Im going to assume this is a joke, and a low blow by some douche writer http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=SummerForecast10-MVP
If Oden stays healthy, has solid numbers and a good PER, and the Blazers make a splash in the playoffs (at least WCF), then it could happen. Clearly a long shot, but really dependent on his health.
Health is the key. He played like a near superstar last year, if you factor in both his production (PER, for example) and great defense. Staying healthy will be a big question mark until he does it, but his talent isn't a question mark as far as I'm concerned. He has the talent to justify his #1 selection.
If Greg Oden stays healthy, he will win the Most Improved Player award. His game doesn't translate to an MVP award because it's predicated on interior defense and cleaning the boards, scoring on putbacks. Our offense runs through Brandon, not GO.
I wouldn't go so far as to call Oden's play from last season "near superstar" level. He impressed maybe 65% of the time. Don't get me wrong, if Oden puts it all together, we've got ourselves a near superstar. Moderate-to-big "if" at this point.
For Oden to win the MVP, 4 things would need to happen. 1. He would have to stay healthy. 2. He would have to prove that last season's PER wasn't the product of small sample size. 3. The team would have to at least get to the WCF. 4. Roy would have to be hit by a meteor between now and 1/1/11.
When he gets his quickness back, those silly reaching fouls will stop. And once officials gets used to his game, the ticky tack fouls will stop too. It will allow him to put in the 32-36 mpg he should get. We all know how frustrating it has been to see him just get into a groove and then have to be benched for foul trouble. When he's allowed to get rolling, he's scary.
Really as an analyst, I think he is absoultey top-10. To win an MVP you have to separate yourself from your peers and be on a championship contender. I think with the injuries last season and still winning 50 games, it is a no-brainer that this team is going to be one of the title-contenders for 10/11 if healthy. So as mentioned, if they go deep as expected to the WCF, someone from the Blazers will get those votes with the outstanding players from the other finals teams. And if healthy and the PER stays consistent with what it was appearing to be after he got significant 500+ starting minutes under his belt last year, then I think we can expect Oden to leapfrog Roy in that recognition as to being the difference from a one-and-out playoff team to a championship contender.
No offense dude, but being a taste tester in an edible underwear factory doesn't make you an "analyst". J/K
This is what Minstrel meant in my opinion: superstar level means >=25 PER. 23 PER (offensive production+rebounds+blocks) + excellent defense = near superstar level.
True. But that was my first degree. But my last two were in Analytics and Statistcal Theory. So while I don't necessarily like to term myself something that generic, it's what everyone else calls seems to want to call me and is printed on all these things on my office walls. So it's hard to avoid. But true, that term does get widely overused.
Yeah, exactly. I do agree with oldmangrouch's point that Oden needs to prove that it's not a small sample size artifact. But that's an issue about whether he can keep it up with bigger minutes. It's still true (if you believe that PER is a good measure of on-court play in terms of offense and rebounding) that Oden played at near a superstar level last season in the minutes he did play.
But what does it say about a guy when he merely jumps up to block a shot and wipes out his knee??? Seems to me that he's very fragile, and having "good health" for an entire season is wishful thinking.
A number like PER doesn't determine if you are a superstar or not. It's a rare category to be in, in any sport. Lebron Kobe Wade Are the only superstars in the league imo. Durant is probably on the cusp, and I don't consider CP3 a superstar, or Dwight Howard, the best center in the league. It's a rare category to be in. I can't say Oden was even close to being a superstar player last year.
Interesting. You don't consider the best PG in the league, and possibly the best PG since Magic, to be a "superstar"?
You guys are all idiots!! It was obviously a female reporter giving him an MVP vote for having a "third leg".
