Explain to me how it works. When Oden has a couple of good games in a row, is he then supposed to mope around the court and fail to get rebounds the next game? Does he suddenly forget how to hustle on the boards because he's just a rookie? Do the effects of his injury appear one game, and then go away the next? The up-and-down performance is not due to the injury, as far as I can tell. It is due to a lack of effort and concentration. Maybe it's an attitude problem, but I certainly don't see the injury playing a very big role any more. He's been healthy now for a long string of games, and he should be more consistent. When everybody else on the court is outhustling him, there is something wrong.
I have to say, this is like the good old days on BB Forums when a thread would explode in minutes. This thread has grown more quickly than anything I've seen since I joined here. Thanks, everybody! This is fun.
To the people saying us not getting Oden involved isn't a problem I offer up this, there is no center in the NBA with a PER higher than Greg Oden who has a lower Assist'd % on his FGs. There also isn't a center in the NBA with a higher TS% with a lower Assist'd %. And the only center with a higher PER who draws more fouls than Oden is Dwight Howard. The real joke is having such an efficient offensive weapon in our lineup and having him be 11th on the roster in FGA per minute.
Repped. Exactly. People obviously aren't paying attention. For five games we saw Oden when the team gets him involved.... and in the last two games we've seen Oden when the team doesn't get him involved. It's clear as day.
And yet a few days ago there was an entire thread arguing over whether we even needed Blake anymore, because Sergio is so much better at getting him the ball and Bayless is so much better at keeping him out of foul trouble with perimeter defense.
Blake did really well at the start of I believe the Phoenix game in Portland (Brandon's 52 nighter obviously) when we did the pick and roll with Greg to start the game three times in a row I believe. That was the most aggressive I've seen the play calls with Greg and the best Blake has looked with him. Predictably it hasn't been used much sense and Blake can't really seem to get him the ball besides that one play.
None of the guards at all are consistent at it which leads me to believe it is a Nate issue. Or they just all suck at this ability in which case we have a big issue on our hands.
LaMarcus is really an underrated passer in my opinion. He isn't called to post up like Greg does (when Greg gets that call which we know is rare) but when he can sit in the post and survey the game he makes some pretty nifty bounce passes and hand offs. Unfortunately because we have so few backcuts and cuts down the middle called we see so little of LMA and Greg's passing ability in that offensive type of scheme. But last year LMA had some really nice passes to Martell that led to some huge dunks - it was really very fun to watch.
its hard to watch the games with the same amount of joy...i try...Kobe's 61 helped, but not really... it just sucks
One night doesn't mean a lot... the stock market went up pretty consistently for decades without going up every single day. Or every single week. Or even every single month. Oden did not have a good game tonight, but I don't think that it is very significant. The flashes of brilliance he's displayed are much more indicative than the games tonight where he only gets six shots. Finally: I didn't see Oden mope tonight. Or fail to hustle. Blaming his poor game on some sort of faulty mental approach is wrongheaded, IMO. Ed O.
This thread is a joke. Oden is a rookie, spent one year in college (partially injured), took a year off because of knee issues; yet he leads this 30-18 team (2nd youngest in the league) in double-doubles, has been invited to the All-Star weekend and has been showing signs of growth since the start of the year. What more can you ask for? He's not going to be Dwight Howard or Shaq overnight, back off the guy, he's only 21.
