Kobe to Odom: Get out of own way
Download story podcast
12:04 AM PDT on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise
SAN ANTONIO - Down at one end of the court all by himself, Lamar Odom shot jumpers, the sweat pouring down his face.
His Lakers teammates had left the AT& T Center floor to watch film. But Odom stayed longer to work on his game, which abandoned him during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Spurs.
A 2-for-11, seven-point performance left a bad taste in Odom's mouth. So he labored Monday to find his playoff mojo in time for tonight's Game 4.
Story continues below
Terry Pierson/The Press-EnterpriseAfter struggling to finish shots at the rim in Game 3, Lamar Odom vows to “dunk the basketball” and “attack the rim a little harder.”
"It was definitely one of those days," Odom said. "But you can't have too many of those. Not right now. So I've got to put that behind me and get ready for the next one."
The Lakers still lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1, and can push the Spurs to the brink with a victory tonight. Odom likely has to be more of a factor for that to happen.
His rebounding remained consistent as he grabbed 11 boards, and he found his teammates for six assists. But offensively he was out of rhythm, and he didn't even get it done at the free-throw line, missing 5 of 8.
"Once it gets going bad for him, a lot of times he can't turn his game around in the course of the night," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "So that's one of the things we keep talking about -- playing a way to recapture your ballgame, even though things haven't gone well for you."
Odom has been a mainstay for the Lakers in these playoffs. Entering Game 3 he was averaging 15.3 points on 50.8 percent shooting, both third best on the team, and 10.6 rebounds, tops on the team.
"I just tell him to relax," Kobe Bryant said. "Sometimes he's his own worse enemy. I tell him, 'You've got to get out of the way of yourself. Just go out there and let your game come. You got a shot, shoot it. Just relax.'
"I think he was just a little anxious. He wanted to do so well. It kind of backfired."
Odom, who took the loss hard and blamed himself after the game, said, "I still feel the same" before the Lakers practiced Monday.
He stayed up watching Game 3 again and "didn't sleep at all," Odom said.
Odom wasn't alone in misery. Pau Gasol didn't have his best game, either.
He had 15 points but Gasol missed 11 of 18 shots and had just five rebounds.
"A lot of plays went through my mind last night," said Gasol, the Lakers' second-leading scorer in the playoffs (18.8 ppg). "Just easy stuff that you have to complete; you have to make sure you convert."
Odom and Gasol have worked well together -- Gasol, the center, finding Odom, the slashing forward, frequently in the paint, and vice versa. But this time there were no smooth cuts and easy scores.
"We usually are both sharp, or one is sharp and the other might not have his best night," Gasol said. "But last night, I don't think we were where we needed to be and we didn't finish."
Odom has a remedy for layups that roll off the rim and other missed easy shots.
"Dunk the basketball," he said. "Attack the rim a little harder. Finish at the free-throw line. I got to the point where I couldn't make a shot, and then I got to the free-throw line and wouldn't make a free throw. That can't happen."
Reach Broderick Turner at [email protected]
Nice formatting, dude.
Odom has a history of collapsing under pressure. So far team success and the lack of any need to produce in the clinch has protected him. It'll be interesting to see if he's a stronger player with a stronger character now than at any other point in his career.
Lakers out to send message in Game 4
11:51 PM PDT on Monday, May 26, 2008
By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise
SAN ANTONIO - One beatdown will not deter the Lakers.
That's the message they aim to send tonight in Game 4 after the Spurs smacked them down by 19 in Game 3, cutting the Lakers' lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven-series.
"We want to come right back and show them that we're a young team, but just because you beat us by 20, that's not going to affect the next game," Kobe Bryant said. "We're going to come out here and bring it to you. I think that's the message that we have to send to them to show them that we're worthy of taking that crown."
The defending NBA champions played like it Sunday. The Lakers played like a team still trying to find its iden y.
"You hold on to the fact that it was very frustrating and very disappointing in the sense that we couldn't give ourselves a chance to win the game," Derek Fisher said. "So you hold on to some of that frustration and some of that resentment that you have for the opponent. You keep that. But you let go of the fact that you lost."
Both teams are 7-0 at home during the playoffs.
"Like I've said, these are home-and-home series," Coach Phil Jackson said. "They're supposed to hold home court; we're supposed to hold home court.
"The longer this series goes on, the happier they are in the networks."
Failure to Adjust
San Antonio's defense was stingy against the Lakers in Game 3. The Lakers scored just 15 points in the game-changing second quarter, 18 in the third.
And, Jackson said, they didn't adapt to the way the game was being played.
"At the beginning of the series, I warned them that if these games get into these 20-point quarters, you're going to have to play through that kind of thing. Just keep playing hard," Jackson said. "I thought we didn't play through some of those things. Run back -- don't let guys get easy baskets just because we didn't turn and run and play the game and complained to the officials."
Spurs Keep Kobe Off Line
Bryant has taken just six free throws in the series, making five, after shooting 96 free throws in the Utah series.
"They're just not going to foul me," Bryant said. "That's their philosophy; that's what they do. They'd rather give me an open layup than foul me and put me at the free-throw line."
Reach Broderick Turner at [email protected]
Watching Odom this year, the ghost acts are not as prevalent as they have been in the past. During the utah series he came up huge and will have to do the same here. I guess time will tell.
I agree. Lamar will have a good game tonight. It wasn't like anyone was stopping him, he just missed the shots he usually makes.
That le sucks. Stupid headline.
Lamar Odom is not an All-Star caliber player. If he doesn't do well, it's because he's not that good/consistent.
It's a typo. It should read:
Kobe to Odom: Get out of OUR Way
Bryant has taken just six free throws in the series, making five, after shooting 96 free throws in the Utah series.
"They're just not going to foul me," Bryant said. "That's their philosophy; that's what they do. They'd rather give me an open layup than foul me and put me at the free-throw line."
I thought the same thing. Making sense is a lost art.
Odom was 3/12 for game one and 2/11 in game 3. Looks like disapearing is more likely in this series.
Well, it is LA and southern California. Despite a huge population, they're not known for great news departments. Pretty bad, actually.
Horrible formatting with the article posting.
That said, if Odom has a bad game tonight it might seriously damage his psyche the rest of the series. LA cannot afford to become Kobe and Pau only, especially with Gasol's history of playoff collapses.
If LA loses big tonight, their fans should be less worried about protecting their own court and more about getting the heads of their key guys back in the game.
Bryant=classier than his own fans.
One thing in Kobe's favor: he's never tried to gain the "psychological edge" like his coach by whining. He's never ed about opposing defenses like Vince Carter.
Phil Jackson is an ASSHOLE
Does San Antonio have a newspaper?
Seriously.
dur, no, we shure don't.
We can't read down here.
Seriously, WTF?
Does LA have a transit system?
Sorry. Silly Chicagoan here. Carry on with the city bashing.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
