So Oden not only scored and rebounded well, but did anyone realize he led the team in assists and steals? As for the assist numbers last night I watched the game again and noticed that while we only had 14 assists, 22 of our baskets were created from passing. Stuff like Aldridge, Travis and Oden taking extra dribbles to get in a better possition cancelled out some assists. Great effort by them not to settle for jumpers as much.
hes looked great 2 games in a row. heres a little something teh boston guy said in the post game....i think it was tommy h. Perk was getting moved all over, not even vs shaq has he had trouble like tonight vs oden. Something to that effect. They finished with saying "hes only 20" ... and a eerie silence in the studio.
Once Greg learns how to use his body, and get possition he will be a force. He also did a great job of playing off the defender on the perimeter tonight. So many times this season he has come up too tight and been whistled for a foul on the drive, Tonight instead of sliding sideways he slid away from the offensive player towards the basket. Kepping his man in front of him, but not letting them get to the rim. Of course this is a mute point if the Blazers would stop switching every time down the floor on defense.
I think something changed in the way he's going about blocks too, I dont think he got any last game, but i've noticed in the last two games, that he doesnt try to just hammer the ball when its coming his way, perhaps that's keeping him outta foul trouble...
Things are finally slowing down for Greg especially on the offensive end. He's being more patient with his offensive moves. Instead of immediately dribbling he is waiting for the 2nd defender to clear before he starts his offensive moves. Loved his face up shot, haven't seen that all year. Also love that he is able to shoot left handed that is going to be a great weapon. On a down side I'm really tired of our defensive scheme of switching on every pick. This creates so many mismatches and puts Greg in an uncomfortable position of trying to guard quicker players. He picks up 2-3 fouls a game on these switches and seems like a poor coaching decision.
I recall after the injury in game 1 against the Lakers saying that we aren't going to see flashes of the real Greg Oden until January. I think this was Greg's best game. He was a force and stayed out of foul trouble. Hopefully, more to come.
Greg learning to stay out of foul trouble is a great thing on several levels. Perhaps my favorite is that he can save his fouls to strategically lay some wood on someone from time to time, just to let them know there are consequences to their actions, if you know what I mean. The Blazers will be such a better team when they develop an itty bitty mean streak.
I think what I love the most is when a opponent comes in to make a shot and then sees Oden and just changes his mind abruptly! I love it!
that shove by oden, to put Ray on his ass, was by far, the coolest thing i've seen from the blazers in a while! (except for Roy's 52 pointer)
Greg looked to me last night to be not only a monster out there but a leader. He wanted the ball and Greg knew there was nothing the Celtics could do about it!! This was the Greg we all hoped would be!!!! The thought of how good Greg can make LA and Roy and visa verca makes me smile all day long!! Our boys took out the champs without our allstar, and them fully staffed!!! Great feeling!!!! NICE GAME GREG!!!!!!
Yup, Greg was really showing emotion out there. He was pissed, playing aggressive, and was actually smiling after Outlaw dunked over KG. He was being a leader. And with the sudden emergence of Oden, I wonder what sparked the passion last night? Was it the thuggery of the Celtics? Was it the absence of Roy? Will he start to bring that aggressiveness every night even after Roy comes back? I hope so.
I think the most important thing the Blazers can do every game is feed Greg often and early in the first quarter! Once he's in going, LA and Roy's life become wide open and easy. The real question is will Blake and Roy be that patient in the first to let Greg establish?
It seemed like he was moving better, too. This might seem like a weird thing to notice but it looked like he was taking the ball out more quickly after a made hoop... he just seemed more spry than he has most games in the past. Whether it's mental for him or he's actually getting into better shape I dunno, but I like that it's happening! Ed O.
I know it. Our guards just aren't physical enough to fight through picks. You end up with Oden/Pryz on the perimeter. Not to mention, as was the case last night, scenrios like KG posting up Blake. We are consistently in foul trouble - it seems like we are always in the penalty with 3-6 minutes to go in the quarter. I don't know how this can change with guys like Blake, Sergio, Rudy, etc. on the perimeter b/c they just aren't physically strong guys. Setting a pick on one of them is like taking candy from a child.
I noticed that too! That hesistancy he's had under the basket when he's thinking too much was gone. You could see he was not questioning if he should take the shot or defer to another player, it looked much more natural. He seemed to WANT to take the team on his back... it was a beautiful thing.
Bingo. I noticed that and commented on it after the Toronto game. The Blazers went out of their way to feed Oden the ball early and get him involved in the offense. This accomplishes several things. First, it works. It gets the Blazers some easy buckets off high percentage shots and that's always a good thing. It gets Oden involved and seems to pump up his energy. And, perhaps most important, it actually helps get the other team's bigs in foul trouble before they have a chance to get Oden in foul trouble at the other end. BNM
Yep. It will especially be good for Brandon to show him that he doesn't have to do everything himself. I think it'll take some a few games to realize it though since he's been so used to dominating the ball this season. But Greg is now becoming a force in the post. If anything, he attracts so much attention. Teams are doubling him nearly every time and when you can have shooters all around him like Blake, Roy, Rudy and LaMarcus.. that can be a scary dilemma for opponents. If anything, we need to feed the post more and more with LMA and Greg.
