Lakers need more from Odom while Bynum hurting

BOSTON -- The Lakers count on Lamar Odom to provide a lift off a bench that has been outplayed by the Celtics in the NBA finals. They're still waiting. With Andrew Bynum's sore right knee cutting into the center's playing time, it's even more important that Odom step up in Game 5 on Sunday night. Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson suggested an unorthodox way to get him jump-started. "I was thinking of an electrode, you know," he said Friday to a round of laughter. "Something that would really be a stimulus." Odom wasn't much help in Boston's 96-89 win Thursday night that evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2. He had 10 points and 7 rebounds in a series-high 39 minutes, while Bynum was limited to 12 minutes -- only 2 in the second half. Jackson believes the Lakers can win Game 5 even if Bynum can't play. Off the bench, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 36-18. For the series, Boston's reserves hold a 102-70 edge in points and a 45-37 lead in rebounds. "They do a great job of moving the ball, and different guys took shots," Odom said. "You can only apply so much pressure when different guys take shots." While the 7-foot, 285-pound Bynum is a tough matchup for the Celtics big men inside, Odom, at 6-10 and 230, brings the ball up court and plays around the perimeter instead of putting his lanky frame near all that pounding near the basket. That was costly in Game 4 when Boston's beefy but agile Glen Davis, at 6-9 and 289, scored 9 of his 18 points in a fourth quarter that started with the Lakers leading 62-60. Odom began that quarter with just 4 points and didn't score again until the Celtics had gone ahead 71-64. "He still has a guard role out there," Jackson said. "So his responsibility is to actually bring the ball up and initiate the offense. That gives us kind of an unusual attack and gets Kobe (Bryant) at the wing, and it's something that obviously Boston is quite prepared to try and stop. "And the quickness of Davis, who's a rather unusual player in the NBA with his size, still his quickness is, I think, affecting Lamar." In the four games, Odom is averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. In Game 1 alone of the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns, he scored 19 points with a career playoff high 19 rebounds. He finished that series averaging 14 points and 11.8 rebounds. Without Bynum, Pau Gasol is the Lakers' only powerful inside presence. The Celtics have Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins and Davis to play that role. "We just have to run our offense and have movement, especially with Andrew out of the game," Odom said. "We have to move the ball and be quicker. We just can't stand around and watch." Los Angeles had more second-chance points than Boston in each of the first three games. The Celtics turned that around in Game 4 with a 20-10 scoring advantage and a 16-8 dominance in offensive rebounding. Odom grabbed just one off his own backboard. He must play closer to the basket to help the Lakers improve on that. "He had a couple post-up opportunities that he chose to step out and take the ball outside rather than post it," Jackson said. "(He) probably wasn't quite comfortable in those positions at that time." Odom also had trouble against Boston's big men in the 2008 finals, won by the Celtics in six games. He averaged 13.5 points and 9 rebounds. Bynum didn't play that season after Jan. 13 because of a left knee injury. "Lamar struggled two years ago in this series in this matchup, and he has to break through kind of that mental gap that he had from that experience to move forward," Jackson said. "We're just trying to find a comfort spot for him out there. He looked uncomfortable (Thursday) night, and he got a couple double whammies go against him; Garnett out there for a while and then he had Davis coming at him, and things kind of snowballed on him." Odom doesn't have to carry the team. But he must play better, especially as a rebounder. "I'm not going to put it on my shoulders to win or lose the game," he said. "We have to move the ball and become a team, become a tighter team."