Lakers are at their best when Odom plays up to potential

ON BASKETBALL

Fact: Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Whew! Glad to clear up that debate. But here's a new one:

With L.A. trying for one goal this season, to win an NBA title, Bryant isn't the X-factor. Neither is Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum nor Derek Fisher. Rather, that distinction goes to Lamar Odom.

It's simple really — and this is true regardless of whether Bynum is in the lineup or injured: When Odom is at his best, the Lakers are the best team in the league. Better than their Western Conference rival Spurs. Better than the defending-champion Celtics.

And as they showed Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, better than the Cavaliers.

Even when No. 24 isn't feeling right.

While Bryant was vomiting before the game and chillin' — literally — during it, Odom was lifting L.A. almost single-handedly, making the Lakers the first team to win in Cleveland this year.

The Cavaliers will have to settle for a 23-1 start at home.

But back to Odom. If Phil Jackson actually had some hair with color remaining, it would likely turn gray quickly because his 6-foot-10 power forward's performances define hot and cold.

One night, he'll attack the basket with his long frame, he'll grab all the key rebounds and he'll intimidate opposing players trying to score on him. The next night, he'll be unassertive offensively and get into foul trouble.

Against the Cavs, the nation got to see "Good Lamar." He was all over the floor, taking control of the offense with Bryant in no mood to pull an M.J, a la Game 5 of the 1997 Finals.

Plays ran through Odom. Rebound after rebound were snatched out of the air by Odom. The game was won by Odom.

The veteran finished L.A.'s 101-91 victory with 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked a shot.

But the most telling number is that when Odom was on the floor, the Lakers were +9 points. Check that final score again — he was the difference.

And Odom could be the difference between another season that ends just short of the Lakers' ultimate goal or the first post-Shaq title for Bryant.

Yes, even as a bench player.

If Bynum returns healthy and retakes his place in the starting five, Odom will return to his sixth-man role. But don't think that diminishes his importance.

Just look at the Spurs' dynasty of the past 10 seasons. They definitely wouldn't have won at least the past two titles without Manu Ginobili coming off the pine, sparking them with highly difficult shots and hustle plays.

Every championship team needs a difference-maker off the bench. Odom, L.A.'s second-most talented player, could be that guy for these Lakers.

As good as Gasol and Bynum are, they don't touch the ball nearly as much as Odom. That's because even with his size, he's a good ballhandler and he's strong when he takes the ball to the basket.

Odom is a guy whom you can give the ball to on the perimeter and let him create. Especially when Bryant is out of the game (or sick), Odom is needed to do such a thing.

He also possess a great ability — and athleticism — to rebound. Between their three big guys, the Lakers should be able to dominate games by outrebounding opponents. And nothing is more deflating than playing 20 seconds of good defense only to have to face another 20 seconds.

Odom gave the Lakers plenty of extra possessions with seven offensive boards Sunday against a strong Cleveland front line. Sans Bynum, the Lakers tied the Cavs with 42 boards apiece.

We all know how Bryant can take over a game.

In Cleveland, his very talented teammate picked up the slack.

It's something Odom is capable of doing on a consistent basis — starting or not.

It's something his team will need if it wants to have an L.A. parade come June — sick Kobe or not.

We can only wait and see with Shaq

ON BASKETBALL

Plenty of people have opinions on last week's trade of Shaquille O'Neal from Miami to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

My friend Cosey — as well as thousands of other hoops fans — think O'Neal is washed up and won't be of much use to the Suns. In other words, he won't win that elusive championship for Steve Nash n' Co.

ESPN.com columnist Scoop Jackson — and thousands of others, but not as many thousands — think O'Neal is the key ingredient the Suns have been lacking the past few years. They point to his defensive presence. They say Marion and big man Amare Stoudemire quarreled too much. They agree with the trade.

The truth?

We don't know and we won't know for quite a while.

O'Neal hasn't played since mid-January with a hip injury. He's back to working out, but will he be able to stay healthy? There remain two months of regular-season play plus that nearly-two-month playoff circus. That's almost four months. Can O'Neal endure that?

How will he fit in the Suns' run-n'-gun system? Some analysts have said that the older you get, the easier it is to run north-south as opposed to making quick, lateral movements. But don't tell me O'Neal's gonna run the fast-break quick enough to receive a dime from Nash ahead of the defense.

That's one thing I don't see happening.

