DALLAS _ After Wednesday’s 90-85 win in Boston, Dallas Mavericks forward Lamar Odom said he didn’t believe he has been prepared to play so far this season.
Ironically, in the second half of that game, coach Rich Carlisle said he loved everything about what Odom gave him.
“Lamar made a lot of strides in the second half of that game,’’ Carlisle said after this morning’s shoot around at American Airlines Center. “He’s just got to keep pushing.
“We’ll keep working with him, but I think he’s very close to making a real quantum step up. It’s work. He’s just got to keep going.’’
Guard Jason Terry also believes Odom is close to making a real quantum step up.
“He’s down on the practice court right now putting in some extra time trying to get comfortable with our system,’’ Terry said. “So it’ll be a matter of time, but he’ll start to fit in.’’
Afdter winning the NBA’s Sixth Man Award last year while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom is averaging just 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds this year. Most glaringly, he is shooting just 29.5 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three-point range that has the Mavs shaking their heads.
But Terry has a reason for Odom’s poor play.
“He’s coming out of a system where they kind of just walked the ball up and down the court,’’ Terry said. “Defensively they do a lot of zoning in their man principles, so it’s been a big adjustment for him, but he’s putting in extra time.’’
-- Dwain Price
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