....doesn't that open the door for Greg Oden to make the All Star team?? Possibly as a starter??? Thoughts?
Amare Biedrins Kaman Chandler Nene Al Jefferson Okur (if he re-signs) I might be missing someone Right now all better than Greg was last year. Last year is all we have to go by, so no.
Don't forget the Griz just used the 2nd pick on a center... If Greg is healthy and manages his fouls better (getting 30mpg), I can't imagine that he wouldn't have the best chance after Amare. He does the things that fans love (dunks hard, blocks hard), and the things that coaches love (commands double teams, has a huge defensive impact.
Ummm... just about everyone was better than Greg last year. Greg had a pretty bad year. But he's supposed to be better this season, right? Because if he's not putting up at least a double double in his second year, then the "once-in-a-generation hall of fame center" is a bust no matter what anyone in here says. But if he's as good as he's supposed to be, an All Star berth shouldn't be all that difficult. If he lives up to half of his pre-draft reputation, he should be better than most of those guys.
He absolutely should be better Eric, but in reality we don't really know if he will be better than any of those guys I mentioned. Will he continue to foul? Will Nate figure out how to use him on offense ever? Can we get a guard who will pass him the ball?
the most probable would be Amare and Al IMO, since defensive players are rarely given all-star status, so Oden's gotta bring up the post game.
Is that no offense as in " I didn't intend to offend you" or no offense as in "he couldn't score 30 points if you locked in a gym by himself for two hours"? It's hard to tell from the context. BNM
Please consider that there is a whole lot of gray area between "once-in-a-generation hall of fame center" and "bust". It's not necessarily one or the other. Especially, for a second year player. Granted, he was drafted a lot lower, but Jermaine O'Neal didn't make his first all-star game until his 6th year in the league - and then proceeded to make six in a row. He probably won't make the Hall of Fame, but he's had a pretty nice career and had a six year stretch where he averaged over 20 PPG, nearly 10 RPG and about 2.5 BPG. Is he a bust? If Oden has a similar career and "only" makes the all-star team six times, will you consider him a bust? I expect Oden will eventually be better than half those guys, and likely better than all of them if you value defense and rebounding. Will it happen by the mid-point of his second season? I doubt it. I think he will show improvement this season, will get more minutes and continue to be very productive when he's on the court, but it's not a binary condition. He won't instantly stop fouling. He won't instantly reach his peak level of performance. It's a gradual process. How about we let that process play out before we toss out the all-star game or bust ultimatum. BNM
P.S. Even if Yao doesn't play a single minute. He will still be voted as the all-star game starter. The NBA will not remove his name from the ballot and risk over a billion potential fans loosing interest in the NBA. So, that means the coaches get to choose the replacements/alternates. Then it depends on if they consider Pau and Timmy centers or power forwards. If I was picking, I'd take those two guys (assuming they are healthy) as my centers over anyone who will actually be listed as a center on the ballot. BNM
