Brandon Roy is an all-star but will probably never will be an MVP canditate. Lamarcus may make an all-star game or two but I think he has about reached his peak. We have a strong bench, depth and versatility. We have outside shooting and capable defenders. What we don't have is the low-post threat that often makes the difference between good playoff teams and champions. Therefore Blazer championship(s) rest on Oden's shoulders. I used to think 12 & 10 with some good D was enough from Oden. But now I'm thinking the guy HAS to turn into a 20 & 12 monster or we will end up being also-rans. It's encouraging to see that Oden is improving. Against OKC they went to him early and it paid off. He made some nice moves and it looks like he's more agile than last year. His ceiling is still extraordinary. What is discouraging is that they didn't go to him again in the second half when they were struggling to score. I also noticed BRoy doesn't look to set up Oden at all. It may have been because they were fronting Oden and making entry passes difficult, but eventually Roy (and the others) are going to have to come around and realize that the success of the Blazers depends on feeding the beast until he turns into monster. And the sooner the better.
I feel your pain Fumancu, It's painful watching these "Nate", offensive, offensive sets. I cring because, deep down, I can visualise what a terrific inside-outside attack could be run with Greg drawing and kicking to the Boys outside/slashing. Unfortunately this won't change till the 'Sarge' gets court marshalled for crimes against basketball.
I do think them fronting him was the reason they didn't go to him. He's got fall back or prepare to fall back and they have to pass it over to him. That was the first time that I seen a team consistently do that so they might not have practice much for that.
And it could be a sign that other teams are respecting our bigs much more. I have seen more doubles on our bigs so far this season than last year combined. Of course I'm being a little over the top, but you get what I mean. Other teams didn't respect our bigs last season, so they mainly played us straight up.
