ducks
10-31-2005, 09:09 AM
Odom now gets to play his way
Style developed on playground fits well in Jackson's offense
By Associated Press
October 31, 2005
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - On the surface, the switch from power forward to point forward in Phil Jackson's triangle offense seems like a drastic career change for the Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom. In reality, he's simply returning to his roots.
Odom's earliest basketball memories are of being a tall, skinny kid playing against older, stronger players on the playgrounds of New York. He wasn't strong enough to post up opponents or bang bodies with them inside, so he learned how to handle the ball up top and beat them off the dribble to make plays.
"That's how I played in college (at Rhode Island); that's how I came into the NBA," Odom said. "I was always tall, but I was never the quickest guy or the guy who could jump the highest. I always took pride in being crafty and being the best basketball player."
The 6-foot-10 Odom grew up idolizing Magic Johnson and dreamed of duplicating Johnson's hallmark as a point guard in a power forward's body. The dream veered off- course the past few years when the Miami Heat and Lakers used him at power forward, but Jackson's first order of business when he returned to the Lakers was to put the ball in Odom's hands, much like he did with Scottie Pippen in Chicago.
Odom gradually has made strides running Jackson's offense, his best game coming Friday against Sacramento when he scored 19 points and posted seven rebounds and an assist in the Lakers' 105-103 victory.
The final learning phase will be balancing the need to get other players involved on offense while also being aggressive with his own offense.
In fact, Jackson has urged Odom to be more selfish at times.
"I can't forget that," Odom said. "For us to be successful, I'm going to have to put the ball in the basket."
STITCH IN TIME: Stephon Marbury is helping his New York Knicks teammates dress for success.
In an effort to comply with the new NBA dress code, Marbury will outfit each in a Joseph Abboud custom-designed suit.
The Knicks point guard appeared in the Joseph Abboud Spring 2005 ad campaign.
HELPING HAND: Jay Francis has taken time off from marketing the Utah Jazz to gain Mormon converts in western Pennsylvania.
The Mormon church asked the NBA marketing guru to lead a missionary push in the region, so he has taken a three-year leave from his job as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Jazz.
"If someone is interested in learning more about the church, great," Francis told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"We would hope the spirit would touch their hearts. You don't sell someone into joining the church the way you sell Jazz tickets."
Francis, a lifelong member of the church, will oversee 120 missionaries in western Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia, Ohio and New York.
Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.
Style developed on playground fits well in Jackson's offense
By Associated Press
October 31, 2005
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - On the surface, the switch from power forward to point forward in Phil Jackson's triangle offense seems like a drastic career change for the Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom. In reality, he's simply returning to his roots.
Odom's earliest basketball memories are of being a tall, skinny kid playing against older, stronger players on the playgrounds of New York. He wasn't strong enough to post up opponents or bang bodies with them inside, so he learned how to handle the ball up top and beat them off the dribble to make plays.
"That's how I played in college (at Rhode Island); that's how I came into the NBA," Odom said. "I was always tall, but I was never the quickest guy or the guy who could jump the highest. I always took pride in being crafty and being the best basketball player."
The 6-foot-10 Odom grew up idolizing Magic Johnson and dreamed of duplicating Johnson's hallmark as a point guard in a power forward's body. The dream veered off- course the past few years when the Miami Heat and Lakers used him at power forward, but Jackson's first order of business when he returned to the Lakers was to put the ball in Odom's hands, much like he did with Scottie Pippen in Chicago.
Odom gradually has made strides running Jackson's offense, his best game coming Friday against Sacramento when he scored 19 points and posted seven rebounds and an assist in the Lakers' 105-103 victory.
The final learning phase will be balancing the need to get other players involved on offense while also being aggressive with his own offense.
In fact, Jackson has urged Odom to be more selfish at times.
"I can't forget that," Odom said. "For us to be successful, I'm going to have to put the ball in the basket."
STITCH IN TIME: Stephon Marbury is helping his New York Knicks teammates dress for success.
In an effort to comply with the new NBA dress code, Marbury will outfit each in a Joseph Abboud custom-designed suit.
The Knicks point guard appeared in the Joseph Abboud Spring 2005 ad campaign.
HELPING HAND: Jay Francis has taken time off from marketing the Utah Jazz to gain Mormon converts in western Pennsylvania.
The Mormon church asked the NBA marketing guru to lead a missionary push in the region, so he has taken a three-year leave from his job as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Jazz.
"If someone is interested in learning more about the church, great," Francis told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"We would hope the spirit would touch their hearts. You don't sell someone into joining the church the way you sell Jazz tickets."
Francis, a lifelong member of the church, will oversee 120 missionaries in western Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia, Ohio and New York.
Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.