Coming to a franchise in Dallas fresh off their first NBA title and losing several fan favorites to free agency, lofty expectations were placed on Lamar Odom. Fans and Media wanted him to have the same impact Center Tyson Chandler had for Dallas last year. That wasn't fair to Lamar Odom, a very good player in his own right but he wasn't going to be playing a critical position for Dallas. He came to back up Dirk Nowitzki the face of the franchise. In all reality there are not that many minutes to play behind Nowitzki and Marion the two starting forwards.
With limited and spotty minutes coming his way Lamar Odom has had a tough time finding his grove on the floor. He originally struggled with his fitness, now it is his jump shot. He has also dealt with a lot of off the court issues regarding family members. He is in a fragile state that's why you hear nothing but encouragement from Rick Carlisle and the gang.
The real problem here is not with Lamar Odom. It is with over zealous inpatient fans who are not understanding the big picture. This team is able to be successful with out Lamar Odom at his best. Sure it would be nice to have him putting up 14 points 9 rebounds and 3 assists per game. However, when he's only playing 20 minutes per game he is doing a nice job as a reserve.
The best thing Dallas fans can do is look at the team as a whole instead of scrutinizing Lamar. He fills a role better than any of the previous suitors to the Nowitzki back up role. It is not an easy job to back up a superstar. Look around the league at the superstar players and look at the numbers of their back ups.
Lamar Odom is a good player off the bench. His most valuable asset is being able to play long enough to keep Nowitzki fresh and not being under contract for next year when the Mavs are expecting to be major players in free agency for the first time in a very long time. Don't expect 6th man of the year numbers from him; He's not getting 6th man of the year minutes.
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