Skip to main content

The Lakers are desperately missing Lebron James right now. Sunday was the third consecutive game that James was forced to sit out with a sore knee, and there are concerns that he could end up missing more time

But it's much more than his ability to score and wreak havoc in the lane that the Lakers are missing. LeBron brings with him a certain will and energy that is hard for opposing teams to match, and Los Angeles gets going when he gets going. 

Lamar Odom was fortunate enough to play with a guy just like that. When Kobe Bryant was out on the court, he was always pushing his teammates to the next level. That's what Odom wants to see out of James and this current squad. 

He spoke about James on TMZ Sports this week and added that he would like to see Bron's tenacity in his Lakers teammates. 

“Of the teams that I played for that won championships, we had a tremendous leader in Bean Bryant. A lot of his will, tenacity … it kind of rubbed off on us. I would like to see LeBron James’ will and tenacity and his will to win rub off on these Laker guys.”

They could certainly use that tenacity this past week. After beating the Nets with LeBron in the lineup they dropped their games to the 76ers and the Hornets without him in there. The Lakers' offense fell flat against Philly but stepped it up slightly against Charlotte without Bron or Anthony Davis. 

If they're going to have any chance at a title this year, they're going to need that tenacity that has made James a legend