We're a bit late here, but after some chatter in the Daily Babble on Sunday about Lamar Odom's point guard prospects, an update on his first shot running the Lakers' offense seems in order.
As reported by Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times regarding Tuesday's exhibition game between the Lakers and Jazz:
In 20 minutes, Odom had three points, five rebounds and three assists.
Assistant coach Kurt Rambis said Odom's game was "fair to middling, maybe poor," and that Odom "didn't seem focused out there."
"I just got through telling him that this is really basketball now," [Head Coach Phil] Jackson said Wednesday. "He looks like he's either curling or doing some other kind of sport. He's not playing basketball.
"The first shot he took was a three-pointer in the middle of the third quarter? That was pretty interesting."
Jackson was non-committal when asked whether Odom would continue handling the ball.
"We still have some time to go with this," he said. "We'll see how it goes."
Phil's wry commentary never ceases to amuse me. Unlikely that Mr. Odom sees it quite the same way though.
It is a bit early in Odom's tenure as a point guard, however, and Jackson has been known for playing his share of mind games. The harsh initial criticism may simply be a way to push Odom to keep upping his work ethic rather than a true indication of how the coaching staff feels after Odom's first try running the point. The true answers will come as the experiment continues and we see whether or not Jackson utilizes this strategy at all once the games start to count.