I know that Blazers fans love them some Oden and Lakers fans love them some Bynum so here in the neutral forum of NBA General, lets get it on. Make your predictions, state your case and take off the gloves.
Bynum is a good player, but I think Oden is going to be a better one. I see Oden averaging 15 ppg, 10 rpg and 2+ blocks a game in his first year. Oden will bring an intimidation factor to the Blazers and I could see them being a team capable of winning 50 games. Oden played quite well against the Gators big men in the championship game which just so happened to have a guy named Al Horford that had a great rookie year. I see Oden's being even better. Oden is so powerful and I Wouldn't doubt that he will be one of the most ferocious dunkers in the league
I can't see Oden going for 15ppg as a rookie. He's very unpolished as an offensive player. The 10 rpg and 2 bpg are by no means a stretch, but I think the 15ppg is. Bynum, by all means, should be at least a 13/10/2 player this year. As long as he's healthy all year, I foresee him having a huge year and probably a better year than Oden, seeing as how no one is going to pay as much attention to him as long as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are on the court.
Neither one will score a lot, look at the talent around them.. they'll benefit from open looks and good passes for easy dunks but both are expected to protect the paint and get rebounds, I think the extra year of training etc for Oden will be good for him and he'll have a strong year. I expect both to avg 9-11 rpg and 1.5-2.5 bpg. If Bynum isn't the better player next year as a Laker fan, I'd be saying uh-oh because he's had more NBA experience. I do believe Oden will surpass him in a couple of years, but both should be at the least, very good NBA centers.
I don't know if Oden will surpass Bynum as an offensive player. Bynum is already developing a pretty solid offensive game - granted he still has plenty of work to do - while Oden really dominates because of his physical prowess. However, I think Oden is going to be the better defensive player immediately out of the gate. Obviously I'm not disprespecting Bynum's defensive abilities, but Oden is just an absolute freak of nature on that end of the court.
It's been a long wait, but GO's microfracture could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. First, he's had the opportunity to scout the rest of the league without getting abused by other centers. Second, eventhough he had an NBA-ready body, he's added between 20-30 of solid muscle. He's also had all of his other issues addressed with kinesiology and through Pilates. He has one leg shorter than the other, and he's overcompensated for it. Now, his movements have been corrected. His injured leg is actually stronger than his healthy one. His broken wrist now has full movement and is completely healed. Bottom line, he's tanned, rested and ready. Third, because he couldn't jump or dunk, he spent the time when he wasn't working out developing two tools the folks in San Antonio know all-to-well: David Robinson's mid range jumper and Tim Duncan's bank shot. If he gets any of them down at even half the effectiveness of those two, he's going to be tough to defend. Fourth, Greg Oden is angry. He's been told that he's another Sam Bowie. Don't underestimate his nasty streak. He's an affable guy, but on the court he's a badass. You don't win as much as he had by not being competitive. But, let's get back to Bynum v. Oden, because this is going to be THE big man matchup of the next 10-15 years--what Walton/Jabbar and Shaq/Sabonis should have been. Bynum has developed into a really skilled offensive player. Motiviation had always been the knock on him, but he's shown that he's willing to work hard. He is physically VERY gifted. He has a huge frame--even bigger than Oden--and has filled it out well. He has to work on keeping his weight down, though, as he has a tendency to put on fat (he's a partial endomorph). Bynum's game is still around the hoop. If he develops even a game out to 10 feet, he'll be tough to stop. He has developed really nice post footwork. He's also helped by the fact that he has a finesse PF (Gasol), who prefers to operate facing the hoop out on the wing and of course the emphasis of defending the L*kers is aways going to be on #24. The Triangle is based on creating a specific shape on the floor between three players that will always leave a player open. Jackson altered it for Shaq to work on the low post, and Bynum has filled that role well. On defense, he stays home and looks to defend penetration and to crash the boards. He's bigger than most of his opponents, so he does a nice job grabbing boards. It will be interesting to see how he plays against Oden, who is almost as big as he is, but a lot stronger. Oden I've already talked about. Nate McMillan has said he's already stronger than Dwight Howard. Channing Frye says he's the strongest player in the NBA. Where he wants to go, he will get there. Oden will get most of his points on putbacks and FTs. He is developing some chemistry with Steve Blake on running the P&R. Right now, he's dunking everything in sight, as that's what the coaches want him to do. GO has the same kind of PF pairing as does Bynum with Aldridge and Frye, so the post will be his alone in which to operate. The other thing Oden has--which is hidden with his power game--is really soft hands and a nice touch. Check his FT shooting, which he can do with either hand. The ball has nice spin on it and his release gives him a nice arc. It will be the same with any of his jumpers. Right now, he dunks and has a fairly reliable jump hook, but he'll expand his repertoire as time goes on. On defense, he is a natural instinctual shot blocker, who is a quick leaper and can block with either hand. He's also strong enough to get most rebounds he goes after. I would like him to develop a Kevin-Love-like outlet pass as the Blazers will be able to really run with him crashing the boards. His strength also allows him to not be pushed around on the low post. Oden's biggest constraint will be his own agressiveness. He tries to block everything. As such, he commits a lot of goaltends and, most importantly, a LOT of fouls. I think he'll probably be only able to play 20-25 minutes a game because of foul trouble. Bottom line, Bynum and Oden are likely at the same level this year, but Oden has a much higher ceiling. The Blazers are also deeper at five than the Lakers which means Oden can take more chances. Let me be clear, I hate the L*kers more than Al Qaeda, but I'm also a basketball fan. And these two? It doesn't get much better for basketball junkies than watching these Bynum and Oden going at it for the next decade +.
