He's playing like he's asleep out there. I expect a TON of work in the off season, because right now he's just not good enough or motivated enough to play playoff basketball.
I"ve been an Oden defender all year, but god damn it! How do you miss a wide open two handed dunk from point blank range! Maybe his team mates don't pass him the ball because they don't trust him. Oden doesn't look to have that "it factor" that you see in young stars.
This series won't help his confidence going into the summer, but hopefully this motivates him to get 100% and improve his game.
He was obviously very nervous at the beginning of the game. Nate should have let him play after his first 2 fouls then he might have got some rhythm going. He has played bad, but I wouldn't say he's playing like he doesn't want it.
I don't agree with the idea that Oden doesn't want it. I think Oden is overwhelmed and has been all season. I don't think he has the natural mental makeup to be a good player out of the gate. I know he has the physical capabilities, but I believe he's an insecure player now. He has realized that his natural ability is not enough to get it done in the NBA, and that completely fucked with his mind. 20 years of his life, all he had to do was over power people. He had a perception of who he was. That was dashed in the NBA, especially after coming off micro fracture. He might be mentally defeated now. But he has the physical ability to become something special. All Greg needs is a little taste of success (individual). And he will use those moments as building blocks for the future. Giving up on Greg is a massive fucking mistake. And I'm stoked to be on this side of the argument, so when it's all said and done, I will be able to say I'm right. p.s. I'm also right about Outlaw (see other thread).....lol
Great analysis. There is no doubt Greg wants it, he almost wants it too much. I agree that his confidence seems shot right now.
I definitely agree. The man has not had an easy path into his first year. I'd like to see what he can develope with a summer to train. Hopefully he can spend the summer working on his post moves, like Z-Bo did a few years back.
That's a great point. He *does* want it too much, which contributes to his problems. He just needs a little taste of individual success, and the sky is the limit.
The problem with Greg is he had one of the most difficult entries into the NBA in a long, long time. So you have a kid who so desperately wants to do everything right because he feels the pressure that he's doing too much and thinking too much. Give him the summer to work on everything (since he couldn't last summer) and next year he will be fine. Because of the microfracture this is going to be a longer journey to reach Greg's potential than expected but it will be worth the wait. It will also be a less stressful wait if some of you learn to put certain up and down posters on ignore.
who are you to say if he wants it or not? hes won everywhere he has gone, his track record says your wrong
Yep. His track record.....FOR THE RECORD....goes like this: Before Oden - Blazers 41-41 First year with Oden - Blazers 54-28 Need we REALLY HAVE TO SAY MORE? Ball don't lie.
