Webster is a 4th year player. Learn the fucking game before posting. This was gonna be his break out year. 14-16 ppg.
After all the great wisdom you've shared with me about Utah, I fully expect them to lose tomorrow b/c Orlando a great team and Utah doesn't show up on the road. Boozer was averaging 22/11 in his 13 games b4 he went down....all without his stud PG feeding him the ball. There for throwing a 19 year old rookie big into the rotation and forcing an undersized back-up PF play big minutes, yet they're only half a game out of first place. Pack it up folks, we're done here
Oh Oden is important - this is a point I will argue with you. For the year Portland is a +5 in rebounding difference. Without Oden they are around +2. That doesn't seem like a big number but when you watch the game and see the other team getting three or four offensive rebounds in a row because no one can box out (or tip out) you realize how important Greg is to this team. Greg may 'only' get 7 rebounds in his 22 minutes a game but he tips so many more that people don't recognize. He keeps the balls alive and tips them towards teammates even when he has two guys on him and holding down an arm. It's pretty impressive to watch actually. Also as a team that is primarily jump-shooters that has little to no motion offense or cutters his post-presence, even at this raw stage, is invaluable to the team. The other team actually have to pay attention to him in the post, and often they will sag onto him or double team him simply because he is so big and strong. This leads to wide open jump shots for our again primarily jump-shooting team. I know to a lot of people he doesn't seem valuable just on his stats alone, but I assure you he is important. If Portland can find any way at all to be competent about getting him the ball in the post in the playoffs more and more people will realize just how important he is at this point. Hopefully.
How am I flip flopping?? I never said our players were better than the Utah players, but they were still VERY IMPORTANT to the team. You don't have to have the same stats as another player to be just as important to the team as him. I haven't flip flopped at all. You said Utah had injury problems. I said so have we. And we have. And it's overlooked because Roy/Nate have managed to hold this team together and keep us on a winning path. Webster's injury forced us to play a teenage rookie who wasn't supposed to play. Oden injury leaves us with no backup center. These are costly injuries.
Thats fine and dandy but I have a question for you... Who has been more important this year for POR, Joel or Greg? ...that was my point
Webster gets to play the lucky role of SF packed in corner that hardly ever moves. This is a signature McMillan role. It's pretty neat to be honest. Although clearly he is not near as valuable as Deron, Boozer or AK47.
He was 10 ppg in his THIRD YEAR. THIS YEAR, he would've been around 14-16 ppg. Young players get better each year. Look at Roy.
This Speed guy is comparing him to Boozer and he's missed half the games of Boozer.... Also I keep hearing how Batum was "forced" to play and is a 19 yr old rookie, here's some news for you, Kosta Koufos played just as much and guess what...he's a 19 year old rookie too! This is what happened when Millsap was moved to starter or when Memo was out, so don't be throwing this Batum BS around.
DaRizzle- what you're not realizing is the COST of the injuries. When there is no Oden, it means we have to play Frye. That is a big drop off. When there is no Webster, it means we have to play a guy who wasn't supposed to play at all this year. With Utah, they had Millsap to fill in for Boozer very admirably. There were even people who considered Millsap for an All Star berth this season.
Yes, since Webster is just as great as Brandon Roy....too bad this is just a prediction, not quite a fact
I think they have been equally important. Joel is important because he has been able to play in all the games and has been the best backup center in the league in my opinion. But he also forces the team to generally play 4-5 when they're on offense. Greg, while suffering some unfortunate injuries, has been just as important because he improves our rebounding and keeps the defense honest when he is on the floor. I think the other teams respect/fear Greg's presence more than they do Joel's.
Kingspeed, If we were to sit down and have a trivia battle about the game I would own you. You think you know more about the game than you really do. . . *cough* Devin Harris *cough*
I never compared Oden to Boozer or anything like that. I merely said that we have had a ton of injuries as well. And we have. So don't whine and cry so much. Injuries are part of the game. At the end of the season, all that matters is your Win-Loss record and not your Excuses record. Lakers didn't have Bynum to battle the Celtics last season and that probably hurt them, but the title still went to Boston. Excuses don't get you rings.
Oh I don't think Oden is as important as Boozer is to Utah based on consistency and experience. I have said since December that I think Utah will probably win the division once they get healthy; and that it has been a true testament to the will of the Jazz and the coaching of Jerry Sloan that they have stuck right in the middle of this playoff race even while being decimated by injuries.
