With Ron Artest out Friday night, the Lakers have some options to replace their starting small forward for Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Dallas Mavericks. This morning's Lakers game notes listed Shannon Brown as a probable starter at shooting guard with Kobe Bryant moving to shooting guard, but it appears the Lakers are going to start an even bigger lineup, starting Lamar Odom instead. Per Mike Trudell of NBA.com:
While Phil Jackson declined to definitively state who would replace Ron Artest — suspended for one game after a blow to the head of J.J. Barea in L.A.’s Game 2 loss to Dallas — in the starting line up, Odom said that it would be him after the team’s Friday morning shootaround.
The big man trio of Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol started six regular season games together last season, and the team went 5-1 in those games. Tonight's 6:30 p.m. PDT game will be televised by ESPN.
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