Oden better than DHoward according to Roy

[1 Eye Jack]

Take it for what it is, on 95.5 the game Wheels said he was talking to Roy about GO and Roy told him that he thinks GO is lacking confidence right now. He said he's gone against both Howard and GO and GO is better than Howard. Again not sure I agree but none of us have seen him healthy and Roy has played against both so I hope his opinion is right.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Yeah, i heard that to. I'm still an Oden believer, and he is one of my favorite players... but I don't really see it. But lets hope i'm wrong!

 

[tlongII]

I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be. He's bigger and stronger than Howard and he possesses similar athleticism.

 

[BlazersBlood]

Of course his teammate is going to say that.

Roy says Oden is lacking confidence and then says he's better than Howard. Confidence boost?

 

[1 Eye Jack]

Of course his teammate is going to say that.

Roy says Oden is lacking confidence and then says he's better than Howard. Confidence boost?

Maybe, but I doubt it. The problem is we have yet to see the real GO. I believe the closest thing we've seen is when Oden played against Florida in the championship game against two legit NBA players and dominated them. I give it 10-15 games and he starts to get his confidence back. Once that happens look out.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I understand that Roy wants to prop the kid up, but I bet Nate isn't real happy with him pumping out that kind of bulletin board material.

 

[Mediocre Man]

At this point Oden isn't an 1/8 of the player Howard is.

Howard is

1. More durable
2. Better offensively
3. Better shot blocker
4. Better rebounder
5. Has more confidence
6. More agile
7. Better passer

The only thing I thnk Greg is better at right now is FT shooting

 

[hasoos]

At this point Oden isn't an 1/8 of the player Howard is.

Howard is

1. More durable
2. Better offensively
3. Better shot blocker
4. Better rebounder
5. Has more confidence
6. More agile
7. Better passer

The only thing I thnk Greg is better at right now is FT shooting

Great, way to go. You just compared a guy who has played multiple years to a guy you have seen play 1/2 of a single game and came away with your opinion already made up? How about letting Greg play a little bit before you do that.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Great, way to go. You just compared a guy who has played multiple years to a guy you have seen play 1/2 of a single game and came away with your opinion already made up? How about letting Greg play a little bit before you do that.

I was right in everything I said. AT THIS POINT Howard is a lot better than Greg.

 

[jwhoops11]

Interesting, but not even the biggest nugget of info out of that Wheels interview. Oden might be better then Howard, but when Wheels said that Nate had to "talk Oden into coming on the trip" I almost spit out my coffee.

Seriously?

Greg had concerns about coming on the trip thinking that staying back and rehabing was the better idea?

Whatever, hope Greg gets his head right, but right about now I'm a little concerned with the mental aspect of his game and less the physical.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Great, way to go. You just compared a guy who has played multiple years to a guy you have seen play 1/2 of a single game and came away with your opinion already made up? How about letting Greg play a little bit before you do that.

But isn't that the whole point? How can anybody seriously argue that Penknife is *better* than Howard when he has yet to prove anything on the court?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Interesting, but not even the biggest nugget of info out of that Wheels interview. Oden might be better then Howard, but when Wheels said that Nate had to "talk Oden into coming on the trip" I almost spit out my coffee.

Seriously?

Greg had concerns about coming on the trip thinking that staying back and rehabing was the better idea?

Whatever, hope Greg gets his head right, but right about now I'm a little concerned with the mental aspect of his game and less the physical.

Wow, that's sad. You read comments from Greg how badly he wants to play, but then read that. I wonder what the whole story is?

 

[oldmangrouch]

Wow, that's sad. You read comments from Greg how badly he wants to play, but then read that. I wonder what the whole story is?

I don't know if I would read *too* much into that. Sticking to a rehab schedule on the road has got to be tougher than being here with the Blazer staff/facilities. (of course, it also implies he wasn't expecting to be ready to play this soon)

 

[STOMP]

Roy says Oden is lacking confidence and then says he's better than Howard. Confidence boost?

I recall pre-Blazer Greg talking about how he mentally approaches new challenges... I think specifically he was talking about college hoops. The interviewer was saying how there were all these huge expectations of him being compared to Russell and Shaq and how he was going to dominate college ball. Greg said he hears this sort of stuff but can't believe it. (Loosely quoting) "Those college guys are pretty good and they're a lot bigger then the guys I'm used to going against". Of course he went on to dominate those big college guys with only one hand.

Whether it's only his public face or truly how he approaches things, I don't see anything wrong with Greg being humble off the court about his abilities. Once he hits the court and the endorphins start kicking in here's guessing humble goes out the door and ability takes over.

