Lamar Odom Shouldering New Burdens

As crazy as it sounds, Lamar Odom has been the most consistent Laker this season. His Gold medal filled offseason has really set the tone for LO’s play this year. Whether as a starter or coming off the pine, Odom has done his thing with a professional approach and a consistent demeanor.

Just when we were all getting used to seeing this new Lamar along comes a few obstacles.

First it was announced that LO was given the blessing of Phil Jackson to shoot a reality show in the middle of the season. While that was an off-court issue that could cause distraction there is a new issue Lamar is going to be dealing with on the court.

Odom injured his left shoulder on a fall in Phoenix the other night and while he’s not expected to miss any action he will have to play through the pain. Shoulder injuries are nothing new for Lamar. He’s had this off and on problem for the past few years. But that’s what happens when you use your right about as often as Sarah Plain uses a dictionary.

When asked how he’ll deal with the nagging shoulder, Lamar responded with the following tongue-in-cheek statement:

"“I’ll have to play right-handed. That will be kind of crazy. I don’t know how I’ll pull that one off. But we’ll have to try.”"

Being able to keep his head amid the Kardashian reality crunch seems doable. But being able to use his right is a task not even the versatile Odom seems capable of. Hopefully none of these new distractions will sidetrack LO during what has been a career year thus far.