I don't doubt that Oden will be a great big man eventually but I just don't buy into this crap that hes going to come in and dominate the NBA. I don't see how you can go from averaging 15.7/9.6 in college to completely dominating the NBA less than a year later. And I know people argue that he was injured for a large portion of the season but I did the math and his averages in the last 10 games of the season were 16.4 ppg/9.8 rpg/2.7 bpg, not that much improved from the season averages. Hes not going to have such a huge size/athleticism matchup in the NBA and had problems staying out of foul trouble in college. Landry dropped 24 pts and 13/9 on him, Hibbert dropped 19 on him, Horford got 11/11 and 18/12. Those are NBA quality guys and yet you think in Oden's first game he'll dominate the best center in the world? F*cking crazy IMO, I'll take you up on your offer VC with the sig bet (though I don't know how to make sigs I'm sure someone will make an embarrassing one for me).
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't doubt that Oden will be a great big man eventually but I just don't buy into this crap that hes going to come in and dominate the NBA. I don't see how you can go from averaging 15.7/9.6 in college to completely dominating the NBA less than a year later. And I know people argue that he was injured for a large portion of the season but I did the math and his averages in the last 10 games of the season were 16.4 ppg/9.8 rpg/2.7 bpg, not that much improved from the season averages. Hes not going to have such a huge size/athleticism matchup in the NBA and had problems staying out of foul trouble in college. </div> same here....he's not going to be some incredible physical specimen in the NBA, because there are other guys that are just as big and athletic.
<div class="quote_poster">Run BJM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't doubt that Oden will be a great big man eventually but I just don't buy into this crap that hes going to come in and dominate the NBA. I don't see how you can go from averaging 15.7/9.6 in college to completely dominating the NBA less than a year later. And I know people argue that he was injured for a large portion of the season but I did the math and his averages in the last 10 games of the season were 16.4 ppg/9.8 rpg/2.7 bpg, not that much improved from the season averages. Hes not going to have such a huge size/athleticism matchup in the NBA and had problems staying out of foul trouble in college. Landry dropped 24 pts and 13/9 on him, Hibbert dropped 19 on him, Horford got 11/11 and 18/12. Those are NBA quality guys and yet you think in Oden's first game he'll dominate the best center in the world? F*cking crazy IMO, I'll take you up on your offer VC with the sig bet (though I don't know how to make sigs I'm sure someone will make an embarrassing one for me).</div> College stats don't mean much at all, and you're not taking into consideration the tempo that Ohio State played at (slow as hell --- typical Big Ten style) and the minutes Oden logged. Not to mention that a lot of teams played a conservative, avoidance style when they'd meet up with the Buckeyes. Most teams tried to do everything possible to not feed the ball into the post and would change their gameplan to where they played almost exclusively on the perimeter when possible. Besides, the statistics you posted from other players are out of context and misleading. Let me put them into context. Landry's 13/9 game was nothing special, especially considering that it took him 35 minutes to post those numbers and 15 shots, whereas in 21 minutes, fighting ticky-tack reffs and foul trouble, Oden posted 14 points and 9 rebounds, on only 7 shots. I watched that game, and he barely played, yet Ohio State still got the win, and he still, with all those factors considered, outplayed Landry. As for this 24 point game, in the same game, Oden posted 17 points (8-13 FG), 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks in less time, and his team won 63-52. It's also important to realize that Purdue was the lone Big Ten team which pushed the tempo and ran with the ball, something Oden was not used to, and yet he still outplayed Landry. You also forgot to mention that Landry only pulled down 2 rebounds in the game (compared to Oden's 19). As for the Florida games, in the first game, Oden was only seeing action for the fifth time all season, and if you had watched, he was unable to even use his right arm. He wasn't integrated into the offense, he only had one arm. Are you really going to hold that against him? That's probably the most extreme case of Oden's injury keeping him out of action, and you're citing it as if he were fully healthy. As for the second game, where Horford posted 18/12, Oden posted 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Furthermore, he wasn't even guarding Horford for most of the game. They put him on Noah, and he absolutely shut Noah down (1-3 FG, 8 pts). Offensively, they kept trying to come at him with Horford, and he'd be able to shake him off of picks and switch himself off on Noah, who he proceeded to dominate. And lastly, how's this for statistics - Greg Oden lost only three games in his entire college basketball career, all to #1 ranked teams, all games on the road. He has yet to lose a home game, or even to an unranked team for that matter.