When have I ever said we should force the ball to him? I said we're not using him correctly and I stand by that statement. You are playing a victim.
My reason for wanting Adelman is not because he's "developed" a big man. It's because I think he's an excellent coach who is great at tailoring offenses to his players' strengths. I don't rely on the head coach to develop Oden. I think experience and practice will develop him. I rely on the head coach to use the players optimally, to best aid that experience-getting. Adelman had very different personnel in Portland and Sacramento and did a great job with both, IMO. I'm not really indicting McMillan as a bad coach. I just think Adelman is better...one of the best in the league. Like anyone else on the team, upgrading is good. I think Adelman would do a better job of getting the ball to Oden in a position to succeed, in addition to all the other talented players on the team.
Have you read the thread? You are criticizing me for an argument that I haven't made. I never said Oden was being used or misused in the right manner. I have been responding to the extreme position Yardape took early in the thread. Do I think it's more an Oden issue than a Nate issue right now? Sure. Again though, whatever.
You completely disregard what I said in my post, and bring up things that others have said instead? That makes your "legitimate points" moot. If you can't debate the points that I raise, then you lose the argument.
I have nothing at all against Adelman and also think he's a great coach. I just don't see him as an instant panacea for Greg Oden's game; Oden is not ready to be a dominant force right now regardless of who is coaching him.
If Greg is getting 22 and 10 rebounds for the rest of the season because Nate is running plays for him then Nate remains the coach! I don't think that running a few more plays for Greg would be a bad thing considering that Sergio dribbles the ball until the shot clock expires and nothing happens. We have touches for him trust me! Another thing if LA was on the low block right and Greg on the left, it would be very hard to double either one. It would also allow both of them to kick out to a wide open guard for a three! Greg at the top of the key is lame. When he rolls the guard never finds him.
I read it all. I've read it before. It's nothing original and I don't agree with it all or disagree with it all. As for debating points, you started on me without debating a single thing I wrote prior to you joining this discussion. Meh
He's not ready to be a dominant force, I agree. I think he's ready to take on more of a role than he has so far.
Your reply to other posters was this: You're falling back on Nate's record and Oden's being "raw, unpolished, and a walking foul." I simply said that if you can't see that Nate is misusing Oden, you don't know very much about basketball. You claim that "I don't think he's being grossly misused, at least to the point of Nate needing to be fired." I refuted that point. You're right, you've been side stepping the issue throughout the last page or so. You have avoided the topic, instead choosing to play the victim.
PapaG.. My only concern is Greg might get his confidence rocked just like Kwame Brown and end up the same. I know Greg has talent and could be a hall of fame center! I don't think Nate has the vision to help him get there. So do I pick Nate and a 5-9 playoff team now VS the next coming of Bill Russel? I've got to go with the latter.
I believe that many of us have forgotten the DECLARED policy for Oden this year: Defense and rebounds. The Blazer management decided early on not to make him a focal point of the offense because it was "too much" in his rookie year. Many of us want to see Oden dominate offensively right now, but that isn't what management said they were going to do. That's the only legitimate explanation I can find for the fact the guards ignore him when he is open. Perhaps that is the plan. Debate that plan if you will, but it looks like Nate wants him to learn defense first and then he'll make him part of the offense.
That depends. He obviously has had some very good games where he takes on a large role in the offense. So that shows Nate knows how to use him in the correct manner on those nights. So, on nights like last night, is that just Nate deciding not to use Oden? Or is it Oden not being consistent as an immature offensive player? Chicken and egg, I suppose.
I honestly have no clue what you are talking about at this point. Are you posting my out of context posts for any other reason than to frame your argument toward me? I remind you, I wasn't addressing YOUR POSTS in any of the quotes you snipped and re-posted. As for "falling back on Nate's record", so what? I'm impressed by what he has done with 4 rookies now in the rotation, and I am excited to see what Bayless can do now that he slowed down the game enough to have success. If anything, Nate should be fired for letting Bayless sit while Sergio, who is going nowhere fast with this organization, still gets minutes.
It's definitely opinion, and it's impossible to know for sure. I think Oden's not consistently the player he was against Chicago...but last night, for example, on successive possessions he scored easily (once) and then drew a couple of fouls on Lopez. And then never got another pass. I think Oden had shown that he was capable of overmatching Lopez in the post, and still didn't get the ball. Then after he committed his second foul, he got pulled and barely saw the floor again. I think that's an example where he could have played a larger role, had he been given the ball more.
I think you are correct, although Roy was torching the Nets (haha) in the 1st quarter last night, so it's tough to grind the offense to a halt when your All-Star is the process of exploiting a mis-match. A year from now, I'll be much harsher on how Oden is being used, but at this point, he is a very inconsistent player who will have ups and downs, and he'll learn plenty from that without the added responsibility of carrying the offense (as others have suggested, not you).
Bill Russell never had the offense depend on him. He was perhaps the greatest defensive player of all time, however. I'll take Bill Russell-lite in Oden, but your approach seems to be more about making Oden a Shaq or a Kareem.
A good way to get Greg to improve is to get him playoff experience. So, winning games is as important as giving Greg touches for purposes of developing Greg. However, winning games sometimes means Greg won't play for stretches. Really, Greg is still not in basketball shape. Touches will be more valuable when he is (which should happen before the end of the season).
Honestly, I believe that this was the policy as he eased in to the NBA because of his struggles early on. I think the longer he is in the league, the more he can and should handle. I also think that his defense will improve with offensive touches. It might sound odd, but I think it would be a wonderful thing for Gregory. Well said, my man. You have made good points throughout, and I agree w/ your assessment of Adelman also. Back to Greg, I think that we shouldn't be babying his mentality. I think he can handle whatever we throw at him right now, and if he can't it will be valuable learning experience. I honestly believe that giving Greg an increased (by a good amount) offensive role is best for the team as a whole, and like i stated, will improve his defensive game and mental state in the process. The kid will make mistakes, but i'm fine w/ living through it because it will pay off. Same reason i'm fine living with Bayless's mistakes, and would be fine giving him 20mpg.
Nice! True, but even as a defensive player, the guy got more than 3-5 shots a game, ya know? He got touches.
