Young guns misfire

[Mike Dynon <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>]

Young guns misfire
NBA Notes/by Mark Cofman, Boston Herald

Sunday, January 23, 2000

Lamar Odom is on his way to winning Rookie of the Year honors. The
former University of Rhode Island star is an incredible talent who
could be among the league's best players a few years down the road.

But he does an awful lot of talking for someone approaching a
half-year of professional experience. It's annoying.

``I don't want to play this year and not make the playoffs and then
have to start all over again next season,'' Odom said last week. ``If
they show me they can keep making the right moves, it might be a
long relationship between me and the Clippers.

``If not, it could be very brief. I want to win. I think they will have
to
listen to my input.''

That's great. Odom, at age 20, acts like a grizzled veteran who's
grown frustrated and weary from countless years of losing. Poor guy.
He's had to endure the treacherous NBA wars for 40 games without
reaping benefits.

Odom's point of view is symbolic of a disturbing trend in the NBA.
Instead of conveniently removing himself from the equation in
criticizing the Clippers' lack of success, shouldn't he include himself
in
the picture and consider what more he could do to help change the
team's fortunes. Or would that be acting too much like a professional?

This is another example of an inmates-running-the-asylum mentality
that is commonplace in the league. No wonder the NBA's popularity
has decreased in recent years. Some of these guys are obnoxious.
It's difficult to listen to them.

Which, by the way, should serve to offer Celtics fans something of an
appreciation for Antoine Walker, who has been playing exceptional
basketball of late. As much as Walker might aggravate fans at times
with ill-advised shots and inconsistent play, you've never heard him
complain about the team's losing ways like he's somehow immune from
a portion of the blame.

This is Walker's fourth year with the Celtics. He has never played in a
postseason game. Yet when he talks about the team's dream of
making the playoffs this season, he doesn't look at it as a chance for
the organization to finally repay him for his royal presence. And he
doesn't look back at the last three seasons without acknowledging his
role in the Celtics' futility.

Walker is a complex young man who is subject to mood changes,
particularly in dealing with a local media he obviously doesn't trust.
At
age 23, he has yet to fully mature as a player or team leader. But in a
league filled with young jackasses -- too many of them believing they
are bigger than the teams for which they play -- he's not a bad guy
to have around. Consider the options.