ShareThisEL SEGUNDO, Calif. - It took Phil Jackson a mere two words to sum up the impact Lamar Odom's chaotic summer has had on his play during the first two weeks of training camp.
"Absolutely nothing," the Los Angeles Lakers coach said.
Questions about Odom's focus and commitment to basketball have dogged the veteran forward since his whirlwind marriage to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian last month thrust him into the showbiz spotlight. Hollywood reporters descended on Odom on the first day of training camp and paparazzi have hounded him whenever he ventures out into public, snapping photos or shooting video of him leaving the gym, mingling at parties or going out to eat.
Odom scoffs at the idea this could be distracting for him, noting with a smile that he's "been through a lot worse than marriage." The death of his beloved grandmother and infant son didn't derail his career, he says, so he's pretty sure a ring on his finger and a few extra cameras in his face won't either.
"Even though some of it was a whirlwind, things happen fast in my life. They've always happened fast," Odom said. "As a man I try to be prepared for everything that comes my way, and I think I was able to do that."
Jackson said Odom has been "upbeat and productive" in practice, a testament to the time he spent in the boxing gym building his strength and stamina. About the only concern Odom has going into the season is some lingering soreness in his lower back from when he fell after being undercut by Houston's Shane Battier in the playoffs last May.
"Every other day I lift and my back spasms up a little bit," he said. "When I'm tired it's the first thing that stiffens, but there's always going to be something with athletes. You're never going to be 100 percent."
Odom averaged a career-low 11.3 points per game last season, but his play picked up significantly in the playoffs (12.3 ppg, 9.1 rebounds). His 3-point shooting (51.4 pct. after hitting 32 pct. during the season) was a big factor as the Lakers rolled to their first NBA title in six years.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