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Landry's 13/9 game was nothing special, especially considering that it took him 35 minutes to post those numbers and 15 shots, whereas in 21 minutes, fighting ticky-tack reffs and foul trouble, Oden posted 14 points and 9 rebounds, on only 7 shots. I watched that game, and he barely played, yet Ohio State still got the win, and he still, with all those factors considered, outplayed Landry. As for this 24 point game, in the same game, Oden posted 17 points (8-13 FG), 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks in less time, and his team won 63-52. It's also important to realize that Purdue was the lone Big Ten team which pushed the tempo and ran with the ball, something Oden was not used to, and yet he still outplayed Landry. You also forgot to mention that Landry only pulled down 2 rebounds in the game (compared to Oden's 19). As for the Florida games, in the first game, Oden was only seeing action for the fifth time all season, and if you had watched, he was unable to even use his right arm. He wasn't integrated into the offense, he only had one arm. Are you really going to hold that against him? That's probably the most extreme case of Oden's injury keeping him out of action, and you're citing it as if he were fully healthy. As for the second game, where Horford posted 18/12, Oden posted 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Furthermore, he wasn't even guarding Horford for most of the game. They put him on Noah, and he absolutely shut Noah down (1-3 FG, 8 pts). Offensively, they kept trying to come at him with Horford, and he'd be able to shake him off of picks and switch himself off on Noah, who he proceeded to dominate. And lastly, how's this for statistics - Greg Oden lost only three games in his entire college basketball career, all to #1 ranked teams, all games on the road. He has yet to lose a home game, or even to an unranked team for that matter.</div> I know how good Oden is, but the point I'm trying to make is that these guys, who will be in the NBA, didn't struggle all that much offensively against Oden. Landry, Horford, Hibbert, etc. all did fairly well against Oden offensively. Then why would he all of a sudden come in and shut down Yao in his first game as a pro? Its nonsensical.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I've gotten into this argument a million times, so to save time, I'm just going to quote myself on this one. 'Many casual fans got the wrong impression of Oden this season, because a torn ligament in his right wrist kept him sidelined for the first month of play. Not only did this hurt Oden from a conditioning standpoint, but it also took him a while to be integrated into the Buckeyes? offense. In fact, it wasn?t until their January 13th match-up with Tennessee that Oden really showed what he was capable of in a dominating 24 point, 15 rebound performance. Make no mistake though, his offensive game is a lot stronger than the experts let on; he?ll be able to anchor a team?s offense right off the bat. One of the great things about Oden is that even if he?s not touching the ball, he?s changing the way defenses approach his team, like Shaq and Duncan before him, and although he wasn?t a great passer coming into Ohio State, he really developed his skills as a distributor and his ability to pass out of double teams in his freshman season, and should be a headache for teams trying to double down on him in the post.' But if you want to agree to disagree, I'll take a sig bet from anyone on this board. How's this, Yao gets held under 20/10 or Oden puts up 20/10. If either of those happen, I get to choose your sig for a week. If neither happens, I'll take your sig for a week.</div> I will take that sig bet. I guess I should start making the sig.
<div class="quote_poster">Run BJM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I know how good Oden is, but the point I'm trying to make is that these guys, who will be in the NBA, didn't struggle all that much offensively against Oden. Landry, Horford, Hibbert, etc. all did fairly well against Oden offensively. Then why would he all of a sudden come in and shut down Yao in his first game as a pro? Its nonsensical.</div> I just explained the circumstances behind each of those scenarios. Horford, for example, was never even guarded by Oden. Noah was, and he only put up 8 points on 1-3 FG. Hibbert is the only one of your examples I didn't address, but the Georgetown game is probably the clearest example in Oden's career of the reffs calling ticky-tack fouls. Oden only played 20 minutes, and it was when Oden was on the bench for the other 28 minutes that most of Hibbert's scoring occured. When Oden was on the floor, Hibbert was neutralized. Also, you're not presenting the other side of the story. What about all the players who were shut down by Oden?
Should be real interesting, because there's some good storylines. The next big thing (Oden) vs. the current big thing (Yao). Luis Scola's NBA debut. The first regular season game for the Oden/Aldridge duo. T-Mac playing after a depressing first round exit. Steve Francis vs. the team that bought him out. I'll definitely be watching. And for all the Rockets fans getting all excited about the prospect of Yao outplaying Greg Oden, try to remember Yao's NBA debut. I think Oden will have make a decent first impression in this game, but even if he doesn't it doesn't mean much in the long run.
