How is it a demotion? He's still going to get major minutes, and the team still acknowledges his importance. It just come to a time where if we want Oden to develop, he's going to have to get minutes.
Joel was promoted when Greg sprained his foot... so really Greg is just back up to speed and getting his starting spot back now that he's good to go again STOMP
The day when Greg dunks like he does at 0:31, if it ever happens (let's hope so), is the day it's lights out for the league.
Not a shock that he's going to be a starter, but is he ready for those kind of minutes? As an NBA fan, I want to see him succeed, so I don't want the Blazers staff becoming overzealous and playing him more minutes than what he is able to at this point.
I'm fine with this move. Canzano's kind of irritating me with this talk that this isn't the right move. Greg is eventually going to have to play and find himself where he fits with LaMarcus and Brandon. There may be a rough transition, but it has to happen eventually and why not do it early on this season against some sub-par teams. Let the big man loose!
Canzano is just upset that he didn't get a chance to write an article about how sitting Oden is hindering his development before the team made the switch. Unlike me and my thread this morning, which I believe knocked some sense into Nate and made him start Oden.
These are two entirely different situations. Joel knew he was filling in for Oden while Oden was getting accustomed to the NBA game. He never finished games when Oden could finish them either. His role isn't going to change, just because he comes off the bench doesn't mean he's going to be doing anything different.
Joel has been playing well but I wouldn't say better than Oden, merely because Oden hasn't always had a chance to show what he can do with superstar minutes. I bet he has a great game tonight and that ends the debate right there. Oden is the future. He must start. No matter how well Joel plays.
It sucked thet Oden didn't get a chance to start against Shaq and truly show how he matched up. Like I said- big game out of Greg tonight.
Oden looked awful tonight. He has no offensive moves, no handle, no confidence, and not much of anything to contribute right now. The only time he gets a rebound is when it comes right to him. The guy should get 10 rebounds a game in his sleep, but he can't seem to find the ball when it comes off the rim. I know he's recovering from a major injury, but so far I'm pretty disappointed with Oden.
...terrible move to the starting rotation [why bench one of the best players, statistically, in the league over the last week or so???]!!!
It's going to take time. I know we don't want to wait, but the truth is you don't come back from micro-fracture surgery and consistently look incredible. He does have offensive moves. We've already seen them this season and in college. Grabbing rebounds can be tough when you're not quick enough to get position or strong enough to get your feet off the floor. His confidence is a huge factor. He'll only get that back by playing through these struggling moments. As disappointed as you are in Oden, I feel the same way about many of the Blazer fans that drop their support for Greg at every whim. I'm baffled that you can in one breath point out that he's "recovering from a major injury" but still be disappointed. It's not his fault. Maybe your expectations were unrealistic.
Brandon Roy needs help. He can't do this by himself. This team believes they can do something special this season. I think they realize that they can't do it unless Greg, LaMarcus, and Brandon can all play together at a high level. It's going to be painful to watch, but having Greg learn to play with the starters is going to pay off huge relatively soon.
I still am in the "who cares who starts for now" camp. We started off well (with Greg) and Joel had a great game off the bench. Our issues last night had very little to do with who started.
