16.4 PPG 11.4 RPG 1.6 STLS 1.4 BLKS 65.9% FG 31 MPG Slowly but surely he is becoming the beast we've all expected him to become. And he still has so much room for improvement! It's scary how good this kid can become. I just want Nate to give him more minutes and touches so he can continue to develop.
I still remember Gavin and CIP were laying into him after his first game back against Miami, and talking about how they see no reason to believe Greg will have any impact this entire season. hahaha.. those guys are idiots.
The only reason I still listen to those girls in the morning is to hear them retract all the shit they've said about Greg this season. I'm not holding my breath. And it wasn't JUST them. The entire media jumped on Greg and declared him a bust 1/4 in to the season. It's baffling.
It's easier to be negative than positive, and it's easier to argue against past hype with a limited sample than to defend those expectations. It's also easier to never retract dumbass comments like those guys have seem to have made. Ed O.
I've been actually wondering if Greg will hit the rookie wall. 82 games + playoffs is a lot for anyone used to less than 30, and Greg will be playing during all-star weekend, so no rest there. But, absolutely, he's a factor now. Team's don't look forward to playing against Greg like they did at the beginning of the season. If he doesn't hit the rookie wall, he'll be very good by season's end.
for me, anything Oden does this year is just gravy. i have patience. he just needs to keep improving every week in some small way. one thing that does worry me is his minutes. i just want to keep his minutes down b/c of that knee. with fewer minutes we're naturally going to see some games where he doesnt make a huge impact, doesnt get the ball, is out of sync, etc. but that's ok w/ me.
He's averaging 23 minutes a game this season (a season high at this point) and his conditioning is getting BETTER. I think he may be able to avoid the rookie wall during the regular season. Post season, if we make it, could be a different matter.
I see it the complete opposite. I think the best way for Oden to get into game shape, both physically and mentally, is to get out there and compete for the most time possible. Yes, I know Pryz is ballin' too this year, and sitting him for longer stretches isn't exactly a desirable situation, but Greg Oden is part of the future of the Blazers, and Pryz is a very good backup center for the Blazers(or a servicable starting center for a different team). I think that Oden's 31 MPG lately is about right, maybe should be around 35. That's the kind of time he's going to have to play during the playoffs, so better to get him adjusted to it now. His knees are fine.
I want to know how everybody is going to react on here when he doesn't have a good game on this upcoming trip?
HCP it has never had anything to do with Greg, at least not for me. I have been critical of Nate and how he has used Greg in the past. Now that McMillain is making an effort to get Greg involved, we have seen Oden make leaps and bounds in terms of progression. Working that high/low with LMA and doing an outside-in offense has really helped the kid.
We'll blame the camera replay guy for showing us poor angles of Greg making us think he played poorly!
What's really impressed me lately is his post defense. Doesn't matter who posts him up at this point, I can't help but think, "What the fuck are you thinking?" If the shot goes in 40% of the time, I'd be surprised. There are probably a few better one-on-one low post defenders in the game right now, but not many. Do we ever doubleteam in the post on the guy Oden is guarding?
I'll preach patience. I love this kid (in the most manly of ways, of course). I actually think that he'll be the best player on this team by a country mile in three years.
Some people will freak out. Some people will attack those that freak out. The rest of us will remember it's only a single game and that the trend in his play has been markedly upward. Ed O.
