Nate on why Oden didn't play and Oden's response

Oden didn't play in the fourth quarter. He played 13:23 against the Nets, finishing with two points and one rebound. "Pick and roll defense," McMillan explained. "We just couldn't contain them with a big lineup. When we had matchup of Greg trying to guard Devin. ... It was a tough matchup." ... Oden took the short night in stride. "Of course I want to play, but when we win, it doesn't really matter. But I want to be out there, I want to help the team win, I want to contribute. But a lot of times the matchups. ... a lot of times it just doesn't work."

Can we address this so that Oden can play?? Or does he have to sit out all games against quick point guards?

 

Let Greg bake.

 

Oden just needs to regain some quickness. Jensen has him looking like Shaq in the upper body, when the reality is that Greg was never a bulky guy prior to his injury.

His body is not the body of the player that was drafted.

 

Does anyone here know if Greg is still lifting weights on game day? I use to lift weights back in the olden days and found that it wasn't a good idea on game day because it takes tended to slow down my reflexes a bit. It could explain why some days he looks sharp and other days he looks like he's moving in molasses.

 

the oden excuses get better every game. meanwhile durant is beating utah.

roy, aldridge, durant...wow thats scary

roy, aldridge, oden......crickets

 

Mixum, why do you keep making these ignorant stupid assed posts?

 

Durant wouldn't be that good here either. Nate would have a leash on Durant's shots.

 

Because he needs the attention. My guess is in his real life he's one of those people who is never noticed.

 

God I hope Jay Jensen and Bobby Medina aren't making such a simple mistake.

 

Amen, Brotha!!! FINALLY, someone that understands!!!

 

Ouch. That's a little harsh, don't you think?

 

Not to troll, but you do have to agree that Durant >> Oden so far. A lineup of Bayless/Roy/Durant/Alderage/Pryz is pretty scary. If Oden pans out then it'll be okay, but what does that mean. We thought Oden was the next Dwight Howard in his dominance (you know, a top 3 type of center). Do we think he'll become the next Shaq anymore?

 

durant has been the better player thus far but at the time oden was the right call. oden was the best prospect to come into the league since lebron.

 

Addresses Oden playing more...........

Stop fucking switching on every pick.



Blake and Sergio can't seem to figure out how to get through a pick to save their lives. That's the problem. The other problem is week side rotation.

Actually there is one more problem and that is Greg still doesn't know how to make it tough to score without fouling.

 

Pick and roll defense is tough for any big man. Oden just needs to play defense with his feet more than his hands. He'll be fine.

 

I mentioned this in another thread, but...

I would like to see us play some zone with Greg in the game with the starters.

We don't use the zone much with the starters, but this would be a way to get Greg some more time on the floor and not let the other teams directly attack him with the pick-and-roll.

If he can get some more time on the court, he will adapt to the speed of the game, and then he'll be able to handle the pick-and-roll better.

 

At the time of the draft a lot of people said Durant would have more immediate impact, being more of a scorer, while Oden would be the one to win championships in 4-5 years. KP said Durant would win scoring titles, Oden would win NBA titles.

 

wouldn't it be hilarious if everybody put MIXUM on their ignore list like HCP and I?

 

He is also on my ignore list and has been for a while.

 

How many plays did Portland run for him last night? 1? 2? Certainly not 3. It's so frustrating watching him not get the ball when he's under the basket. He clearly had a huge advantage last night and yet we never delivered the ball to him.

As for pick and roll defense, well, that's the tradeoff in having such a big center. Guys like Yao and Shaq and Sabonis always get exposed on it. You make teams pay on the other end. If they are taking 44% shots on pick and roll jumpers, and Oden is taking 55% shots on dunks and short hooks, I'll take that trade off every night.