rumors and hate that was directed to him.
NOW I want to take the time and thank L.O for being a true warrior and accepting a lesser role to help this team become one of the best.
He is averaging almost 10 points a game with 6.9 rebounds a game in 10 games.
His dedication and his smile and willing to sacrafice his ego and his PT to help this team has come a long way.
He is coming up for contract extension and I doubt that L.O will be getting payed like he was and is.
And we have some other fishes to fry and maybe just maybe we can keep L.O as a Laker, ME, I HOPE WE DO,
I hope he takes less money to stay with this team and contribute his energy, his love and passion that he has for this game.
All I can say is I have partied with him and I have met him many times and the guy is the most humble person you can ever met and he is far from other NBA stars, he is genuine and he will go out of his way to help anyone and say hello to anyone, and that what makes this team so great.
Players that have put on the P&G, and I think he was and is always ment to be a Laker.
In conclusion I just want to take the time and thank L.O for being the 6th man, and I hope when the 6th man award is mentioned that he will be mentioned as one canidate for this award cause so far he deserves it.

[Erik Eleven]

Lamar is the term "team player" personified. The sacrifice he's made this season is great, and I hope the reward at the end of the year is, too. If we end up with the best record this season, Lamar should get an unanimous vote for sixth man of the year.

Thanks for taking one for the team.

This thread was long over due.

Go Lamar!

[dockingsched]

lamar is still a better option at pf next to either pau or bynum. his presence allows the lakers to keep racking up the wins while pau/bynum work out the kinks. his role as a team leader is still top notch too.

[lakersfanatic]

I think it was very humble of him to accept the six man position and it's rare to find players who are willing to do such a thing.. Others would b*tch and moan or asked to be traded..etc..

Other then seeing ginobli as the other competitor (wo is injured).. i'll vote LO in anyday. He has taken command of the bench mob and have them a threat to be reckon with.

Hail Lo!! - no punn intended. hehe

[DoctaJ]

EE, agreed 100%.

Lamar is just a class guy and like you said, he is the ultimate team player.

Oh and great thread Tony.

[TonyMontana]

Thank you guys. SERIOUSLY.
I agree with all of your posts, I think initially he might've disagreed with his role.
Yet as time has gone and he has adapted to coming off the bench and he realizes that he is now the anchor of the bench mob and he is leading the charge, and their isnt that much expectation on him to come through. He has losened up a bit and he is allowing the game to float through him.
Dam where is B-Scott when you need him..............LOLLLLL

[El Hardee]

FINALLY!!!!! Props big Tone great thread. Lamar is so much to the squad, he's the leader of the bench mob, he is the ultimate team player and his unselfishness is rubbing off on the rest. He is a high character guy to play through personal tradgedy and not break. His character also shows by accepting his new role. Now defense was our weakness last year, look how Lamar has stepped his D up. Much respect to LO, not only as a athlete but as a man. If Kobe is the heart of the team, Lamar like a spleen or some other vital organ. Not just a pair of tonsils like Luke.

[TonyMontana]

FINALLY!!!!! Props big Tone great thread. Lamar is so much to the squad, he's the leader of the bench mob, he is the ultimate team player and his unselfishness is rubbing off on the rest. He is a high character guy to play through personal tradgedy and not break. His character also shows by accepting his new role. Now defense was our weakness last year, look how Lamar has stepped his D up. Much respect to LO, not only as a athlete but as a man. If Kobe is the heart of the team, Lamar like a spleen or some other vital organ. Not just a pair of tonsils like Luke.

Thanks Brahh ...........Oh and good post MANG.

[iamworthy]

I absolutely love LO's leadership, he is a great team player. Kobe is very fortunate to have LO as a sidekick. LO may not always have a great game but what he brings to the lockeroom unquestionably valuable. I hope he remains a laker for the rest of his playing days.

[ronnymac2]

Lamar is our emotional leader in the locker-room. He's the emotional and spiritual voice for the lakers. If kobe leads with experience and work ethic and words of intensity, and d-fish leads with a veteran voice, Lamar leads with an example of sacrifice, emotionally, and being there for his teammates. I've always liked Lamar, even when he was with the clippers. lol He really got a lot of undeserved ish the past couple of years that I never understood...but its all good now. He's sacrificing even more now because he wants to help us win a title. I hope he wins it, because then he can kind of say "what are you going to say now?" He seems like a real good person, too.

