We really are not that great of a passing team. Specifically when it comes to finding the big guy on the block. It seems that only Miller, Fernandez and Howard are capable of consistantly feeding either Greg or Joel in an area and in rythym where they can do something with the ball. Granted tonight Greg struggled on the offensive end. At least 6 or 7 times he had great position tonight where he could have easily scored and got into an offensive groove but he was ignored. Its like watching a pitcher stare down the catcher and shake him off the pitch being called. I think this tends to actually lead to more turnovers because the next time the Big gets the ball, even in a poor position to score, they are anxious and try to do too much because they feel that they will never see the rock again. It also does not reward their hard work. Travis and Brandon seem to be the two tonight who either were unwillling or incapable of feeding the post.
If Brandon wants his life to be easier, he'll start making sure our opponents have to respect GO on the block.
For some reason, Brandon seems the most unwilling (maybe second to Blake) to pass to Oden. Straaange.
Oden had the ball at least 11 times on offense. I'm not going back through the Broadband version of the game and count them all, but we know he had 3 shot attempts, 1 assist, and 7 turnovers. He had that ball tipped out of his hands so many times yesterday that it disrupted anything he could have done to get it going. I think if he hadn't lost the ball so much, he might have gotten a rhythm going early, and he probably could have had some buckets.
Oden's offfensive game will come with time. The Blazers have many players who can score, they do not have many players who can change the game on the defensive end . . . the best thing Oden can do for this team is to concentrate and dominate on defense and crash the boards on the offensive side. Blazers have two huge salary players that are being paid that money to score . . . Oden will feel the pressure to score down the road, why rush him?
True Oden touched it quite a bit. To be fair some of those turnovers were when he was given the ball way out of position, some were from Hayes quick hands and some were Oden's own mess ups. Still when we were blowing them out it would have made sense to feed the beast. I repped the OP as I agree with him.
I don't think it's a matter of pressuring Oden so much as doing as Shaq once said "You gotta feed the big dog if you want him to guard the yard." Oden is ten times as effective when he's lit up by dunking a few times.
11 times? What game were you guys watching? Three of his turnovers were offensive fouls while setting picks for his guards who weren't patient enough to wait for the pick before moving. One other turnover was a three second count, which he got called for because his teammates froze him out even after he had GREAT position. I counted a travel, 2 strips by Hayes, 2 bad hook shots, and an assist. That's 6 touches. Even his one score can't be counted as a "touch" as it came off a broken play when he tipped it in after two bad misses by Roy/LA at the rim.
G-O and LMA need to set up deeper in the post...especially with a vertically short team like the Rockets.
You guys need to understand that Chuck Hayes is a top 5 post defender in this league. It doesn't matter if he's giving up 7 inches; Oden will not be effective posting up against him. The matchup the Blazers should exploit on the blocks when playing the Rockets is Aldridge vs Scola/Landry.
Oden is like a prime Mutombo. Any offense he provides is gravy. Trying to force feed him will only create problems. Is this ideal? No. Obviously, you would like to have a center who can score. OTOH, where are we going to find a center who can provide his defense and rebounding AND score 20 PPG? The team needs to exploit his strengths, and not get fixated on his weaknesses.
The Blazers were a fantastic offensive team last year without Greg Oden. Their defense was the weakness. So, I agree -- Oden should focus on transforming the Blazers into a top-notch defensive squad, rebound, and cut down the silly fouls, and he'll have done his job. Bill Russell was the greatest winner in NBA history, and he was never a prolific scorer.
Once Oden consistently shows that he can make good decisions with the ball down low (which should happen this season, I believe), he will start getting the ball more consistently. I swear some of you must be watching different games than me sometimes -- I haven't seen anything close to the kind of polish in Oden's offense that would warrant feeding him the ball much more than he is now.
I remember I used to say this exact same thing about Zach Randolph at the beginning of his career. Remember how none of the vets and the coach knew how to deliver the ball to him? So he just rebounded like a maniac and got his buckets underneath? In hindsight, that was a pretty darned good version of Zach Randolph. Kind of wish he'd go back to playing that style, instead of feeling entitled to 20 shots a night on isolations, no matter how well-guarded he is. I'd like to see Oden get more touches, mostly because he's a natural and willing passer (unlike Zach). But we've got 81 games before the playoffs. Somewhere in that time I think we'll find the right balance. It won't be as few shot attempts as we saw last night, but nobody will mistake him for our featured offensive player either. Nate made the right call by not featuring him on offense on opening night. (We tried that last year against the Lakers. Remember how that went? 0-4, 2 turnovers in 12 min before getting injured. I never want to see one of my players injured, but if it had to happen, it came at a merciful moment. Things were only getting uglier.) I think if you talked to Oden, he'd say that he's just happy to not foul out and be a huge difference maker on the defensive end. Even with the turnovers and the limited touches, he looked light years better (and happier) than he did for much of last season. Let him build on his success on the defensive end, and ease him into the offense by focusing on can't-miss lobs and drop-off dunks. He seemed really insecure and unhappy last year, and although he was productive in limited minutes (he rebounded at a fantastic rate) he just didn't dominate like he did last night on defense. I'd rather see Nate err on the side of caution when it comes to the big guy. It's always hard to gauge just how deep a person's confidence is until it's shattered. I'll take last night's Oden (minus the turnovers) over a 50:50 shot he gets demoralized by screwing up on the offensive end a few nights in a row. For game #2, anyway.
I would much rather have Roy passing to Oden in the post than anyone else. They can seriously do some damage. Players have to respect Roy enough not to lay off him and disrupt Oden down low. Otherwise, they may see Roy driving for a baseline dunk or wide open J.
Any time GO did set up deep in the post the entry pass was never made, on the 3 second turnover specifically he had Hayes sealed off and backed all the way into the restricted area and Travis & Blake just didn't throw it to him.
