There's no question that Lamar Odom hasn't played well over the last couple weeks.  Too many turnovers, too little offense.  No doubt, L.O. has entered the slump zone. 

There's also no question that the Lakers are a pretty bad team without him. 

Love him or hate him, the past few games have given fans a look at what he does for the team, and why his rib injury could sink the Lakers season if it keeps him out for any stretch after the All-Star break.  And it could.  Anyone out there ever pop rib cartilage?   I have.  Worst injury in the universe.  You can't eat, sleep, breathe or shower without extreme pain, and it's slow to heal.  I can't say I know exactly how bad L.O.'s injury is, but if he can't bathe properly (yes, media coverage is such that we now know when an injury makes a guy prone to stank) it'll be a while before he can bang bodies in the NBA.

Without Odom in the lineup, the Lakers lose their best and most consistent rebounder, their most capable distributor on the break (and arguably everywhere else), a very solid ballhandler, and one of the only guys on the team who can attack the basket with any kind of regular success.  Yes, Kobe can do most of those things, but even he can't beat the double and triple teams that have been thrown at him in the last few games.  Odom helps protect Kobe, because Kobe can't do everything.  If #8 is constantly passing out of double teams, he's not nearly as effective.   

Everyone knew going into this year that the margin for error in the Lakers season would be Kate Moss thin.  Any injuries to top players would expose their lack of depth to an even greater extent.  Remember, every minute L.O. doesn't play means more time on the floor and increased responsibility for guys like Walton, Cook, and Kwame, who can be exposed pretty easily in extended stretches.  Take away Mihm, as they had to against the Hornets, and it gets even uglier.  No flow offensively, no fast break presence, no attack of the basket.  And while he's not the world's greatest defender, the Lakers need him on that end, too. 

No doubt it can get frustrating to watch L.O.'s ups and downs.  If I had any hair (shaved clean, people) I'd probably pull it out from time to time watching him play.  But if the Lakers are going to make the playoffs, everyone at home needs to light some candles, build an alter, sacrifice a goat, burn incense and juniper, or anything else it takes to send good hoodoo to Odom's midsection.  It'll remain ugly as long as he's not there. 

BK

Thursday night, we all saw why Lamar Odom is such a tantalizing talent for fans, coaches, and GMs.  For perhaps the first time this season, the flow of a Lakers game (or at least the first 47 minutes of it) was controlled not by anyone named "Kobe" or "Bryant," but by #7.  One dime short of a triple double, Odom was clearly the best player on the floor for the purple and gold (again, at least for 47 minutes).  They got it right, but I'm surprised the guy responsible for the "Carl's Jr. Star of the Game" thing on the Jumbotron didn't cue up Kobe highlights out of habit. 

Fans look at his stat line, especially the 20 points, and say, "Why not every game, Lamar?"  AK and I have spent a lot of time talking L.O. on this site, and we both agree, that role of a pure #2 scorer just isn't him.  In his own words, he's a pass first guy (that, by the way, is not an insult, especially on this team).  After the Cavs game, Lamar talked about the need to pick up the scoring, since LeBron was covering him.  "I really had to be aggressive, because we were crossmatched, with LeBron on me, and Kobe's checking LeBron," he said. "So if I don't be aggressive, then Kobe has a really hard task because LeBron's not working on defense and he just has to play offense." 

You're more likely to see nightly repetition of the 9 assists and 10 boards. 

The last few day's worth of comments have revolved heavily around Lamar Odom and his showing (or lack thereof) as the team's #2 scoring option. Odom has tantalized fans with 20+ nights on several occasions, only to frustrate them with single digit shot attempt follow ups. In particular, a comment from John Teo Marte caught my eye:

"Funny, Lamar didn't have any problem getting his touches or scoring points when he played with Dwayne Wade, Caron Butler, and Eddie Jones in Miami.  But when paired with Kobe Beane Bryant -- perhaps the "ball-hogging-est" player of the modern era -- he struggles.  I wonder why . . . ?"

What struck me about Marte's smack isn't the "Kobe = ballhog" angle, but the idea that Odom flourished as a scorer in Miami, or that he's lagging this season. In truth, Odom's doing, more or less, what's been typical for his entire career, points-wise. If you don't believe me, check out his career stats.

Going into tonight's game, he's averaging 14.7 ppg, a mere 1.3 off his career average (16). That's a difference of less than a bucket. His career high? Only 17.2. Not much higher, either. If Lamar Odom's scoring career was a golf course, he's currently on pace to shoot about a stroke over par, if that. Perhaps not a fantasy day on the links, but nothing worth tossing his clubs around in disgust, either. Frankly, it's exactly the score card he'd expect to fill out.

Interesting week for LO. After his 1-11 outing against NJ last Sunday, talk began to swirl about him moving back to power forward and Odom began mentioning 20+ ppg as a permanent goal for the rest of the season. Phil Jackson quickly put the kabash on that, insisting that Odom focus on remaining a facilitator. Then almost instantly, Lamar's fallen into a nice groove, producing three consecutive games with loaded stat lines. Unfortunately, those numbers accompanied a 1-2 record, with the Utah win owing more to bad refs (if you're a Jazz fan) than good Lakers. Those results directly contradict with the "The Lamar Odom Watch's" premise, which basically states that his success will directly link to the potential for W’s. Even if you chalk up San Antonio's relatively tight loss as a moral victory, LO's other good outings should have theoretically resulted in more than a skin of the teeth win and an embarrassing loss to Minny.

Well, after 2 outings, the Lakers are 1-1. The same can be said, on some level, about Lamar Odom, in terms of his progression, an X-factor we've highlighted from as make or break for the team. At Denver last Wednesday, he had a pretty busy stat line, but also shot 2-13 and turned the ball over four times. At home against the Suns, he started slow but turned it on the second half, finishing with 23 points, 16 boards, 8 assists and only 2 turnovers. That, my friends, is a sick night. Odom was sensational, especially while pushing the ball off a rebound. His combo of ball handling and long stride makes it almost impossible for a defender to keep up as he heads for the rack or hits the open man. It looked like a light bulb went off, and when I asked Odom about about it, he agreed.

Since it was officially announced that the Zen Master and Dr. Buss were back in business, the talk has come non-stop and 24/7 revolving around one subject: Can Kobe and Phil co-exist?  No, Kobe ran Phil off. No, Phil wrote a book and made Kobe come off pricklier than Martha Stewart. Yes, they're both pros, they both want to win. 

Yeah, if Phil and Kobe blow up, it'll be time for more face time for Mitch Kupchak at the Draft Lottery.  But assuming everything goes well- Phil and Kobe need to coexist, not become bridge partners- what they can do together is a known quantity.  In many ways, for this team to find success, Kobe isn't the most important player.

It's actually Lamar Odom.