Lakers' Lamar Odom doesn't get points for performance

Phil Jackson says that the veteran 'looks like he's either curling or doing some other kind of sport. He's not playing basketball.

The Lamar Odom experiment trudges along, slowly and shakily.  The Lakers' most versatile player had more fouls (five) than points or assists as a primary ball-handler on offense and small forward on defense in Tuesday's exhibition game against Utah.  Odom was in the starting lineup, a point of contention for him because Coach Phil Jackson suggested he might come off the bench, but his stats were insignificant other than the fouls.  In 20 minutes, Odom had three points, five rebounds and three assists.  Assistant coach Kurt Rambis said Odom's game was "fair to middling, maybe poor," and that Odom "didn't seem focused out there."

Jackson took it a step further.  "I just got through telling him that this is really basketball now," Jackson said Wednesday. "He looks like he's either curling or doing some other kind of sport. He's not playing basketball.

"The first shot he took was a three-pointer in the middle of the third quarter? That was pretty interesting."

Jackson was non-committal when asked...read full article