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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SPURS v LAKERSMay 23, 2008Lamar OdomLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Q. Phil said after time-outs some of your teammates were saying you need to be more aggressive, go to the basket stronger. Describe maybe why you weren't before and then the mind-set that took over after that point. LAMAR ODOM: I thought I was aggressive the first game, I just -- I just missed shots. I needed to take the -- the first game I needed to take one more dribble and get all the way into the hole. I thought I did a better job at that this game. I still can recall the games I should have finished or especially off the pick-and-rolls, some plays I should have made for Pau. And I just tried to play throughout the game. That's the most important for me, to keep my energy up, rebound the basketball, play defense and intensity to keep me in the game. Q. What did Phil say to you after the game? He was kind of terse with the reporters in here. LAMAR ODOM: After the game? Q. Yeah. What did he say to you guys? LAMAR ODOM: We can't get too high on ourselves. This is a team of champions, and we have to stay focused. Come in and get a good practice in before we leave, you know, and stay mentally prepared. Q. Lamar, was there a turning point in the second half when you started to separate from the Spurs that you could point to? Is there a pivotal point in the second half for the Lakers? LAMAR ODOM: Defensively, we were able to step it up, keep our intensity up at all times. No second shots, clean the ball up off the boards and did a great job at running, getting open looks, making plays for one another. It is funny, because I told Pau -- Pau was a little frustrated he missed shots he usually makes. But he made so many plays for me out there just by rolling to the basket, the attention goes to him, I get a dunk or I'm right at the rim to get fouled to go to the free throw line. So he helps me out so much. Q. Can you just talk about the third quarter, just the way you came out, you were really aggressive attacking the basket and on the defensive end. Can you talk about what that meant for you and the energy it gave? LAMAR ODOM: I was feeding off my teammates. I was catching the ball, getting in scoring position, trying to be as aggressive as possible, you know, finishing plays. I think that really helped us. I get in the game, it seems like my team gets into it. They cheer for me and they keep me going. So I definitely feed off their energy. Q. Can you talk a little bit about that 9-0 run at the end of the first half, what was happening in that sequence and how significant that was? LAMAR ODOM: Just defense, that's it. We were rotating, making them make the extra pass. We definitely -- we stayed focus and we kept our intensity all the way up. We kept it in overdrive throughout the whole game, and that was big for us to get some separation. Going to the locker room, really confident and focused on what we had to do in the second half. Q. How have you been able to change your role over the few years from the offense going through you in Miami, to being up on the point here to now being the third option, how have you adjusted to that? LAMAR ODOM: That's the key to my game is versatility. And versatile players tend to change their games as their team goes along and my team has blossomed. We have great players. And I just try to fit a role and find my niche and find my lane. You know, I was able to do that here with the Lakers. Q. Considering the stage you're on, Western Conference Finals, the team you're playing, the level that you're at right now, is this arguably the best, most impressive performance by the Lakers, even this year possibly? LAMAR ODOM: I hope the best is yet to come. Right now, we have mentality that we're striving for perfection, so every game that we play, we feel like we can play better or we are going to have to play better, have to play better to get where we want to go. And tonight we played well, but we want to continue to play better. We want to have a game where there is no mistakes, right, and there is no turnovers, we all make free throws so we can accomplish the mission that we have at hand. End of FastScripts |
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