Odom on the Bench

Of course Lamar Odom isn’t happy with the idea of coming off the bench as a sixth man. Still, it’s clearly the correct decision. I also note that it shouldn’t necessarily lead to a drastic reduction in his playing time. You figure that when Pau Gasol’s out of the game, he’ll be logging those minutes at the four. And when Bynum’s on the bench, Gasol will slide over to the five and Odom will come in as power forward. That way you don’t need to play Chris Mihm unless someone’s in foul trouble. That makes a lot more sense than playing a Bynum-Gasol-Odom frontline that crowds the lane and lets defenses pack it in.