An Odom-less Mavs is a Better Mavs

I have long been a huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks. I remember my first Mavs game in the mid 90s when they still played in Reunion Arena. It seemed like magic as a young child. But now that I have grown and matured, I have higher expectations for my Dream Team the Mavericks. Lately I have been disappointed with the performance received from Lamar Odom. Dallas had recruited him under the presumption that he would bring his "mad skills" from L.A. and turn Dallas into an unbeatable team. Well now that he has shown what little commitment he has for the team we have let him go, which I perceive as only a good thing.

Before Lamar Odom moved to Dallas, he played for the L.A. Lakers for seven years. While playing for the Lakers, he won two NBA finals and was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year for his performance as the most valuable player from the bench for his team. For these reasons many people expected his performance for the Mavs to be top notch.

However, during his time in Dallas, Odom averaged 6.6 points per game and played very little because of his disappointing performance. In his last four games, Odom only averaged 2.2 points per game. This is from a basketball player paid $8.9 million, which just seems outrageous. How can a forward, who played so phenomenally in L.A., do so little in Texas? Well from what I have heard, Odom had major clashes with management in Dallas and thus was not a cooperative player. From what I have also viewed on Khloe and Lamar, Odom was never that thrilled about the trade to Dallas. From the very beginning, it did not seem as though he wanted to play here.

What I have to say to that is, Lamar needs to suck it up. There are tons of people who cannot even find work, and just because you can't play for the team you preferred in L.A. doesn't mean you have to screw up Dallas's chance to get in the playoffs. Let's not forget what Odom pulled last year during the playoffs when the Mavs kicked the Lakers out of the playoff running by defeating them in four games straight. When Odom knocked Dirk Nowitzki down to the floor, I was astonished. I will never forget that moment. I don't know if its because I am harboring some resentment against him, but I just don't think that's how a classy person should act.

Albeit, I know that one bad apple doesn't spoil the bunch or one bad team member doesn't spoil the team. However, I do think that one person with a bad attitude can have its effect on the other teammates. The Mavs will now have to pull themselves together as a team and show us fans out here that they have the spirit and perseverance to come out on top and be a threat to teams during the playoffs. Either way it goes, I will still and always be a huge Mavs fan.