But here's something Phoenix can look forward to with O'Neal. If, indeed, he is healthy come playoff time, he'll be valuable in half-court sets — and the action tends to slow down late in the season. Say what you want to about O'Neal, but he still draws double-teams and remains a deft passer out of the post. When possessions are breaking down, O'Neal will be a viable option (again, if he's healthy).

The defensive end is where O'Neal could be most valuable. Stoudemire has not developed into the defensive force Phoenix fans hoped he would. He shows flashes of solid play here and there, but he can't consistently thwart players such as Tim Duncan and Carlos Boozer.

When Stoudemire and O'Neal are both in the game, Stoudemire will be able to play power forward and leave the toughest defensive assignment to O'Neal. Call O'Neal immobile if you'd like, but ask any NBA player who he's most intimidated by — and I bet Shaq's still near the top of the list.

But forget X's and O's. The biggest question mark of thousands is whether O'Neal will be on the court enough to make a solid impact. I'd say he needs to play a good 20 minutes a night for the Suns to survive the Western Conference and make the NBA Finals.

On Monday, after his first practice, he admitted that he was a bit winded running up and down the court with the Suns. But in O'Neal's defense, he had been completely sidelined for three weeks.

A good thing for the Suns is the timing of the deal. O'Neal is rested. The team has the West's best record and doesn't need to rush him back into action. If O'Neal plays, say, the Suns' final 25 games (they're 36-15), he should be in good form — but not too fatigued — heading into the playoffs.

That's what has made O'Neal effective in the past. He'd miss the first half of the season with some injury — or lazy syndrome — and then roar into April with a full head of steam. While I don't foresee any roaring from O'Neal, if he has half a head of steam, the Suns will be in good shape.

Of course, even if O'Neal plays well, that doesn't guarantee anything in the mighty West. San Antonio remains the team to beat in the playoffs. The Lakers will be scary if Andrew Bynum comes back strong. And don't forget about Dallas, Utah and even New Orleans (oh, and always-dangerous Golden State).

It is clear that this year more than ever, winning the NBA's superior conference will be as exhausting as a trip up Mt. Everest (before the days of billionaires paying guides to drag them up the mountain). Games will be slug-fests. Series sweeps will be minimal.

By May, O'Neal might wish he were back in the "Leastern Conference."

Or he might be having the time of his career helping the Suns finally reach their goal.

You can guess all you want. All we know right now is ... well ... nothing.

Show us what you can do, big fella!

Plenty of questions surround improved Lakers

ON BASKETBALL

No, the Lakers are not the "team to beat" in the Western Conference.

Are you kidding me? Some analysts actually believe L.A. — not the Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, Jazz or Hornets — is now the best team in the NBA's elite conference. They're overreacting.

Don't get me wrong. L.A.'s move to acquire Pao Gasol Friday instantly made the Lakers better. I wrote on Christmas that the Lakers are contenders in the West. Now, they're definitely contenders.

But the best team in the West? Well, let's see how Gasol fits into their system.

For now, Gasol will start at center with Lamar Odom playing his normal power forward position, but when star-in-the-making Andrew Bynum returns in March, what will Phil Jackson do with his starting lineup?

He'll almost undoubtedly start his twin towers, Bynum and Gasol, but what about the 6-foot-10 Odom? Will he be moved to small forward? Anyone who watched Odom air-ball a long jumper at the end of L.A.'s loss to Detroit Thursday night knows that he's not comfortable on the perimeter. Odom is shooting 23 percent from downtown this season.

If Jackson goes with Odom, L.A.'s lineup would feature just two players capable of making outside shots — Kobe Bryant (yeah, he's pretty good) and point guard Derek Fisher. Defenses could sag against the other guys, making them knock down 20-footers. Gasol is a decent mid-range shooter, but you don't see teams running out to prevent him from shooting J's.

Much of the Lakers' success will depend on how well Gasol shoots those jumpers. I believe Jackson will place him in the high post once Bynum returns, giving Bynum plenty of room to operate down low. If Gasol can't make 15-footers, he will be an ineffective offensive player.

And, again, what will Odom's role be? Now is the time for Jackson to demonstrate why he's won nine NBA titles. He's got the pieces, he just needs to figure out how to solve the puzzle in front of him.

One thing this move does — undoubtedly — is keep Bryant in L.A. for at least the remainder of his contract and very possibly for the remainder of his career. Gasol, 27, will probably play as many seasons as Bryant does. And he's got Bynum and improving guard Jordan Farmar for several more years.

There will be no more trade requests from Bryant. As he said Friday, "Now it's time to walk the walk."

The pieces are in place.

