I don't think this was posted yet, or if so I missed it (and feel free to merge this with it). Dime magazine has a short Q&A with Oden, here. I don't really read a whole lot into "loves the game" arguements, as I don't believe you can really tell that just from what someone says. That being said, it's an interesting read (though mostly just because I'm getting antsy for the season to start).
I liked this quote: You know, I kind of forgot that he was actually playing really well before then. The two games right before then he'd put up 17/12/6 blocks and 16/10/3 blocks. And of the 11 games leading up to the injury he was in double figure scoring for 6 of them.
I keep getting the feeling that Oden is going to explode this year, but I'm really trying to temper my enthusiasm and tell myself I'll be happy if he can just stay out of foul trouble. Because if he does, he'll already surprise people. Andrew Bynum was the "next great center", and he put up numbers that Oden would surpass in similar minutes. I mean, I've seen national media types say Oden is an Olawakandi. KandiCane's best PER season of his career was 12.4; Oden had 18.1 as a foul-plagued rookie.
My only concern is him staying healthy. As long as that happens he's going to be a beast! I think a lot of the fouls will not be a factor as long as he's healthy and can move his feet.
I think so too. The health will definitely help the silly out of position fouls. I'm as excited for this year as any year in my life of Blazer fandom.
