DALLAS — Lamar Odom's struggles continued Wednesday night with, arguably, his worst performance since he joined the Dallas Mavericks in December.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star scored one point in 24 minutes against his former team in a 109-93 Mavericks loss. Things were so bad that Odom's former teammate, Kobe Bryant, felt it was necessary to give his friend a hug and share a few words after the final horn sounded.
Bryant told reporters after the game that it was none of their business what he said to Odom.
"It's tough," Bryant said of Odom's situation. "He comes to a team that's pretty much set, know what I mean? So it's hard for him to find his niche. And the fans, they don't really understand what he does or how he can do it."
Maybe the lowest point of the night came less than a minute into the second quarter when Odom badly missed a free-throw. A chorus of boos then began to rain down at American Airlines Center, prompting Odom's wife, Khloe Kardashian-Odom, to tweet: "Positive energy goes a long way.... This crowd needs to figure out who they are routing for! Let's go Mavs!!!!"
Bryant called the booing, "just stupidity."
As far as how the Mavericks are using Odom, Bryant said they haven't unlocked the mystery.
"I hope they don't unlock that mystery," he said. "I know how to use his skill set and this, that and the other. But this team, the roster that they have, being pretty much set, it's tough for him to find his groove here."
So how do the Mavericks best utilize a player like Odom?
"Lamar is not just a player you plug in," Bryant said. "You feature him. We featured him, in terms of his ball-handling and post-up ability and things like that."
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