Meanwhile, no key players were lost. While past trade offers for the likes of Jason Kidd or Jermaine O'Neal — both much older players than Gasol — would have meant giving up Bynum, Odom or both, Mitch Kupchak must have felt relieved to dispose of Kwame Brown's $9-plus million contract.

Javaris Crittenton was another promising point guard, but no better than Farmar and much more inexperienced. We don't know what will happen with Gasol's younger brother, Marc, but it's clear that he's a project. The 2008 and 2010 first-round picks L.A. relinquished will likely be lower picks.

Really, nothing was lost. Now, there are no excuses. It's time for the Lakers to show what they're made of.

Friday's move came off as a bit panicky. L.A. had slipped of late, losing four of five games entering Friday night's game in Toronto. It was transparent that LWB (Life Without Bynum) was taking its toll on the team. So the Lakers acting quickly, making a move that instantly improves them but creates plenty of questions.

Maybe this is part of a grander plan. Perhaps Odom is on his way out of L.A. Could the Lakers still be trying to acquire Kidd?

There remain several unknowns, but one thing can't be disputed: If Gasol plays like the All-Star and Rookie of the Year he's been, the Lakers will be one of the top teams in the top-heavy West.

But the favorite to make the NBA Finals?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, folks. He's not Wilt Chamberlain.

Lakers overcome distraction, become contender

ON BASKETBALL

It was a Christmas Day Miracle, really.

There were the mighty, high-flying, running-and-gunning Phoenix Suns, the lock this season to win the Western Conference's Pacific Division and roll into the playoffs as one of the top few seeds.

But they weren't the miracle. The miracle workers were the guys in yellow jerseys.

There was Kobe Bryant, the subject of trade speculation for the past eight months. In May, he said he wanted to be traded — for sure — then recanted ... then said he wanted out again.

Leading up to the season, all the talk in Laker Land revolved around No. 24 leaving. Chicago? New York? He was bound for the East Coast.

The discussion continued into the regular season, but somehow the Lakers played through it. While the Chicago Bulls couldn't overcome the Kobe Talk to play half-decent basketball, the Lakers managed to play .500 ball.

And Bryant showed why he's the NBA's best talent, hearing all the whispers in one ear and coach Phil Jackson in the other. On opening night, there he was — almost leading the Lakers back from a 12-point hole in the final minute, 36 seconds.

Say what you want about Bryant's arrogance, his selfishness at times, but you can't say he ever gives up in a game. He didn't on that night, and he hasn't since then.

And while a month and a half ago, I thought the Lakers with Kobe needed another marquee player — such as Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal — to make a serious run in the mighty West, I don't think so anymore. This team, with its current makeup, is capable of challenging the Suns, the Mavericks, the Jazz ... and maybe even the Spurs (OK, probably not the Spurs, but neither can the aforementioned squads).

The main reason: the play of Andrew Bynum, the 20-year-old kid who has grown thick skin and ignored all the clamors by L.A. fans — and the media — that he needs to be traded for a big-name, proven veteran.

On Christmas, the 7-footer was at his best, skying for a slew of easy alley-oops, causing the Suns to play a bigger, slower lineup than usual — and then out-muscling those guys, including Amare Stoudemire, for 12 rebounds. He finished with a career-high 28 points, the dozen boards, four assists and two blocked shots.

And after the Lakers' 122-115 win, don't look now, but ... but ... but a certain team in gold uniforms sits just a game back of the mighty Suns.

And maybe — just maybe — the trade talk has died down for now.

With Bynum averaging 12.5 points, 10.1 boards and 2.1 blocks a game. With Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar anchoring the point guard position, a veteran leading a youngster who will eventually steal all his minutes. With Lamar Odom and Bynum holding strong in the post. With high-flyer Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton — when he returns from injury — providing a variety of skills at the small-forward position. ... these Lakers, at 18-10 and on a three-game winning streak, look like contenders.

Wait — I forgot to mention one player: um, Kobe Bryant?

That's right. When one can talk about the Lakers without mentioning the longest-tenured player in the NBA, you know there's a little talent around him.

In the fourth quarter Tuesday, it was Kobe Time. Bryant knocked down an array of fall-away jumpers from all over the court to score 12 of his game-high 38. He was the center of the show. The player whom kids are trying to emulate on playgrounds all over L.A. today.

But he's no longer the only show in town, folks. Bynum, Odom, Ariza, Fisher...

Learn the names, kids. Because if this keeps up, they'll be making just as much noise as their celebrated teammate well into the spring.