Great game last night, but why in the world didn't Oden play more minutes? I don't think anyone, including the refs, are going to take him seriously when he only plays 24 minutes a game. Any thoughts?
I think the refs are little by little starting to take Greg more seriosly based on his performance and concerted effort to stay out of foul trouble. I've noticed some instances in the past three games or so where the refs did not whistle Greg when they would have before.
Man, I would really love to see what he could do with 32 min a night. If you take 24 pts and 12 rebs in 24 mins and work that out to 32 min Oden "would have had" 30 pts and 15 rebs. Now I know that this was just one night and those numbers are just for fun and I can't prove that he would have actually done that but here's the thing ... you cant prove that he wouldnt have. Until then all we can do is wonder and dream.
It's not just minutes, though. It's who he plays with: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/portland_122_chicago_98_everyt.html Watching them play together you definitely get the feeling Miller does a better job of feeding Oden than Blake.
A little bigger sample Per 36 mintues Last 5 games 19.8 points, 10.8 reb, 2.7 blks, TS% 72% Last 10 games 19.0 points, 11.1 reb, 3.1 blks, TS% 68%
The key to Oden's points last night was getting the free throw line. So for Oden to get to the line then the rest of the team has to make an effort to get him the ball to start the game and 2nd half. This gets the other team in foul trouble and gets not only Oden but the whole team to the line. That the reason that he got 24 last night. There is no reason that we cant do that just about every night. Sports is about maximizing your advantages against your opponent. Im not saying that Oden needs to be the focal point of the offense but he should be in the early going.
