57: Los Angeles Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder Game Thread

[KobeFan]

I don't think he's fallen off track. If he has, it takes more than a single game over 40 mins to suggest so.

[Anklebreaker702]

I don't think he's fallen off track. If he has, it takes more than a single game over 40 mins to suggest so.

But the thing is you are the only one who's saying that. Read my previous posts. I defended LO on everyone. Fact remains if any player, let's use Kobe, has an off night & the next night hit's some team up for 30/10/8 that's getting back on track. I never said he fell off. I called for what it was. he had an off night.

[KobeFan]

If that's your stance, than, we have no disagreement. =)

[DEEP3CL]

I don't think he's fallen off track. If he has, it takes more than a single game over 40 mins to suggest so.

By Odom's standards he had an off game, what's so hard to understand about it. His ability suggest he can do a double double nightly, some nights teams take you away from your strength but most nights you do what you normally do numbers wise.

[Anklebreaker702]

If that's your stance, than, we have no disagreement. =)

It's all good. I just wanted you to see where I was coming from.

[LLcoleJ]

The mere fact that we are all praising Odom's play is very telling.

[aussie_laker]

lets not forget this is a contract year for lamar... just lifting his game so he can lift his contract

[semi-sentient]

Vujacic sucks.

Why is he handling the ball so much? That makes no sense when Farmar seems to be a better ball handler and decision maker, not to mention he's actually playing pretty good on the offensive end since returning from his injury (defense is even improved, but could be better). Every time Vujacic checks into the game our lead disappears (at least recently), so he needs to be less involved in the play/decision making department. I wonder if this might also be causing him to miss more shots than normal, as I've seen him dribble all over the court and pull up off the dribble several times a game over the past few weeks. Needless to say, I don't recall him ever making one of those shots.

Phil, for some stupid reason, wants him to be more of a facilitator on the second unit, and it's failing miserably. They need to let Farmar bring the ball down so that Vujacic can run around until he finds an open shot for a catch and shoot which is what he's good at (or so they say).

...

Anyway, another spectacular performance by Kobe. It's a shame that our second unit can't hold leads late in the game as it's forcing our starters to play way too many minutes, but it's good to know we have such a great player that can bail us out more times than not. I hope we find a way to give him less minutes prior to the playoffs so that he can be nice and fresh, along with Pau who has been playing heavy minutes as well. Get well soon Bynum. We need you.

Walton, who I hated on for most of the early season, has been playing some solid basketball as well. Since he became a full time starter (again), he has put up some very respectable numbers, and for the month of February he's knocking down 3's at better than 50%. Not only that, but he's done a solid job of distributing the ball. He deserves some recognition.

[semi-sentient]

lets not forget this is a contract year for lamar... just lifting his game so he can lift his contract

No.

Odom has performed phenomenally next to Pau Gasol, and that dates back to last season. Here are his numbers from last season and this season while starting with Gasol:

2007-08: 28 G, 15.2 PTS (63% FG), 11.1 REB, 3.8 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TOV
2008-09: 11 G, 16.1 PTS (52% FG), 13.1 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.4 BLK, 2.1 TOV

You couldn't ask for more from a 3rd option.

I realize that the knock on Odom is his less-than-stellar performance in the Finals, but you can't single him out when practically everyone struggled. Simply put, he's performing at a very high level playing next to Gasol, which is why I'd like to keep him in the starting lineup even when Bynum returns. Having Bynum come off the bench does nothing but benefit us as it gives us a better inside/out game and more importantly allows our other bigs to get more rest.