Lakers' Jackson: Odom Will Start ... For Now

Phil Jackson has put a temporary kibosh on the suggestion Lamar Odom may come out of the gate as L.A.'s sixth man, telling the assembled media in El Segundo Friday Odom will be the team's starting small forward. Jackson does leave open the possibility of a switch to Trevor Ariza at some point, should the combination need a tweak. Odom is the superior offensive player -- a talented scorer and distributor who knows the Triangle and is deferential enough to play with Kobe and Pau Gasol. Forum Blue & Gold seems on board with the "start the five best players" philosophy, and I tend to trust them on all matters Lakers.

But we know L.A.'s offense will be extraordinary with or without Odom. The Lakers -- with a Kobe, Pau, Odom troika -- racked up amazing numbers in last season's stretch run and through three rounds of playoff basketball. Andrew Bynum will come in. He's a fantastic offensive weapon -- he's still learning, but few Western bigs will be able to keep him off the offensive glass or kill his half-hook and baseline spins. He's not Hakeem, but he might already be one of top five low-post threats in the conference.

If Odom starts, will Bynum get any opportunities? I'm of the mind L.A.'s offense would be just fine with Kobe and Gasol handling most of the duties: Derek Fisher can hit shots, Ariza can sprint in transition, and again, Bynum's good. If you can be assured your starting five offense will be dominant and bolster the starting defense (with Ariza over Odom) and the bench offense, isn't that a better use of your weapons? I think the opportunity cost of starting Odom is greater than what you'd give up making the switch.