its funny how everyone gets so surprised when oden has a good game yet say hes not a bust. this is what a first round 1st overall pick is SUPPOSED TO DO and it means nothing until he does it consistently vs good centers/good teams. oden played greta tonight, like we have hoped BUT i wanna see him do it vs guys like duncan shaq okur and nene. then he has arrived. not vs gadzuric or whatever the hell his name is. we should just sign tyronne lue btw.
That high-low between he and Aldridge was a thing of beauty. I know teams will scout it and try to take it away, but if they can get that going even a little bit then good things are going to happen.
That they actually passed it to him from more than one spot on the floor? Yes. It's amazing when someone other than the point guard is willing to pass it into the post. Ed O.
Which first pick overall averaged 24/15 again? This is a good game for almost any player in the NBA... Dwight Howard is one of the few big guys who could remotely expect to do that (although other players clearly are capable). It's kinda silly to expect that from the first overall pick, even if he didn't miss a year because of knee surgery. Ed O.
Final tally: Sergio +18 Jerryd -1 Sorry, I couldn't resist. Bayless looked all wound up again tonight. Committed some stupid fouls which took him out of the game. Someone needs to slip him a valium or something.
Exactly Nik. I love that high/low and I'm glad that Nate is actually working on ways of involving the big guy more.
my thoughts on game.... oden was great but has to do night in and night out. roy is obviously still very hurt. he has been dreadful 2 games in a row. infact he was almost a decoy out there tonight. maybe he really was. well it worked but it wont vs the cavs. even though we scored 100... our offense just seems like it has way too many problems scoring consistently. The other problem is... we just never finish easy point blank shots. it kills us so much! sergio outplayed bayless by a mile. you likely wont hear that again in the same sentence...ever! I have to be fair though. Sergio looked okay but cant shoot worth piss. how great would jefferson look for us. did we really turn down him for zach? good god what a mistake. instead we are stuck with frye who is teh nicest cheerleader you will ever meet. Aldridge hitting that jumper is a thing of beauty. MY BIGGEST CONCERN....WHY DO SCRUBS OFF THE BENCH ALWAYS SCORE AGAINST US? It happened in the bobcats game and tonight both early in the 2nd. It seems like they always make these tough shots. anyway..theres no way we beat the cavs...if we do...i wont post till monday.
ugh, give it up. Bayless was relentless on D on got called for 2 ticky-tack fouls. Not his best game, but I love how he gets to the line at will.
I'm going to go place my bets now. Thank you for this info. Your basketball mind is one of a kind. Again, thank you.
I think it's safe to say Pritchard had a meeting with Coach McMillan once he got back to Portland about the usage of Greg Oden.
I'm actually curious how many first overall picks have put up 24/15 for a single game in their rookie season.
Cwazy stat of the night: 43 Blazers misses and 19 offensive boards ... that's a 44% offensive rebound rate for those keeping score at home! That is unbelievable!
The +/- story debunked: Rudy Fernandez - 6/9 for 13 points and -3 +/- Brandon Roy - 4/13 and 13 points for a +30 Travis Outlaw was 5-10, 18 points, 8 boards, and 2 steals...... -1 in the +/- LMA was 8-13 for 22 points, 9 boards, 5 assists... only +7 So I'm sorry... the +/- is worthless imo.
This win feels good, although it wasn't always attractive. That one game losing streak was the end of the world in here. Now rainbows are overhead and we're dancing through fields of flowers. Really happy to see Oden basically win it for us. Yes his stats were great but there where also several times he hustled and tipped a rebound to another Blazer, and many times he effected shots without getting a block. Wish he could bring that effort every night, but like a lot of young guys, consistency just isn't there yet. Travis is another guy, just think if he'd try to rebound like that every night. Bayless didn't do as well, but Sergio did better -- again consistency isn't there. Overall, the team is so young, consistency will haunt them all year, but so far we have so many weapons that if enough of them are on during any one game we got a good shot. Sure hope Roy starts feeling better, he sure didn't look 100% tonight. Aldridge was great.
But in fairness, I did too, and I'm a state away and was sitting down watching the game on my computer. Sergio couldn't fight his way through a 10 hour gust of wind.
