Orange County Register

OAKLAND — Both Ron Artest and Lamar Odom have scored plenty in the past, especially with other teams, but with the Lakers they don’t really have to score much.

So it’s interesting to hear Phil Jackson’s analysis of what Artest and Odom would be best served giving the Lakers. The coach wants one (Artest) of the Queens guys to be more aggressive on offense but isn’t worried about the other one (Odom) scoring.

“Rebounds and assists,” Jackson said of Odom. “Those are the keys for him.”

But as much as Jackson likes Artest’s willingness to pass, the old training-camp issue of Artest trying too hard to fit in quietly on the court remains.

“We like him as a team player,” Jackson said of Artest before mentioning how Artest “gets a little bit more involved in playmaking,” which costs him some opportunities to score on the offensive end.

Artest had 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in his last game against the Knicks, which was a step up. Artest is averaging 12 points on 10 field-goal attempts per game, shooting 43.7 percent from the floor.

Even with increased playing time this season because of Pau Gasol’s injury, Odom hasn’t been particularly efficient with his own scoring. He is averaging 9.1 points on 8.6 field-goal attempts per game, shooting 40.8 percent from the floor.

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