Maybe it was just a natural reaction to the final realization that L.A. was going to advance one round closer to its ultimate goal of winning an NBA title.

Or it could have just been a really good dunk.

Whatever the reason, Lamar Odom chose to celebrate his game-clinching slam with 11.5 seconds left with some of the same fans who have been alternately dazzled and dismayed with his five-year tenure in L.A. While the other nine players on the floor waited for him to take his free throw, Odom was busy high-fiving the fans in the expensive seats.

"It felt good," Odom said of the burst of emotion. "It was fun."

The now de rigeur relinquishing of a double-digit lead notwithstanding, Game 5 certainly seemed like fun, particularly for Odom, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds in the Lakers' series-clinching 107-96 win.

The player who was deemed too soft during last season's NBA Finals loss to Boston looked plenty hard against the Jazz; in addition to those 15 boards, Odom also had three blocked shots. And when he wasn't banging Carlos Boozer into a 3-of-8 night, he was running out at Mehmet Okur and harassing him into missing seven of his nine shots.

He was equally versatile on the offensive end, making two of his four 3-point shots, tossing in a left-handed hook shot or two and gliding to the basket with the sort of grace rarely seen in a 6-foot-10 power forward.

But then, it's that very versatility that has always tantalized teams with regard to Odom — his ability to guard every player on the court while creating matchup nightmares on the other end. It's also that sort of flexibility that makes the Lakers so much more dangerous when Odom's energy level matches his unique skill set.

It finally happened this season. And all it took was a demotion.

During training camp, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson decided to start Andrew Bynum. That's not exactly the news a nine-year starter in a contract season wants to hear. But after protesting mildly for a few days, Odom accepted the role and proceeded to spark the Lakers' second unit until Bynum tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Jan. 31.

Odom spent the next 31 games in the starting lineup, only to return to his reserve role when Bynum came back for the final three games of the regular season.

But the lineup juggling didn't end there.

For the first three games of the Utah series, Odom was the first man off the Lakers bench. But after Bynum looked a step slow in the Game 3 loss at Utah — he had more fouls (five) than he did points (four) — Odom was back with Kobe and Pau at opening tip.

"It makes no difference," Odom said. "Obviously you see that in my game, my rhythm. I'm here to do whatever it takes to win. It's too late in the season for me to take it personal."

That's good, because Odom is probably heading back to the bench.

Even though Bynum struggled throughout the series — after cracking double digits in Game 2, he managed just four, two and two points in the next three games — Jackson said Monday that he would likely insert the 7-footer back into the starting lineup for the next round of the playoffs.

In part, that's a response to the Lakers' possible foes in Round 2, where they'll face either Houston and 7-foot-6 Yao Ming or Portland and its twin towers: 7-foot Greg Oden and 7-foot-1 Greg Przybilla. But it's also an acknowledgement that Odom would be a stabilizing presence with the unit formerly known as the Bench Mob and could maybe keep some of those large leads from disappearing.

"Lamar's playing great," Jackson said. "But his effort off the bench is going to be very important for us."

"Whatever position I have to fill, I'm ready to do it," Odom said. "It won't be a problem at all."