Damn I sure hope so. I am getting tired of everyone second guessing KP and Blazers, picking Oden over Durant.
Honestly, the replacement refs were horrible. HORRIBLE. Not that I could do any better, and it's a hard job, but a lot of last night's fouls were utter BS. And there were a lot of them -- like an extra 20 or so. Roy was also benched with fouls for most of the game, and some consider him a pretty good player who pretty much never fouls out.
Suit yourself. All summer, people have been trying to tell me Oden struggled last season because he wasn't in shape. I say bull. What they consider a "defense" of Oden, I consider an unfair attack! Whatever his flaws, the kid is not lazy. He *was* in shape last season. Many big men naturally add bulk as they mature. His struggles were mental, and his constant foul troubles were a big part of that. Fix the foul problems, and he has a better chance of staying mentally confident and focused.
He said he didn't have his legs last season because of the recovery process from microfracture. He even mentioned he wasn't allowed to do squats until this summer so I imagine there was a great deal of leg work he was not able to participate in. The people who say he wasn't in shape last year aren't attacking him nor calling him lazy (except maybe two), and I doubt they question his work ethic. Coming back from microfracture takes time, and almost every player who has had it said it takes two years to regain your lost athleticism. Greg did add bulk in his year recovering from microfracture, but the problem was that most of his bulk was in his upper body - an upper body that was now heavier and asked legs that were recovering and had minimal work (see squat exercise example) to get into shape to carry that new weight. He was out of shape last year, but that is because of the surgery, the added mass to his upper body, and the limits the team and doctors put on his leg exercises. That's not an attack on Greg's work ethic, those are just facts about the kind of surgery he had.
Oden played amazing and we all need to be excited about it!!! He is living up to the hype now. 35 MPG and we win rings!
Have you been able to watch any of the games so far this year? I haven't. All I have seen are a few highlights of GO. But those few highlights show quickness, agility and fluidity that he couldn't have hoped to do last year. It has been pretty consistent that players don't have their athleticism back the next season after MF surgery. The fact that GO looks like he has a lot of it back this year and didn't last year agrees well with the other data that has been out there. Why you continue to think that GO's rehab from the surgery should be so much different and faster than others' is beyond me. There is no doubt in my mind, and it is pretty clear to most other people that have seen him play, that he didn't have his legs and athleticism last year. THAT is was contributed mostly to his fouling, as well as just playing in his first season of NBA games.
Watching the first game this year it's obvious that Oden is moving so much better. He's fluid on the floor. Some of the moves last nite was incredible. People mention that behind the backboard move, it was so sweet watching it live. I was on the end of the court that the Blazers were in the second half so I had a great seat to see it. Oden is moving way better than last year. While his confidence is much better, it's probably the other way around. He is able to do stuff he couldn't do last year which is a boost to his confidence.
Sounded like Oden beasted for a solid 16 minutes. Too bad he couldn't stay on the floor longer. However, before then he'd been doing quite well. I can't wait for the regular season to start.
