Has it occurred to anyone else that this whole idea of "starting" Oden is a farce? The only sense in which he's a "starting center" in the NBA is that McMillan chooses to put him out there at the jump ball. Other than that, he's barely a second-string center. Tonight, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Oden was sitting on the bench and LaMarcus-freaking-Aldridge was playing center!! I say we send Oden to D-League to help him get his game and his confidence back. Przybilla and Aldridge can man the center spot until Oden learns how to get a rebound or score a basket. I'm tired of this crap. That is all.
I think we just feed him the ball. Its not like he can't play offensively, he's just not getting plays run for him.
I actually think he's being used pretty well. I would prefer that he played more minutes, but Joel is a great backup and on the nights where Oden is in foul trouble or otherwise doesn't have it going, I think it makes a ton of sense to have Joel out there. Oden in the D League would be a monumental mistake as well as a waste of a good rotation player for a team that's battling for HCA. Ed O.
Oden got 6 touches tonight! That's both inexcusable and routine these days. Nate has no idea how to dictate the tempo of a game. He's reactive coach rather than a proactive coach.
sounds like your one of those people that because we lost we have lost the rest of the season and for that matter the rest of the nba career just because he didnt play perfect or scored a fucking double double does not mean we send him to the god damn d league you are a moron if you think thats whats gonna help oden
Btw, as my contribution to this thread.... I do think Oden should be starting (Along with Bayless) right now, regardless of the numerous mistakes he has made and will make. This year is pretty insignificant in the long run, and I'd rather face some growing pains on the road right now in order to improve our chances in the future. Develop Oden and Bayless by having them make mistakes. You'll look back in a couple of years and realize it was the best decision you ever made. (That and getting rid of ZBO.)
And you're obviously one of those guys who writes long, run-on sentences with no punctuation . . . But apart from that, no, I don't think the season is lost--but Oden certainly is. He doesn't seem to have a bleeping clue about much of anything. Even if he's not touching the ball, he should be a monster on the boards. But instead, he's lucky if he can snag 4 or 5 rebounds on most nights. I'm just tired of making excuses for the guy, and his act is getting old.
You were pretty quiet about this last week when he was having a great five games. The difference between now and then? The guards didn't miss him when he was literally wide open under the basket waving for the ball while his man left him to double someone else.
D league? Wow. Maybe Nate should run some plays through the kid. That, so far, is what gets Oden motivated, right or wrong. So do it. More times than not, something good happens when we go to him. Seems pretty simple. But I don't get paid to do anything basketball related, so what the fuck....
That doesn't explain his terrible rebounding and defense. He should get up and get his own touches off the glass.
So he didn't get the ball on offense tonight. Big deal. Why can't he still be a rebounding machine? At 7 ft., and with those long arms and that tremendous strength of his, he should be getting 10 rebounds a night without even trying.
In the short term I can see the frustration with Greg, but long term I think managing his minutes the way that Nate does is appropriate. We can bitch all we want about the guards not getting Greg the ball and there are some legitimate gripes with that, but lately I've noticed that Greg's defensive recognition (or commitment?) has been kind of brutal; he's not picking up his man, and he doesn't commit fully to jumping out on the guard and quickly recovering to the paint on pick and rolls, which is also part of the reason he then get's called for ticky tack fouls. I guess it boils down to, is leaving Oden out there to keep repeating mistakes appropriate, or is there a teachable moment to sit him down when he does the same (bad) thing over and over? I'm not sure I have the answer, and I doubt the coaching staff does either; it's a helluva fine line.
We should send him to the D-League. When he puts up 35/15 games left and right, we bring him back up. Along with the PG who threw the effing ball to him more than 5 times per game. And start them both. That's the only way the D-League will be a cure. Anyone else concerned that Oden shot about as much as Sergio tonight?
