To me, that sounds like a real odd couple.........personality-wise. OTOH, perhaps they both lament in the thought, and rally around the notion, that they're the most under-appreciated members on the team?
I think it's strange that people think Greg is non-competitive. If you look at his teams' winning percentages, it's obvious he cares deeply about winning and losing. We all know Jerryd is competitive. I think they're two sides of the same coin. Also, they're two guys trying to improve their games and get on the court. They don't really have roots here, so playing hoops seems to be a good way to pass the time.
ABM, Curious, what gives you the impression that they are good friends? Was there an article written about it? Link?
I think the two are a great pairing, and hope they do becoem good friends. I liked hearing about him working out with Bayless. Bayless seems to be a very intense competitor, and a very hard worker. I believe Greg is, as well, but I think Bayless can continue to push him to get better. I think their personalities can work off eachother, one fueling the other, and one lightening up the other, in a sense. Also, if Bayless is to be our PG of the future, I like him becoming fast friends with his big man. Got to build up that chemistry, and start seeing the two play off of eachother, hopefully.
When I read about that, I thought the two were a strange combination for best friends on the team. Bayless seems so intense and Oden seems so laid back. Maybe those two are the most misunderstood players on the team so that is why they bond.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/03/oden_gives_himself_a_thumbs_do.html His closest friend on the team, fellow rookie Jerryd Bayless, said the two spend most of their nights in the Blazers' practice facility -- Bayless shooting jumpers, It's great that they're close. They're our PG-C combo of the future.
That learning process didn't stop once he became injured. On the Blazers' recent trip through Texas, Oden said he spent the entire game against Houston watching Rockets center Yao Ming. "That game I actually sat and really just watched what he did, and it was good for me, because he doesn't do anything different than me," Oden said. "He turns around or backs you down for a jump shot. If you play him one way, he goes the other way, just like me. I have two moves -- I go to the middle if you give me the middle, and I go left if you take away the middle. You can't stop two things at once." I liked this part of the article . . . but it made me wonder, what was he doing last year during the games?
I think it's more a class thing - both those guys are nice middle class boys who did well in school and aren't exactly "street". Of course, none of the Blazers are, but I can't see Jerryd or Greg working on the docks or going fishing for crawdads. Maybe Bayless is trying to get traded like Greg's last BFF? I was thinking who'd be the person to get Greg going, to boost his confidence and bring him out of his shell - his Jack Haley, if you will (or Jayson Williams to his Keith Van Horn). I think one candidate would be Baron Davis. He's a bit of a goof himself - definitely "quirky", and has interests outside of Basketball (although I don't think he ever aspired to be a dentist) but at the same time, when he wants to win can be unstoppable. He's miserable in LA, and probably nobody wants to touch him because of his contract, but Houston were thisclose to trading for him until McGrady went down. He's less than a year older than Steve Blake, and he's already promised that next year he's going to be back on form (he's looked washed out before and come back, like when he was traded to GState). Just a thought.
I like that self-deprecation - "I have two moves". That's probably pretty accurate, although Yao probably has a few more. Watching other players too - like everybody does when they watch a game? He says "just watched what he did."
Sorry about that. I just realized there's already a thread posted on the subject. Mods, in between everything else[/u] you're having to deal with right now ( ), you can merge this if you'd like. Thanks, ABM
Greg needs a strong man in his life to tell him what to do because otherwise hes lost and just injures himself without explicit directions.
Why is that odd? I find it more odd when people with identical personalities end up close friends -- opposites attract. I also think we let the media and short glimpes of on-court demeanor color our perceptions of players' personalities way too much. The truth is we really have no idea what these guys are like on their own time.
I find it odd, that any of you think you know these guys, and their personalities at all, let alone well enough to discuss it.
Its more fun that we speculate..makes it funny, especially for Bayless, who's intensity I find funny.
Yeah, you're probably right. I can see it now.....at parties, Jerryd is the one scoping out the checks, then hooks-up Greg with the lesser of the two.
