“Well, don’t look at me, pal. I just said you were a fair pilot. I didn’t know they were looking for somebody to lead this crazy attack.”
Han Solo was the quintessential reluctant hero. The man had all the physical tools to lead men to victory, but seemingly none of the mental prowess to put it all together. Han Solo was the most talented pilot this side of Alderaan, but he was stuck flying around in the hunk of metal known as the Mellennium Falcon. He had the street savvy to win any fight, but he was the constant under achiever. He spent most of Return of the Jedi frozen in carbonite, but when Luke needed him most he rose to the occasion.
I know it seems like Lamar Odom has been frozen in carbonite for most of the NBA Finals, but he’s actually logged 157 minutes of time. It’s true.
The enigma that is Lamar Odom will never surprise me. If he comes out and gets 3 fouls in 2 minutes, I expect it. If he comes out and scores 21 points and grabs 14 rebounds, I expect it. There is a 100% chance I yell “Holy s**t, Lamar Odom is in the building” or “Nice to see you Lamar” at some point during Game 7. It’s a mortal lock.
I wish we could depend on Lamar more than we can, but then he wouldn’t be Lamar.
I think back to Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals, the biggest game of his life, and I remember Lamar Odom rising to the occasion.
Dare I say he does it again?