Lamar Odom's forgettable first season with Dallas Mavericks reached a new low on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs: Coach Rick Carlisle didn't play the former Sixth Man of the Year at all in Dallas' 104-87 loss.
"Expect the unexpected as far as life's concerned," Odom told reporters after the game. "I've been through a lot. It's not too much I haven't seen. So I understand it. I'm a team guy. Whatever. He's the coach."
Odom is averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and has struggled even more since returning from a 10-day personal leave earlier this month. In the 11 games since, he has averaged 5.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, shot 30.1 percent from the field and heard increasingly louder boos from the home crowd.
Odom had a difficult offseason; a beloved cousin died, he was a passenger in a car wreck that killed a teenage cyclist, and eventually requested a trade from the Lakers after an original attempt to move him as part of a package for Chris Paul was vetoed by the NBA.
Odom has said that the boos affect him, but noted that he's been through tougher situations.
"I've buried a child," Odom said Friday, referring to the 2006 death of in his infant son Jayden. "You know what I'm saying? I've buried a baby."
Carlisle, meanwhile, sounded as if the benching wouldn't become the norm.
"It shows that Lamar's minutes are valuable to us," Carlisle said of the loss. "So, we've got to keep him in the fold."
"Going forward, we're going to keep him involved. It really helps having a ninth guy with double-figure minutes, especially this season."
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is on Odom's side when it comes to fans booing him.
"I don't like it," Cuban told the Star-Telegram before Friday's game. "Lamar's had some bad breaks.
"He's made the right passes and we just haven't been able to finish the shots, and he's been taking the ball to the basket and it just hasn't been falling. I understand the fan's perspective, but I don't like it and hopefully LO will use it for motivation."
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