<div class="quote_poster">Master Shake Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Right Now Yao>Oden 1-2 years Oden>>>>>Yao</div> That has to be one of the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard. Am I the only Rockets fan that's offended by this?? 1-2 years?? Try 5 years buddy. Yao is averaging 25ppg, 9rpg (weakest link), shooting 51FG%, 86% FT, and 2bpg. Oden will never ever in his primest year get even near the scoring ability Yao has. The only category he'll surpass Yao is on the defensive end and rebounding. That's it. When Yao's past his prime, then Oden can be the 2nd best big man in the NBA, right behind Dwight Howard. Dominating the defensive end is one thing, but if you're unable to produce at least 15ppg with good FG% then that's not dominating offensively. That's the same case as Okafor - one of the best defensive big man in the league but nobody thinks he's a dominating player offensively. Right now that's where I'm putting Oden: Another Okafor with more potential. I find it absurd to whoever said Oden will be a TOP 10 BIG MAN in the league in his FIRST year??? You guys need to get off Oden's balls seriously. He's gonna be a great rookie, but he definitely isn't the next Shaq. Shaq is much much better than Oden offensively. Oden will not be a top 10 big man in his rookie year. Here's why: 1. Yao Ming 2. Tim Duncan 3. Dwight Howard 4. Amare 5. Eddy Curry 6. Elton Brand 7. CBosh 8. Boozer 9. Okur 10. Camby I know someone's gonna start crying and point out that Oden's gonna be so much better than Okur, Curry, etc, but please read. I said he's not gonna be in the top 10 his ROOKIE YEAR. Now I realize this list has some players that are FCs / PFs and doesn't play the same way as Oden, but the guy said "big man" and by definition, "big man" = C, PF, FCs.
Btw VC, I'll take that sig bet too. Like the other guy, I have no idea how to make a sig either but I'm sure that'll be easilty taken care of
<div class="quote_poster">SupraJames Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Btw VC, I'll take that sig bet too. Like the other guy, I have no idea how to make a sig either but I'm sure that'll be easilty taken care of </div> I was just kidding with the sig bet. You could take VC on though.
I don't think Oden will average more than 12 points his rookie season. How the hell is he going to score 20 on Yao?
Nice scoop Hunter, our home opener is indeed against Portland. We open the season against LA and then Utah. We have some tough competition early, the Rockets better be ready for it. Rockets 2007-2008 Schedule November is absolute hell for us. Phoenix twice, San Antonio twice, Dallas twice (including a Back-to-Back with the Mavs and Spurs). What's good is if we get through November, the rest of our season shouldn't be nearly as hard, especially playing the top 3 teams in the West twice already. IIRC, we'll have Phoenix at least 1 more time, and the Spurs and Mavs two more times over a long period of time. COME ON ROCKETS, GET THROUGH NOVEMBER. EDIT: For a quick recap of months: November = ouch December = not too bad (ugly roadtrip) January = nice (we could win all of these games, all the hard ones are at home) February = very nice (we could definitely win all of these games) March = not too bad April = good test for playoffs We should do most of our damage in winter. Which is good, especially if we can pick our stride up and do well in March, it would be ideal for us to run into the playoffs on a high.
Being both a Laker fan and a Rockets fan I will say this about the opener: I'm really going to enjoy watching the game BTW, December til the end of the year is actually really nice. The difficult games are spread apart and fall in here and there between other games. Look for a MAYBE rough start, depending on how the new offense and whatnot does against playoff-bounds teams, but after that I can see us getting 60+ wins to be honest with you all. What do you all think?
<div class="quote_poster">DynastYWarrioR6 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Why can't we all just get along? lol</div> You should buy a Rockets Jersey and a Lakers Jersey and mesh them. Have on the front Rockets 1 and on the back Bryant 24. The ultimate 2 team lover
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Rockets are starting the season off 0-1!</div> Do I hear a sig bet? Shape can finally get out of his 2 year old sig after Rockets mash on Lakers. Do I hear a bet shape??
<div class="quote_poster">Master Shake Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You should buy a Rockets Jersey and a Lakers Jersey and mesh them. Have on the front Rockets 1 and on the back Bryant 24. The ultimate 2 team lover</div> I should be original and have the front say Rockers and the back McBryantao with the number 11241
<div class="quote_poster">DynastYWarrioR6 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I should be original and have the front say Rockers and the back McBryantao with the number 11241</div> McBryao sounds better.
