Sorry I can see reasoning for everyone else except for Oden. Why the hell would Nate do this? Someone give me a logic reason please.
Apparently it isn't important for Oden to get used to playing with Roy and Aldridge, you know, the Blazers best 3 players. This is an absolute joke. I'm trying not to be so crazy about it but this is insane.
my guess would be to keep him hungry.. the dude has had 3 out of 4 good games.. and 2 of them were against Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson, and Kenny Thomas.
Well I think Oden is already hungry. I mean for 2 years he's been ridiculed as the next "Sam Bowie". Now Nate is telling him. "hey you were our most consistent player in pre-season, but we are gonna put you on the bench" I am seriously in the Twilight Zone right now. I remember Nate doing this before with Aldridge. ARG!
I know, its not a question of if he is hungry.. its to keep him hungry. Thats my best gues.. other than the part where he hasnt shown consitency yet.
Well.. there's always still the possibility that Nate will change his mind again, and Greg will replace Joel in the starting lineup.
I don't have any inside info but if he goes through with this. I could see he and Kp head butting over this. Kp is more interested in the big picture. Oden fits that big picture.
Where did Nate say this? I'm sorry but Nate is increasingly becoming the anti-Phil Jackson. It better only be for pre-season. If it is only for the Utah game no big deal. If he is saying this is for the season that's a problem, a big problem.
Well it's great knowing I have to leave work all pissed off. HAHAHAHAHA. I sure hope KP intervenes with at least Oden. I can get it with Miller and Webster. But I am seriously bewildered with the Oden decision.
I know. Hell maybe it's our fault! Us bantering over Miller and Webster starting! I AM TO BLAME! I HATE MYSELF. lol
Could be. Could be Nate's way of thumbing his nose at all us fans and to quickly remind us who wears the pants. But probably not.
You mean the same Phil Jackson who left one of his 3 best players last year (Odom) as a sub instead of a starter?
Big difference when starting Odom means playing your second best player in Gasol out of position. If this was done because of positions, and not wanting to play Aldridge at C, or Roy at SF, then fine. But it wasn't,s o that situation is not the same.
I thought they played Odom plenty as a SF - the same way that Orlando played Turk at SF - because these guys can actually handle the ball very well - despite their length. I honestly think that he did it because he did not think they would have enough shots to maximize his output with Kobe, Pau and Bynum in the first unit. I actually think that if the reason Nate goes with the Miller/Oden off the bench with the idea that this way they can get a lot of shots when they are in in the 2nd quarter, and the first quarter will have the "traditional" Roy/LMA as the main offensive guys - this is not such a bad idea. This really is not such a surprise - SAS have done the same with Manu for quite some time as well. The realization that there is only one ball and you can try to optimize your offensive output if you have multiple options that can score the ball is not that big of a surprise. It also, quite frankly - makes defending the Blazers a bit more complicated - because you have to deal with isos, pick and pops in half-court offense to start the game, followed by a faster pace unit with strong post play - and then a mix of it all in the 2nd half. Personally, I think that minutes matter more than starting - but it is clear that there are many that think that Nate has no clue - despite the fact that he proved so far that he can get a lot more out of a very inexperienced group so far. My opinion is that until it fails and Nate does not adjust - Nate has clearly earned the right to work his way.
Exactly right. My guess is that Nate thinks that Miller working the pick and roll with Oden provides a great scoring punch for the second unit, but might well cause an imbalance if they were to start and conflict with the first unit's primary scorers - Brandon and LA. I think some folks here just are too hung up on who's starting. I want to see the best TEAM over the entire game, not just the best starters.