I'm certainly looking forward to these two going at it next season. The NBA was at it's best when in the 80's because of all the dominant centers (Hakeem, Ewing, Kareem, The Admiral etc.) I think there's a potential for the league to be great again if this new group of young centers can stay hungry and develop the fierce rivalries I grew up with. The true elite centers right now are Yao and Howard. Right behind them you have a lot of talented giants in Oden, Bynum, Kaman, Chandler, & Biedrins. I watched a lot of Oden when he played at OSU, and he dominated both ends playing with a broken hand. Everytime someone mentions him the first comment they make is his size. Oden is a massive, powerful individual. With the current players in Portland, it looks like Oden's main role and impact will come on the defensive end. Joel P has been a solid center for the Blazers for the past few seasons, but he limits them on offense because of his poor free throw shooting and lack of a back to the basket game. I didn't see much out of Oden offensively at OSU, but he cleaned up on the offensive glass and most buckets resulted in dunks. Two other areas Oden struggled in was defending the pick and roll and also matching up with shorter, stockier players. The Wisconsin Badgers took Oden out of the game in their matchups by going small and forcing Oden to stray away from the basket on defense. Al Horford playing on a bum ankle got the better of Oden in their head to head match up. Oden got into early foul trouble and never recovered. I'm curious to see how McMillan integrates Oden into his rotations and if the organization takes their time with his development or rush him into becoming an impact player. Another factor for Oden will be his conditioning. Being his size will take it's toll and at some point he's going to hit the proverbial "rookie wall." I think Bynum will be more consistent than Oden when all is said and done because of the All-Stars around him, his experience and comfort level within the Triangle offense, and the ultimate motivation for today's athlete a BIG FAT PAY DAY.
I think Oden is a naturally intelligent man. He has a great sense of humor. Most people I know with that trait are emotional people, and anger is also an emotion. I want a guy who gets angry once in a while. I think he is driven and with his physical skills he is bound for greatness. Bynum is great to watch. Who doesn't love a guy who tries to dunk everything every time? I just see more smoothness in Greg's game and I hope he is just always a little better, just enough to beat the Lakers.
I liked watching Bynum this year before he got injured. I do like his game and think he is going to be good but not as good as Oden. I do think Oden might not match Bynum this year at least the first couple times they face each other. I think by the end of the year or for sure next year Oden will start to out play Bynum and it will only get worse for years to come.
oden will absolutely out perform bynums second season in the nba, 8/6/1, and should rival last seasons production of 13/10/2. as a rookie.
I think in the upcoming season, Bynum will be better than Oden due to the NBA experience, Oden's need to adjust to an NBA paced game (not that big a deal, but still present), and ability. I say ability because we all know that player's abilities get better after a year or two playing, just what they take from the experience. In the long run, I still think Bynum will be the better offensive player, but I see Oden being a DPOY potential, if not actually receiving the award. Granted I may not be the most qualified to speak on Oden, because I tend to only pay attention to college players when draft time and March Madness rolls around, but I do watch alot of Bynum (Yes, I'm the Rockets mod, but I'm a Laker fan as well as a Rockets fan, moreso Lakers because I live in Southern California all my life and watched them all my life). From what I've seen with Bynum, he is on the road to being a great offensive center, granted alot of his highlights are dunks, but its the little things that he does that make him a good scorer. He's developing a pretty solid low post game, and has soft hands. A great FT shooter and I don't think that it's impossible for him to jump maybe a short jumper. Again, I think both will be great though. We are looking at two of the top NBA Centers in a couple of years.
I highly expect Oden to blow that out of the water as well. To Bynum's credit though, his 2nd season in the league might have well been his first. He BARELY touched the court as a rookie and never really got an real type of burn until his 2nd year. Even then, once he hit the wall, his minutes went down. Oden is going to come in and be the starter from opening day. He's going to be getting 30+ minutes per game for the most part. Bynum got what, 18mpg as a 2nd year player, something close to that? I'd personally hope that Oden can outperform those numbers, considering he's going to be playing a lot more.
i think oden will be a great player if he is healthy, however i dont see him having a great season. this is going to be a learning season this year seeing as he has nothing to prove (remember he is still a rookie). so im going to pick bynum for this season (if he's healthy) but that could very well change in the next few seasons if not next season (as in 2009-2010)
everybody in the nba is a contract player. lebron is a contract player who convinced Dwade to become a contract player, yet lebron is the most valuable player in the league (not in terms of getting a reward but in term of team contributions). oden says all he wants to do is win, which is bullshit. he wants to play ball, win, and make shitloads of money and i guarantee you if he was offered 120 mil to play in new york he would do so in a heartbeat
But some guys have that will to win after they get paid. Bynum doesn't. Watch. You said he wants to ball, win, and make shitload of money. Bynum just wants to make shitload of money.
