Dallas Mavericks: Lamar Odom Struggling Since Leaving Los Angeles

Since his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers, Lamar Odom has yet to find his rhythm as a Dallas Maverick. Odom, who spent seven seasons playing alongside one of the greatest players of all time in Kobe Bryant, has seen his production cut in half in his first 19 games as a Maverick.

Coming off of the bench for almost his entire career, Odom has put up a solid 14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, four assists and one block, as well as a 46 percent field goal percentage. But since putting on a blue and white uniform, Odom has not been himself.

Thus far, 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, .3 blocks and a 33 percent FG percentage have defined Odom as a Maverick.

Adding to his deflated statistics is the fact that he's playing 14 less minutes per game than his career average. It's clearly affecting his performance, and he's not thrilled about it.

An ESPN Dallas article written by Tim MacMahon quotes Odom as saying:

"

I can be upset at myself. I can fake body language and act like I'm not upset, but I expect more out of myself than you could ever expect out of me. I've been a good basketball player since I can remember. If you expect me to play well, then you can just imagine what I expect out of myself.

"

The team itself may be affecting Odom, as the reigning NBA Champion Mavericks sit in third place in the Southwest Division with an 11-8 record.

2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki has also seen his numbers take a dip, as well as teammates Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Jason Terry.

As a team, Dallas is scoring 8.4 less points per game this season than they averaged during the 2010-2011 season. 

Given what Odom has accomplished in his career, he's too talented not to snap out of his slump and help Dallas make another championship run.