STOMP

 

[Nikolokolus]

Wow, that's sad. You read comments from Greg how badly he wants to play, but then read that. I wonder what the whole story is?

To put it into proper context Wheels said that Greg didn't want his presence to be a distraction to his teammates ... I'm not sure if see how that could be, but if that's where his thinking is at I guess his heart is in the right place even if his head is up his ass.

 

[hasoos]

I was right in everything I said. AT THIS POINT Howard is a lot better than Greg.

Are you? Or are you wrong, with Greg just not having proven you wrong yet. People could have had said the same thing about Michael Jordan until he played a game, and would they have been right? Just remember, a lot of rookies come in and get the shit kicked out of them the first few games. Magic Johnson got 40 dropped on his head twice in the first two nights. It is a career that makes a player, and not half of a game.

 

[STOMP]

Are you? Or are you wrong, with Greg just not having proven you wrong yet. People could have had said the same thing about Michael Jordan until he played a game, and would they have been right? Just remember, a lot of rookies come in and get the shit kicked out of them the first few games. Magic Johnson got 40 dropped on his head twice in the first two nights. It is a career that makes a player, and not half of a game.

no doubt. Howard may or may not be a better player then Greg, but it's not like Greg's talent doesn't exist until he plays an NBA game. We (like most everyone but guys like Roy who have played against both guys) are in a poor position to compare them but we'll have a better idea of whats what in a week or two.

STOMP

 

[RoyToy]

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with Brandon.

 

[Ed O]

But isn't that the whole point? How can anybody seriously argue that Penknife is *better* than Howard when he has yet to prove anything on the court?

Roy is certainly not unbiased, but he's also played against both GO and Howard on the floor, so he's not commenting from nearly the ignorance level that we are.

Ed O.

 

[RoyToy]

no doubt. Howard may or may not be a better player then Greg, but it's not like Greg's talent doesn't exist until he plays an NBA game. We (like most everyone but guys like Roy who have played against both guys) are in a poor position to compare them but we'll have a better idea of whats what in a week or two.

STOMP

You don't need to play against the players to know who's better . Kevin Pritchard doesn't play against players.

As of right now there's no reason to believe Oden is or will be better than Dwight, and that's no slight to Greg. Dwight Howard is just as rare of talent as Greg is, but he's actually been on the floor.

 

[bbwSwish]

Roy is going to be positive about his teammate. We'll see though. Should be some interesting match-ups throughout the next decade.

 

[handiman]

I actually think Howard is overrated, as strange as that might sound. He puts up big numbers consistently, but his shortcomings -- under-sized and under-skilled offensively -- were exposed in the Olympics. I'm surprised teams haven't followed that road map to slowing him down. Too many converted power forwards trying to guard him, I guess.

 

[Jurassic]

Its stupid to even say something like that about a guy who hasn't even played a season yet.

 

[KingSpeed]

You can't say that Dwight Howard is better when you haven't seen Oden play. You simply can't.

 

[oldguy]

Superman had 30/19/10 tonight. If Greg's going to be better than that, watch out!

 

[alex42083]

Superman had 30/19/10 tonight. If Greg's going to be better than that, watch out!

30/19/10 is absolutely freakish. That's superhuman. If Greg can reach that level...... holy smokes.

 

[BengalDuck]

Oden is already a better help defender than Howard. No way to really tell what his post defense is like because he didnt face an opponent in the post tonight, but I'd assume Oden is better there too.

Offensively it's hard to tell what was rust for not really having played in 18 months and what was just poor and aloof play, but defensively Oden might be our best player in about a month.

 

[mook]

I gotta say, I don't know about Oden being on Howard's level, but it was no accident that Portland went to him so often in the post in the first half. The announcers kept going on about how Oden was unprepared for that kind of focus, but Nate and Roy aren't dumb. They must see something pretty incredible in practice to be running so many basic post ups for Oden in his first real game. Especially when you've got scorers like Roy, Aldridge, Rudy and Outlaw out there too.

I've got a feeling that once he gets 10 or 12 games under his belt and gets over the jitters, he's going to be a hell of a threat posting up.

 

[julius]

I think his timing and wind are his biggest issues. He looked winded after a few minutes.

 

[mook]

30/19/10 is absolutely freakish. That's superhuman. If Greg can reach that level...... holy smokes.

How the hell does anybody get 10 blocks in an NBA game? Somewhere there was an NBA player out there who was looking at Howard with 9 blocks and thinking, "I think I'll take it into the paint. No way he gets 10."

Unbelievable.

Oh wait, it was Oklahoma City. It was probably a D-Leaguer looking to earn another 10 day contract. Nevermind.