I am SO bummed that he's injured!! I'm not angry at him, or anything like that, it's just that I was SO looking for our team to get out the gates in successful fashion. Much of that I anticipated would be because of his presence. His absence has left a HUGE void. Nothing against Joel, but I see more and more of the same.......teams taking it inside at will on us. It's so frustrating to me! I almost don't want to watch any games until Oden returns. OK, almost. Please, please, hurry back, Greg!!!
I think Joel is doing pretty darned well. Especially since he seems to be one of the few people who care to think that we might actually miss a jump shot.
I want Martell out there too. Just don't feel confident at the 3. I opted for happy hour instead of the game last night. If Oden was there, no chance I'd miss it.
What kills me is that I'm actually cringing when they take Joel out of the line up . . . has it come to that? Do we need Oden so badly that Nate is forced to play Joel 37 minutes against Okur and company and Blazers lack interior defense without him? I think the answer is yes. We need Oden back! (I guess that statement assumes we had him at one time)
I'll say I was initially very disappointed, but now he is sort of out-of-sight out-of-mind. The latest report has him still injured and not making the progress they hoped, and upon reading it, it had no effect on me. My walls are up and I refuse to have him break my heart again! But seriously, he's starting to become an after-thought the more games he misses. Thankfully, Batum and Rudy have made the games interesting. Otherwise, they look like a carbon copy of last year's team, and from an entertainment standpoint, we've been there and done that.
Ouch . . . but there is a lot of truth here. Problem is if the Blazers start thinking along these lines (Oden=?), then they have to bring in some muscle. Because right now, without Oden, this has to be one of the softest teams in the league.
Agree 100%. For all the talk about upgrading the 1 and 3 spots, I think getting some interior toughness AND scoring is more critical. It was our biggest weakness last year and continues to be this year. It doesnt have to be an earth-shattering acquistion, just someone bigger, better, and more dependable than Ike. At least so we have the option if need be and insurance for Oden when he's out(injury or fouls).
Joel had a great night last night in my opinion. Also, I remember some people on here a while back talking about trading Joel 'cause we didn't need him anymore!
If we had traded him, what would our record be? I think it's hard to argue that we "need" a backup center like Joel if we lose with him when our start center is out, anyway. Ed O.
I was really looking forward to Joel anchoring the defense of the 2nd unit, and tightening it up. I thought that was going to be a major piece of the puzzle this year, to have a shot blocker/rebounder in at all times. That can still happen. Just not right now.
By that logic, it would be hard to argue that we "need" Roy, or LMA, or anybody of that level. If we didn't have LMA, what would our record be? Nobody knows, but it couldn't be THAT much worse. We still "need" LMA.
No, my logic does not lead to that. If Oden is healthy, Joel is coming off the bench. That is the default/expected scenario, and it makes Joel more expendable than he'd be if Oden were not around. People who argued for Joel being traded were anticipating Oden being around. The Blazers' slow start doesn't demonstrate that Joel is any more valuable now than he was in the offseason. It doesn't make anyone else more valuable either, but that's not relevant to a discussion of Joel IMO. Ed O.
Since the season has started, and what we have observed in the games, I think Joel is much more valuable than what was thought in the off season. I say that because Oden got hurt as soon as he stepped on the floor, which shows that the idea of expecting Oden to play 30 mins a game is not something you can pencil in. LA was said to have beefed up in the off season, yet there really hasn't been any sign in the games of LA playing a more physical game down low. Ike hasn't been called on to help enforce the middle. Can't look at Frye to do this either. And with all the quality bigs in the league and Oden walking around in a boot cast, Joel is a must on this team . . . 37 mins in a tight game last night shows how much the Blazers need him right now. Maybe it was a misanalysis on how much you can count of Oden this year, but Joel's value to this team right now is huge . . . and I don't think many were thinking that this summer.
Here you go brother! http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/11/odens_status_in_doubt_for_blaz.html
Really, the only game we've seen our true potential was that first preseason game at home against Sacramento with a full squad. And being there at that game, it was just downright scary our substitution patterns and who we could bring in off the bench when Oden/Martell were starting. It just seemed like we could not miss a beat with any subs. Having Oden and Martell out has really hurt us I think. Even though we didn't have Blake or Frye in that Sacramento game either, those two have been a little underwhelming in the early going and could easily be replaced.
