I don't remember anyone thinking Nic was going to be a big part of the rotation during the summer league last year.
Naturally players are going to look great after an extended rest and not getting pounded on every night. Sort of like the draftees that look like the second coming of MJ in workouts, but crumble from the rigors of the NBA. The media is being honest, it just does not mean anything now.
not all of us base our opinions on summer league.... I present to you Qyntel Woods here's a thread from a year back STOMP
Interesting. I don't buy the Webster hype, but I do buy the Batum and Oden hype. Oden has already showed he more than belonged with the Olympic hopefuls and Batum is bringing on the French team. It is actually pretty easy for those two to improve. Like a good soldier, Batum did not force it on offense, and Oden was injured - easy adjustments.
Right with you. Every year a couple of players are supposed to be primed for a big year and they let you down. It's pretty much inevitable. I don't know why. Minutes available? Law of averages? Who knows. Last year I was let down by Oden (my expectations just weren't realistic--I'm still excited to have him), a little by Rudy (I thought he'd dominate more), and a lot by Frye. This year I'm expecting Webster to break a lot of hearts.
I think anyone predicting the ever elusive "break out year" for Martell, and thinking that Batum is all KP hype has their wires crossed. Offensively I though Nic was a disaster in Summer League play last year, but I do remember thinking to myself that he moved very well off the ball, could pass, and just seemed to glide effortlessly across the court. Martell on the other hand has always had a pretty stroke, but pretty pedestrian numbers and subpar efficiency scores -- especially subpar shooting percentages for a guy who is supposedly a shooting specialist. In any case I'm on a self-imposed Blazers media blackout for the past month and have zero interest in reading/listening about the team (especially fluff like courtside) until they are actually in training camp and there's something more to talk about than who's at the PF making uncontested jumpers and dominating Greg Ostertag. Wake me when pre-season starts.
the 'hope' machine more like.... it's encouraging to hear some positive reports but until we see how it happens on the court it's just for me to put too much into it. im with Nik, wake me when they start competing
Webster and Outlaw. Webster sort of did by being out all season. I was wrong about Outlaw, until the playoffs.
I believe this will be the year Oden makes a big stride forward. It takes most players a solid two years to return to form from microfracture surgery. This will really be the first year Oden will be playing with a fully functional knee. I am thinking he will average around 12 and 10 in 30 minutes a game this next season. I haven't the slightest idea about Martell. I know he is really going to have to be on the top of his game since I expect Batum to have made strides this off season.
Oden doesn't have to average a lot of points to be effective. He just needs to not get in foul trouble so he can be on the floor, and playing agressive while he is out there. If you go back and look at the stretches when he was on the floor last year, the team made runs while he was in. The problem was, he wasn't in long enough due to foul trouble.
This is the sort of post I hate, but I can't not post it. I have a pal who says he shares the same knee doctor as Greg (my pal had knee surgery in 08.) He says that Greg's knee is still a sore and he will never be the same... Is it true? Who knows? For what it is worth...
to the OP... looking good in the offseason has been Martell's history. He's a pretty decent run/jump athlete and has beautiful form on his J. Unfortunately he is not a good ball handler, defender, and doesn't handle the pressure of real games well... problems between the ears are hard to shake. I've seen the same full throttle hype machine gushing about him in each offseason only to have the same less then mediocre wing player come the regular season. I'm not getting my hopes up until he finally looks good when the games matter for a lot longer then a single quarter. Conversely, Batum hit the ground running last year. Despite being very skinny and barely speaking english, he was better as a rookie on both ends of the court then Martell has ever been. He showed an ability to pick his spots/blend on offense, a solid floor game, and was easily the top wing defender I've seen in Portland in many years. It's pretty typical for guys to improve a lot in their 2nd season as they settle in/reap the benefits of some experience in the league. They know whats allowed by the officials, what their coaches want and what they're capable of... guys can react to a situation instead of having to think so much. Also natural physical progression combines with the benefits of year round working out with various trainers/coaches... prior to last year Nic had never lifted weights and now he's been on a program for a year. With as much as he showed as a 19 year old rookie it's easy to see why there is so much optimism surrounding him. Greg needs to do a complete 180??? Thats crazy talk. Dude was a very effective player in his rookie year (18 PER) showing great hands, strength, and athleticism. His biggest flaw was plodding feet causing him to pick up a lot of silly fouls. It's only natural to expect that his agility & explosiveness to improve his 2nd season removed from MF as thats the history of the many other pro athletes who've come back from it. Add on all the stuff I already stated about the history of 2nd year players and he should be able to avoid a lot of the foul trouble he found himself in. His per minutes production was already very good and is likely to improve. If he's able to avoid fouls/log more minutes... STOMP
I have no doubt that someones knee wouldn't ever be the same after MF surgery. The real question is how close to 100% was he last year, how close to 100% will he be this year, and how close to 100% can it get. Also, I'd like to know what the stability of someones knee is after successful MF surgery.
Lots of guys have sore joints that they deal with on a daily basis, thats why players (like Brandon Roy) have huge bags of ice strapped onto them after every game/practice. I doubt it was the function of GO's knee that slowed him last year. Much more likely it was the leg muscle atrophy from his year off. That issue should be all better now. STOMP
If your friend got that information directly from the doctor, then that doctor should be fired for disclosing personal medical information.
To Rice's credit, I remember him saying that Blake looked great last summer, and that he was poised for a breakout season. I think Blake had his best year last season, so that's just something to think about.
