I guess it cant hurt...Footwork and the goals for a C is different than other positions so getting a specific coach cant hurt. Kareem is in by no means the main coach for Bynum....honestly it would probably be Kurt Rambis since Phil made Kurt our "defensive coordinator".
I have been slamming Shooter's thoughts in some other posts, so you know I would if I felt he was wrong, but I don't see him claiming Oden is a bust or can't play. Essentially all he said is Oden looks disinterested and lethargic and is slow and not very active - in the game he went to. I find little to argue with that. How Oden looks is hard to read. Who knows what that is, so let's leave it alone. And what do Oden's season stats matter when the comments are just about one game. With Oden playing limited minutes, that shouldn't be an excuse for his performance. To my eyes, Oden was slow getting up and down the court, slow rotating, couldn't finish at the rim, and after the two blown dunks, only looked to pass the ball. Watching him there was a stange vibe about it. Like he would rather be someplace else. All in all - I agree it was a terrible performance. After having some real solid games it was jarring. And not like he looked like he was into the game and trying hard, but just missed shots and got called for some tough fouls. That would be different. That is a tough game. This was just wierd. Question is why? After having some real solid games, what happened? Shooter wonders about depression. Weight of expectations? Experiencing pain? Night out on the town? Again - it is just one game we are talking about. Don't get all excited. I know it doesn't define the season. Still, odd game for Oden. I sure hope I don't see many more of these. Masbee didn't approve. Thank god for Joel.
Oh, I do not know about it. I saw him rolling to the basket with his hand up multiple times - he only got the ball down low once and scored. All the other times they sent the ball to him was when he out of the box, stationary with a couple of people on him - good thing he did not try to force it there.
I've been wondering if Oden's lack of aggressiveness has been maybe exacerbated by the fact that Mo Lucas hasn't been around. He is our big man coach, after all.
Maybe. I didn't and am not going to do a play-by-play analysis. It just looked and felt "bad". He did play his fewest minutes in the last 4 games despite lack of foul trouble.
I've been wondering if Oden is hurting and not wanting to say so because of the shitstorm that would fall on him if he sat out any more games. I've also been thinking that he moves more like Patrick Ewing than David Robinson/Olajuwon/Shaq. And while that might be a little disappointing, it's certainly not the end of the world: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w8rBFT3NE_I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w8rBFT3NE_I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Based on Oden's size alone, he is going to help the team . . . but he hasn't come close to living up to the hype. Could he live up to the hype? Of course. But the argument that we shouldn't even be talking about it and give it time before evaluating goes against what this board is all about. This board does game threads, predicts the score of each game, predicts overall records, predicts potential trades, why shouldn't we start predicting what kind of player Oden will be? For me (and I said it after his first game back) Oden doesn't look right. The way he plods around the court, his demeanor, his corrdination . . . I'm with shooter on wondering if he is going through depression or bi-polar or what, becuase sometimes Oden looks into the game and other times he looks completly disinterested. Oden doesn't look happy, doesn't look like he is enjoying the game and to me is turning into a mind blow.
I'm not worried about Oden's demeanor. He's just a soft natured homosexual and comes off weird to straight men who don't understand. Microfracture surgery is a serious injury that takes two seasons before a player is 100% again. Oden didn't help this by getting fat. By the second half of the season Oden should be in much better shape.
I am an Oden believer, he controls the middle, and he gets rebounds even when he is having a bad game. Go back and watch some footage, and you will see over the games that Greg has been playing, that players are afraid to go inside, players get boxed out and can't get rebounds over him, and he still averages a significant amount of blocks per game, and even more shots changed. Secondly most everybody who has paid attention to NBA players who have got Microfracture surgery knows they don't really get their explosiveness back until the 2nd year after the surgery. You go out and compare him to Lebron, but Lebron didn't have F'n knee surgery did he? What the fuck is it? Have you wallowed in failure so long, that when the Blazers have success, you still have to find something to complain about? I expect Greg to slowly move along, getting his wind and athletic ability back, and by end of year, have improved to the point where he is a factor on offense and defense by end of year.
I think a lot of people were thinking Dwight Howard rookie numbers because most of could see he wasn't an extremely pollished offensive player in college. After a year off with microfracture surgery Oden is averaging better numbers than Howard per minute. Has a higher PER number than Howard did as a rookie, and is basically at 3/4 strength right now on a team with more talant than Howard had as a rookie, which means less opportunities. If you look at the players that returned from the surgery, most all of them, took some games to get going. These are players that had actually played in the NBA mind you as well. Oden per minute is putting up virtually the same or better rookie numbers than Bynum, Howard, Amare, Yao and KG did as rookies. AND HE SAT OUT A YEAR
When the #1 pick in the draft is playing so far below expectations that it's stunning, people are going to talk about it. Doesn't matter what the team's record is. Besides, what we're talking about here is the long-term future of this team--not just this year's record. Every Blazer fan knows that Oden is potentially the key to several championships, and we are curious about his health, his happiness, and (most important) his "game."
So do you think everything is on track with Oden . . . as far as turning into a franchise player? Observing his demeanor, his play on the court, his interviews . . . is there any cause for concern? About the PERS . . . if I played on the Blazer team this year . . . my PERS wouyld be higher than Howard's rookie year. The reason Oden isn't getting a lot of minutes is because Nate wants to win the game. Oden would get more minutes (like 30 against Detroit) if he was helping on the court. I know your thoughts about Joel . . . and to think Joel is talking minutes away from Oden . . . Anyways, I can't wait to see this quickness and agility I heard so much about when Blazers drafted him.
Question: how many games does it take to get into game shape? Oden was apparently in good condition and worked very hard on staying in shape, but we all agree that is different than game shape. But how long of a transition from being in shape to being in game shape?
Hey shooter, we are finally on the same side of an argument . . . possible you might now believe in Obama too?
I do like this quote from Oden: "Didn't do too well," he said quietly, after his two-point, seven-rebound performance. "But we won. That's all that matters. I'm still developing. Still learning."
