Watching the All Star game I can't think about how it could've been. Would they have won titles with a serviceable big man in the paint, be it Joel or Haywood or Oberto or Okafor or whomever you like? It's hard not to wonder. Durant's 21 and there are already rumblings that he may turn out to be one of the greatest players of all time, sure to top Kareem's scoring record.
i agree speed. thats the wonderful kpee. the blazers would be fighting for a title had they not picked that gimp oden. we could have traded webster and outlaw for a decent big man like brendon. durant is already better then roy imo.
It's sacrilege to say around here but it's probably true. Durant is averaging 30 ppg at 21 years old. Who does that? That is crazy. And he pulls down 7 boards a game too. He's not the playmaker Roy is and he has turnover issues, but man... he shoots 48% from the field!
Only 33,376 points to go. He's a lock. Not Durant. He's not averaging 30 ppg, he's averaging 29.7 ppg. LeBron averaged 31.4 ppg as a 21-yead old. Even if Durant does catch Kareem (highly doubtful), by them the record may be LeBron's. Kareem's scoring peaked at 24 and he played until he was 41. Will Durant play 20 more years? Will he continue to be productive, and healthy until he's 38? Kareem averaged 23.4 ppg in 79 games as a 38-year old. Who does that? BNM
Durant will never have the scoring record as if anyone catches Kareem it will be LeBron. But I do wish we took Durant. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, can't fault anyone for taking Oden -- he is who I wanted as well.
With those as our big three, our only hope would be to try to outscore the opposition. Maybe we could hire Paul Westhead to coach and see if we can crack the magic 200 point barrier.
And with ZERO centers, our best player missing 15 games, and our PF who doesn't block shots, we've still won 5 more games that Memphis with their three healthy centers and power forward who blocks even fewer shots. Careful what you wish for. Even with all of our injuries, and Memphis not having a single significant injury to any of their top 8 players, we're still ahead of them in the standings with a MUCH better chance of making the play-offs (77.3% vs. 15.0%, according to Hollinger). BNM
It is impossible not to be a fan of Durant - he is a stud - but Oden's production was just magnificent before he went down. Can't ignore the injuries - but at this point - all you can do is hope these are just bumps in the road - because if he does recover and manages to stay healthy - he is going to be a stud as well.
Hindsight is 20/20. If the Blazers could make the decision all over again, I have a feeling they would take Durant. The problem is, nobody knew that Greg would have these kinds of injuries. It was completely unforeseeable. Durant is exactly the player we all thought he would be. There's really no surprise there. Greg was actually on his way to reaching the expectations this season, but again, the injuries have brought him back to earth. I think the Blazers might regret their decision only because of the injuries, which was not Pritchard's fault.
truth hurts around here speed.... thats why so many posters attack me oden was a mistake. plain and simple. even my grandfather said, "that guys knees are worse then mine at 80."
It would work great as long as Portland could play with two basketballs on the court. It would also be an awesome fantasy league team. Since there is but one ball and the NBA is a reality league those three would not be able to co-exist on the same team.
I wonder what would have happened if Hitler's mom had gone to an abortionist, I wonder what would have happened if Caesar had not crossed the rubicon, I wonder what would have happened if Booth hadn't shot Lincoln, I wonder what would have happened if the Beatles hadn't broken up ... Even if the Durant, Roy, Z-Bo theoretical core would have been the thing to move us forward, what's the point in wringing your hands about it? Nobody could have realistically predicted that Greg's career was going to have the arc that it did, but it has and that's just the way it goes. Think about this though, what if Bassy was still our point guard, and Roy was playing in Houston, and we had Tyrus Thomas at power forward? Good times. Edit: 'cause I'm a dumbass
Z-Bo needed a change of scenery. And as much as I'm impressed by Memphis this season, it's not all thanks to Zach. He still plays poor defense And the Durant v. Oden question has been played out repeatedly. Oden was the superior choice in the minds of nearly everyone leading up to the draft. Durant would've been the #1 choice almost any other year (other than the year LeBron come in, of course). Looks like an unfortunate choice at this point, but if Oden can stay mostly healthy for a few years, and can return to the productivity he showed at the beginning of this season, the choice will start to appear a lot more justified.
Had we not selected Oden and built around Roy/Durant/Zbo/Aldridge, we'd probably be in a better situation right now. I hate to admit it, but it's true. Is that a foursome that wins a championship? Almost certainly not. Can you pretty easily parlay one of those four down the road for a major defensive upgrade at center? Almost certainly. What if, say, Roy and Durant had amazing chemistry together, but the other pieces didn't fit? I think it's extremely likely that you can make further deals to land the right role players to put around Roy/Durant to provide the defense and rebounding you need. Especially if you also have bargaining chips like RLEC, Bayless, Fernandez, Batum, MLE, etc, to also play with. All that said, things can change a lot in a pretty short amount of time. Before Oden's recent injury there's no way I would've written the above post. A year from now Oden might again look like a much better pick than Durant. Heck, if you wait long enough Juwan Howard becomes the best player among the Fab Five.
That will only happen if we make at the West finals at the least. I supported the Oden pick at the time like most fans, but it's going to take a near miracle of development for Oden to ever look like a better pick that Durant.
