Shedding More Light on Lamar Odom's Tackle of Ray Allen

Lamar Odom's tackle of Ray Allen, at the tail end of the Celtics annihilation of the Los Angeles Lakers on December 30th, 2007, was one of the low points for the purple in the history of their storied rivalry with the green. Totally unprovoked. Totally a sore-loser, malcontent beating up on one of the classiest guys ever to play the game (and who just so happened to be at least six inches shorter than his assailant). My question has always been, Lamar, if you cared that much, why did you and the whole team quit competing five minutes into the fourth quarter?

Ah, but I digress. Back to Lamar and his frustration. The above video provides us with a little more insight. Just before the tackle, KG blocks his shot and yells "SHIT OUTTA HERE," as in, GET THAT SHOT AND TAKE IT BACK TO THE HOLE YOU LIVE IN. This also lends some corroboration to the story my Laker friend told me about the 2008 NBA Finals. You will recall, my Laker friend said that the word on the street in Purple Nation was that every time Lamar touched the ball during the Finals, the Celtics would yell “Shoot it. Come on, dummy, shoot it!”

God, I really loved that 2007-08 season.