I am sick and tired of hearing about how good Lamar Odom is. Lakers fans LOVE him. People who don't know that much about basketball LOVE HIM EVEN MORE. They think he's an all-star. But he's not. He's never been an all-star. And he'll never be an all-star. A friend of mine said this the other day: "Lamar Odom is to Kobe like Pippen was to Jordan." I almost slapped my friend on the spot. Odom doesn't even come close to Pippen. And I will tell you why.
1. Lamar Odom is having one of his worst statistical year's of his career.
If you don't count his 2001-02 season with the Clippers where he only played in 29 games, he is averaging a career low in points (14.2). He is also below his career average in assists, blocks, free throw %, and 3-point %. He is however, averaging career highs in rebounds and field goal %. But still, it really is a down year for Odom.
2. Lamar Odom can't hit 3's.
Lamar Odom isn't a power forward - he is a small forward. And small forwards have to hit 3's. It's part of the position. Lamar is shooting an abysmal 27% from 3-point range. Luckily for the Lakers, they have enough guys, their other three starters can (Fisher, Bryant, Radmanovic).
3. Lamar Odom can't be trusted in the clutch.
According to Lamar shoots an undesirable 39% in clutch time (teams within 5 points of each other with 5 minutes left). That's definitely not something you want to see. Especially when his free throw shooting is below 70%. Gee, I wonder if teams want to foul Odom?
4. Lamar Odom is inconsistent.
Lamar Odom scored 20+ points nine times this season. Four of those times, he had less than 10 points the next day. So first off, he only gets 20 points once every nine games. For a player that averages 14 ppg, that's kind of odd. Second off, in almost half the games he scores 20 points, he goes cold the very next game. That shows no consistency whatsoever scoring. The only thing that he is consistent at is rebounding. But they have Pau Gasol to do that....so....
5. LAMAR ODOM IS USING 25% OF HIS TALENT!
Lamar Odom has one "WOW" play every game. Every game he takes the ball to the basket in a such an elegant way that he makes it look easy. I compare Odom to Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey had that perfect swing - that swing that looked like he could hit a home run at every at-bat. Odom is the same way. When he drives to the hole, the way his body moves and the way he gets up to the basket.....he looks like a fucking swan.
Why can't he do it every time? He does it with such ease! I don't understand it. He makes these wonderful plays and someone in the room will say, "Man, Odom is so good!" Well, the thing is, he only does that once a game. Odom is operating at 25% of his ability. Sports Illustrated did a player poll a little while ago asking NBA players to say who they think does the least with the most talent. The players answered Vince Carter. Vince Carter? Really? Carter has a career average of 24 ppg and is an 8-time all-star. That seems pretty good to me. Want to see Odom's season points averages? His rookie year, he averaged 16.6. Here's his year-by-year average after that:
17.2
13.1
14.6
17.1
15.2
14.8
15.9
14.2
Oh my God! He's gotten worse! Did Odom hit his peak at 22 years old? He averages 16 per game his rookie year. Everyone thought that was only the beginning. Usually when a rookie averages that much, he gets better. Well, Odom's numbers have gone down. And Odom's numbers never got better. They aren't really bad numbers either. They are just...... average.
And that's what Odom is - average. He never developed. He never grew. He just stayed the same. And it seems like he is satisfied with being the 15 ppg, 9 rbg guy. That's fine. He is a great 3rd guy to have in your top 3. But he's no Pippen. He's no Dumars. He's no McHale. He's Lamar "Average" Odom.
So Lakers fans I tell you this - shut the fuck up.
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