Re: Bill Simmons Strokes His Own Ego Agreed. He makes some horrible assessments. But to be fair, he'll cheerfully admit that later - see for example his exchange with Chad Ford over mock drafts before this year's draft. However, he tends to err more towards overpraising than over-damning. He was completely right about Pavel Podkolzine, for example. My one consolation is that Oden could still turn out to be Bill Russell-esque. Russell never looked particularly graceful, especially on offense. But those 11 rings made up for a lot.
Re: Bill Simmons Strokes His Own Ego Its simple. The NBA is all about "What have you done for me lately?" . It was Red Aurcbach's favorite saying. Oden hasn't done anything lately(or ever for that matter), so he gets ripped. That is reality. It's just like how guys such as KG and Karl Malone took years and years of "They haven't won it all" rips from fans and the press. KG finally broke through, and now he gets the golden treatment. Karl Malone never did, and will always be one of those guys who never lived up to his billing. Look at the treatment Shaq goes through every time a team he is on isn't doing well. "He's washed up". "He's too old". Blah blah blah yada yada yada. Then he swaps teams and wins a finals. What have you done for me lately. Look at Kobe. A few years ago part of a "dynasty". 2 years ago, he was "tearing his team apart". Now that they are winning and contenders again, he is out of the doghouse once more. It's all about winning. If Greg comes back and the Blazers win games, it will all be good. Anything else, and he will be a failure. That is the burden he has to shoulder. He will either nut up, or he won't. We have no control over that. No use fretting over it. So, that being said, Greg, what have you done for me lately? Now, after asking that, what do you expect from the press? Exactly.
Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" Ouch. Say it ain't so. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3683493
Re: Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" Yeah. I read that an it is BS big time. He is better right now hurt. g
Re: Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" i think he meant it as a compliment. as in he right now is as good as damp on his best day. 15/12/3 blocks. i get it.
Re: Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" No, he said "ceiling." That means that the best he will ever be is Dampier on his best day.
Re: Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" ha i guess i should have read the story first. i read an article of his a week ago where he said it the other way, as in right now. he also said. "thats a good thing". whatever.
but that as his ceiling or best possible this year? The first obvious flaw in this comparison is that Erick has maybe the worst hands in the league... and thats a real strength for Greg. You give ED Greg's mitts and you've got a player capable of more then the impressive numbers you posted. Guys with their size who have some coordination are featured players on the low block. Threre are other problems with this comparison, but whatever... looking forward to seeing how BS writes about this as the season goes along STOMP
Re: Simmons: Oden's ceiling is "Erick Dampier on a really good day" Simmons is humour columnist. He tries to be provocative and funny. I think he fails to be funny, but a lot of people like him. However, taking his writing as any sort of real analysis is a mistake. In terms of knowing sports, he's basically just a regular fan and, on top of that, he's rarely even trying to be serious. That places his "analysis" on the same level as trash talk being tossed around in a sports bar.
