We can't get too caught up in subjective issues like "Oden LOOKS like he doesn't care". If he walked off the court, refused to check in, or did anything that jeopardized our chance at winning, then maybe you could say that he's not interested in basketball. It's barely been a quarter of a season and so many people are already growing impatient with the guy. Unbelievable.
But...but... Oden is a "certain HOFer" and a "once in a generation talent!" You can't sell that kind of hype without it coming back to bite you. You can't anoint a 20 year old kid as the saviour of the franchise and then turn around and demand patience. If the fans are getting restless and cranky, the front office has only themselves to blame.
Yes, they said after micro surgery and a year off he was going to dominate immediate. I agree if he didn't have his injury last year I would have expected more at this point, but that's not the case. So to be really critical of Oden now is a total loss of perspective. I hear people say they know he's been off a year, but then seem to have expectations as if he hasn't.
He's also not had much time to develop much as a player. When a young guy dominates HS like Oden did, it's because he was bigger and stronger and simply could jump over the competition. His one year in college was marred by injury (he shot FTs left handed, right?). He's physically gifted, and simply because of his size and willingness to jump, he can do some things at an NBA level - like rebound and block shots. Give him 2-3 years with a great big man coach like Lucas and he's going to be superb. Nothing wrong with pointing out the state of his game now, though.
Who's the "you" here? And who's doing the biting? Oden certainly never said any of those things. And are you annointing yourself in charge of meting out justice on those who overhype? You are not The Punisher and the Blazers are not The Hyper.
It's unbelievable. Oden. more games than not, changes the way teams attack and defend us. He's been playing great while rounding into shape and learning the league. Hell, even his own teammates don't recognize how to get him the ball on the P&R and feed him in the post. For those whining about him, give it time. All this kid wants to do is please. He's going to be great. You see it in flashes, and those flashes will become longer and longer in duration.
If you want someone to blame for your issues, look in the mirror. He is a "certain HOFer" and a "once in a generation talent". If you can't see flashes of what he's going to be in short order, then you're not watching enough basketball games. His affect doesn't just show up in stats; it's how teams change their schemes to deal with GO in the post, both on offense and defense. He changes the game without doing a thing.
By the way, for those complaining about him not being the open, fun loving guy he was when he came here, look at the posts on this board and others about him and ask yourself if you would change your attitude and become more guarded. I know I would.
Is it really so "unbelievable"? If Oden had scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in his first game this season, everybody would have been screaming, "Look how good he is already!" It's only natural that we would comment on him scoring only 2 points and grabbing 1 rebound in his 15th game, or whatever it was. Oden was heralded as the second coming of Bill Russell, but he's looked more like Bill Wennington, if that. This is worth commenting on, and even being concerned about. If he keeps getting better, great. We'll all be thrilled. But in the meantime it's a little worrisome to see how slowly he is coming along and how poorly he performs some games.
You all sound like teenage girls and Greg is your latest boyfriend who you wanna break it off and are just looking for a reason. You really want your friend's boyfriend, no matter who/what he is. Greg is a rookie and is playing like it. Funny you basketball "fans" don't understand that.
Actually, if he had done that I bet that there would be at least a 90% overlap with the people who are criticizing him for only getting double-doubles close to half of the time he plays. Ed O.
Agreed. For some reason, SOME people look at the world in a binary way. Everything is either 1 or 0. Oden is either the greatest thing in the history of things or he's the worst. Nate McMillan is a 0. Brandon Roy is a 1. Oden used to be a 1, but now he's a 0. Rudy Fernadez is a 1. Rasheed Wallace was a 0 at the end of his time with the Blazers. etc. It's absolutely asinine. Give it a rest people. Oden will be excellent. He's already above average and he's still getting better.
Greg is struggling because this is the first time in his life that he hasn't owned his opponent on the court. It's obviously tough for him to deal with and it's creating confidence problems. The guy can turn things around, it just might take a while.
Obviously you haven't read the utterly insane posts classifying Roy as a 0. Many Portland fans do not deserve the team they have.
It's not the double-doubles that people are concerned about. It's the nights when he gets only 2 points and 1 rebound, or 4 points and 3 rebounds, or 6 points and 4 rebounds, and looks like he is barely interested in the game. For a journeyman center, those numbers are not surprising, but for a player of Oden's caliber, they are.
No one on this board has said Oden is "the worst" in anything. What's interesting is that people like you are classifying those who are concerned about Oden's performance into a simple stereotype. I'd say YOU are the one who is having trouble seeing the nuances of things.
