Seriously, what is it with the Oden-hatred from the referees? Yes he's clumsy. Yes he really does foul a lot. But not THAT much, and he gets as much as he gives, without the call. Is it his hangdog expression? His refusal to bitch and moan? Will David Stern have a word with the refs, or is Portland too small market to care about actually keeping him on the court? Is this the referee equivalent of rookie hazing, or is it because of the small-man-favoring rules?
he won't begin to get those calls until nate stands up for him like phil jackson did shaq. nate needs to complain to the refs, to the media, to anybody who will listen that oden's getting mugged and screwed on the calls. he needs to protect his player so he can play more aggressively instead of more timidly so not to pick up fouls.
He will if Nate doesn;t start to stand up for him. Oden gets hit a lot, but it's not called because Greg is strong and plays through it. It is Nate's job to jump around on the sidelines like a monkey and get a T. He needs to let the refs know to call it both ways.
Oden does makes from 1 to 3 dumb fouls a game. The refs call 2-3 undeserving fouls on him per game. If Oden reduces the first, I'm sure the refs will reduce the 2nd, and he'll be able to play entire games without foul trouble.
Excuses. That's all Blazer fans have for Oden. Blame the refs for his stupid fouls, blame the injuries for Oden not being able to score on anything other than a wide open dunk, blame the coaches for not calling plays for him, blame the other players for not force feeding him the ball. Oden is not skilled. Oden is clumbsy. Oden is a PROJECT. I said this from day ONE. Save yourself the grief and come to terms with it.
If Oden reduces the first, due to the unspoken need to initiate young big men, the refs will increase the second. I haven't the slightest idea when the refs will treat Oden like they do other players. Perhaps never.
When it comes to Oden... he needs to catch the ball deeper in the paint so he's close enough for contact, easy basket, and the foul. That has as much to do with the entry pass as Oden though. If the first pass in doesn't work feed it to him again. That's how good teams do it! Once Odens timing gets better and he feels comfortable with the ball, his game will expand.
All that's true, but still doesn't affect the fact that he gets called for fouls that nobody else would at the moment. And I actually think that the team should run a lot more pick and roll and not so much post up until he learns a few more post skills. His hook shot is UGLY.
