You sure about that? Oden's career averages--21.8 min, 9.0 pts, 7.2 reb, 1.3 blk, 57% FG, 65% FT. Noah's career averages--23.0 min, 6.9 pts, 6.9 reb, 1.2 blk, 52% FG, 68% FT. I think I would say that Oden has had a better career so far.
I'm not sure I'd trade Oden (maybe for James), there is a huge upside and I think we're at the tip of the iceberg right now with Oden. Sam Smith just had to turn something in to get paid......this is just silly.
Right NOW, meaning this season not years past which everyone loves talking about, Noah is playing better. Everyone is saying IF he keeps out of foul trouble but thats part of the game. Oden will most definitely be better soon but as of now i see Noah being a big part of why the bulls are keeping up with most teams so far
Ironic that Noah was the one who fouled out while his team lost last night while Oden had zero fouls and dominated in his team's victory. 0 - 9 games is really too small of a sample size to reach any conclusions about theses two players for this season - especially since they are both still improving, but at different rates. It's a long season. It would be interesting to re-visit this thread at the mid point and end of this season. BNM
He fouled out when the game was already over with around 2 minutes left in the game. You're right it is too soon to assume. We'll just have to wait
Sure Noah has been more productive to date, but Sam Smith is saying that it is a toss up whether Noah should have been drafted ahead of Oden in the 2007 draft knowing what we know now. Boy... Noah's a good player, but that seems like a real stretch. Of course, Sam Smith probably hasn't been watching Oden play this year. If the point of the article is that Noah has been playing better than his draft position, then I guess I agree. If in the process he wanted to stretch things and say Noah is more valuable than Oden now, a little white lie never hurt anyone.
Of the players you list, Oden was the only one under contract to an NBA team in 07-08. He was eligible to take the court for the Blazers - the other players were not. As for the NBA being "unambiguous" about his status, answer me this: will Oden's rookie contract expire the same time as Durant's, Horford's, et al....or one year later? Oden missed his entire rookie season to injuries. This is a BAD thing....and yet people keep trying to twist it into some kind of positive thing! This is the kind of debate that makes fans of other teams laugh at Blazer fans.
He was never on the active roster. So technically, he was not elligible to take the court. Darius Miles and Steve Francis were also under contract to the Blazers for the 2007-08 season. Neither of them played for us either. Being under contract and playing are two diferent things. Oden is not the first to be in this situation. In addition to players on buy outs, who are under contract, get paid and and count against the teams cap and luxury tax, Oden is not the first player to be under contract but miss an entire season due to injury. The exact same thing happened to Nick Collison. Oden was under contract in 2007-08 (nobody disputes that), but he did not play. The NBA officially considered 2008-09 season Oden's rookie year. They selected him for the rookie team in the 2009 Rookie-Sophomore Challenge. By your definition, he should have been considered for the Sophomore team. He was also eligible for ROY voting for the 2008-09 season. The NBA very clearly considers 2008-09 as Oden's rookie season and this as his second season. Doesn't matter what you think That's the official word. I've never said it's a positive thing. It's a non-event. I can't evaluate how Oden played in 2007-08, because he didn't play. Why is that so difficult to understand. Yeah, they laugh because one Blazer fan thinks his twisted defnition of "rookie" is more valid than the NBA's official definition. BNM
Noah "has been" more "productive" than Greg Oden. Who cares? Noah has more college experience. Noah has more NBA experience. And yet, a still inexperienced Greg Oden dominates games when he's on the floor, compared to Noah. The only pertinent questions are who is better, who will be better, and who will most help their team achieve a championship. Is there really a reasonable basketball observer who thinks that person is Noah, over Greg Oden? I highly doubt it.
I really hope Sam Smith touches on this tomorrow. I would love to hear him try and defend his assfart belief that Noah (who can throw a ball really hard) is better than Oden (who can throw down a ball really hard).
We've beaten the bulls my nearly 70 points combined over the last two games we've played here. The day Noah outplays Oden in a head to head matchup will be his first.
