DALLAS _ While Lamar Odom has admittedly struggled grasping the Dallas Mavericks’ way of doing things, coach Rick Carlisle put the entire picture in its proper perspective.
In essence, Carlisle said the Mavs haven’t played Odom much in the position which he enjoyed his most success while he played the last seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“The truth is, this is something that’s a major factor with Lamar’s situation on our team,’’ Carlisle said. “He played over 95 percent of his minutes at (power forward with the Lakers).
“We’ve got one of the Top 10 players in the history of the game playing (power forward) here (in Dirk Nowitzki). So (Odom’s) minutes now are coming at (small forward).’’
The minutes are not so easy to come by at small forward, either.
“We’ve got (Odom), Dirk, (Shawn) Marion and Vince Carter kind of sharing those forward minutes,’’ Carlisle said. “So there are just less minutes available.’’
Odom averages 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20 minutes per game this season. He also is shooting just 31.2 percent from the field and 18.9 percent from three-point range.
But with the Mavs having so much quality talent at the two forward spots, Odom has to get in where he can fit in.
“That’s one of the challenges for all of our guys, and we’ve got turn it into a positive,’’ Carlisle said. “We’ve got to turn it into a positive and say, ‘Hey, with all these games and all these opponents and all our versatility, put your best energy out there and let’s throw the kitchen sink at teams.’
“Some nights guys' minutes are going to run up some, and some nights are going to be low. But everybody’s in it for the same reasons.’’
-- Dwain Price
Follow me on Twitter
@dwainprice
Comments