I don't agree about Oden. I think Greg can and will score. He just needs a guard capable of getting him the ball.
Running an ISO for Greg on the block is pretty hard to watch. We really should run the offense at him like Chandler (when in N.O.) and Howard - purely P&R.
A better comparison to the Blazers than those "Big 3" teams might be the Chris Webber Kings. You've got one guy who is clearly leagues better than everybody else on the team (Roy/Webber), a limited but very dangerous center (Oden/Miller), a quality secondary scorer (Aldridge/Peja), a role-playing defender who shoots threes (Batum/Christie) and a high quality point guard who fills in the holes (Miller/Bibby). So the formula is basically the Big One plus two second bananas and a top 10 or so center. Ours is a better defensive team, but that Sacramento team was probably more deadly on offense. Anyway, yeah, Andre Miller is probably our third best player next year. He certainly played better in the playoffs than anybody on our team except for Roy and Aldridge.
I think that's actually a pretty good comparison honestly in skill set in a lot of ways, although I would hope everyone agrees the talent levels don't match up.... One would hope anyway. Plus even if they were similar.... Our bench DESTROYS what they kings had during that time period.
Nice analogy. Even though you are not suggesting the player pairs have similar games, (except maybe Batum/Christie), I of course can't help but think about which players I'd rather have. So, donning my thick Rose Garden colored glasses: I'll take Andre Miller over Bibby (never been a Bibby fan). Miller won't choke in the finals. Oden over Miller -- yes, I mean that, even this year and certainly in two. Different players but Oden is the law and he will surprise some people this season (If Nate decides to use him correctly and he stays out of foul trouble). I'll take the defensive and rebounding monster every time. Roy v. Webber: Good players. I'll take Roy -- the man is a winner. Unstoppable in the clutch. Roy against the world. Christie clearly better than Batum -- for now, but not later. (Christie is in my BBall hall of fame for his punch that ended Rick Fox's credibility; and in my shame hall of fame for being so totally whipped by his crazy wife.) Aldridge v. Peja: Interesting. Peja could seriously light it up. Aldridge provides an extremely talented and well rounded PF game. I'm going big over smaller. In short, this biased Blazers fan expects bigger things from these Blazers than that Sacto team. Go Blazers!
So Rudy is our 5th option??? Man, my Blazers are siiiiiiiiiiiiiiick! We are going to tear this league up for the next 10 years!
Bobby Jackson and Hedo were pretty damned good coming off the bench for that team. That was a really, really good team. If they don't get jobbed by the refs in the "Ralph Nader" sixth, they probably win a championship that year. They had 61 and 59 win seasons. Given that I'm predicting we win 60 games this year, if our team is as good as they were at their peak, I'll be pretty happy with myself.
IMHO, Oden will never be an offensive force on par with Shaq/Hakeem/Ewing. He will be dependent on, as you say, having a team-mate who is willing and able to set him up. Oden will never be more than a 3rd or 4th option...but the team needs him to be at least a complimentary player on offense. (can you tell I am REALLY happy about adding Miller? )
Yeah, but they make it sound like he isn't really an option on offense at all. I think Oden can be a force. We just need to use him correctly.
I think it's too early to say how good Oden will be offensively. If he regains his prior physique, then we've got someone who is bigger and stronger than other centers and, who, was better than Durant in the agility drills. There is serious offensive potential here, in my opinion. It's unfair to judge him on the first season coming back from microfracture surgery- let's see how he looks this season. He might be our 2nd option.
That's how I feel. It astonishes me that some people actually think that Oden has had ample time to prove himself in the NBA.
It's pretty ridiculous, isn't it. I'd say Zach Randolph and Amare Stoudemire were probably around 80% of their true selves the year after microfracture. Zach Randolph season following MF: 18.9 PER One season later: 23.9 PER Amare in season following MF: 23.1 One season later: 27.6 Those are pretty big jumps. Greg Oden last season: 18.1 If he follows the pattern of Amare and Zach, he could be around 22-23. Kevin Durant, by way of comparison, had a PER of 20.8 last year. He may not take that big of a leap. Those were pretty established players. But I'm looking for Oden to stay on the court longer by avoiding fouls, and I'm looking for him to be even more productive in his minutes. He's a legit MIP candidate.
Exactly mook. Plus those two were already established players. They'd alread paid some dues and learned on the NBA hardwood. Greg had his ROOKIE season WHILE recovering from the surgery, AND suffering another injury to start the season. I do expect him to improve at the same levels those guys did the following season, if not more. And he'll have more room to improve the year after. (Barring injury, of course.)
I think Andre Miller is an excellent addition to the team. When we signed him, I went to the Philly boards, and found some information on him. It seems as if the really educated philly fans wanted him to re-sign, but the not-so-ones, wanted Lou Williams to take over PG duties. Really, the problem is their management of the team, not the players. The "Ed's". LOL. Apparently, Philly fans can't stand the "Ed's". As for Miller fitting in with our PTB's, I think he was the right fit. I almost thought he was the missing piece, but that missing piece is the improvement of anyone of these dudes: Batum, Oden, Webster. Anyone of those guys take off, just one, and that's the missing piece. I really hope all three can improve,and if they all do, we may be contenders. Andre Miller should develop the team in the right mindset. He is Hungry too. And, I think he will also develope Roy's game.
It'd be great if Andre can play at a high level for the next two/three years. When his contract expires and as he further declines hopefully we'll have a young replacement in place ready to take over.
I think he buys us a couple years to figure out our future at the point. Hopefully he can show KP how much we need an actual point guard.
I didn't read all of the posts, but come on, Miller did not play with Webber. Divac was the center during Webbers run in Sactown.