Thanks for the thread Tony. Lamar clearly deserves it.

[NOODLESTYLE]

LO's jumper looks a lot better. He looks a lot more aggressive playing with the mob squad too. Some of these additions is probably a result from him saying he knows what to anticipate more since he check out what's going before. Looks like it's working for him and I hope he keeps this up because it makes the bench, along with the team, that much better.

[andykeikei]

LO excels in the 6th man role. In offense he is aggressive every game, and he currently plays very good help D. I hope he gets more recognition for what he does for us.

[hermes]

lamar has been great for this team, holds everyone together, level headed
team player, good guy to have on your team

[TonyMontana]

No problem Mangs...... Lets keep this thread ROCKIN.
BUT, What a game last night.
I mean I dont want to overreact but DAMMMMMMMMMMM.
L.O by far is contrbuting in every way and he is running on all cylinders.
I love the pass from Drew to him and he fingerrolled it reverse.......

[Anklebreaker702]

Good thread Tony. Lamar's willingness to accept his roll without pouting says a lot about wanting to win a title with this team. He was interviewed & said he wants to win a title with this team. He needs to stay. He has sacraficed the unltimate sacrafice. There are other pieces we need to move & it's not Lamar

[TonyMontana]

Good thread Tony. Lamar's willingness to accept his roll without pouting says a lot about wanting to win a title with this team. He was interviewed & said he wants to win a title with this team. He needs to stay. He has sacraficed the unltimate sacrafice. There are other pieces we need to move & it's not Lamar

Ya and that piece is Luke and Mihm.

[dingclancy]

LO just said yesterday he want to retire here.

For a guy who has been in trade talks every time there is a trade deadline coming, and asked to go sit on the bench to start a game; and he still wholeheartedly wants to retire a Laker? It just shows how dedicated he is.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime ... -081122-23

"The Lakers."

Lakers forward Lamar Odom, asked which team in the West worries him most, nominates his own team.

Four weeks into the 82-game schedule, who can argue?

Using the evidence available to us at this juncture, L.A. looks poised to distance itself from a pack of Western Conference contenders which was amazingly bunched up last season. You'll recall that only nine victories separated the West's No. 1 seed (Lakers) from the No. 9 seed (Golden State with 48 wins) in the 2007-08 season.

This season?

After the Lakers went to the desert and dusted the Suns on Thursday night, it's no stretch to suggest that Denver and perhaps Portland might be the only other teams in the West pleased with their starts, whether we attribute the widespread discontent to injury-induced angst (as seen in Utah and San Antonio) or the myriad issues afflicting presumed contenders such as New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix and Dallas … or the complete collapse seemingly under way in Clipperland.

The Lakers, apart from one bad night at home against Detroit, have been imperious, entering the weekend with a spotless 5-0 road record. They might still be vulnerable against teams (like Boston and even Detroit) that can guard their big men without double-teaming, which gives them a better chance of slowing Kobe Bryant, but the bigger concerns so far have been Odom's long-term willingness to accept a sixth-man role and finding minutes for everyone given such a deep roster.

"It's cool," Odom insists, accustomed by now to questions probing for discontent about his new gig. "This is a championship team. It's not really about me. I still get looks and touches. I have fun running up and down with that second group."

Pressed further about his future -- and well aware that his name will continue to pop up in trade scenarios since he's carrying an expiring contract with a salary-cap number of $14.1 million -- Odom says he's trying to ignore all that.

"This is where I want to retire," Odom said. "Yup."

Bonus short-answer quote from the 29-year-old, when it was suggested that the Lakers, given how they've started the season, should be considered title favorites now: "Nope. Boston."

[Sedale Threatt]

I just hope he can keep up the good attitude. Not many players of his caliber would be willing to do that. That's tough spot to be in, taking less shots and minutes in a contract year. He showed some signs of cracking with his mini outburst in the Detroit game. Hopefully he realizes what an important dimension it gives us, and what an ideal role it is for him.

[Kirk Moon]

its very uncommon to see a player of his stature and salary accepting a lesser personal role for the sake of a team success without any fuss.

[Slava]

Major props for Lamar. He seemed to have turned the tide in the game against Phoenix and with another good performance against Denver, I expect his stats to keep going up from now on.

He's going to face stiff competition from AK 47 for 6th man award though.