I found this on the Blazers' main page on espn.com. I realize that he wasn't expected to be much of a force on offense during his first year, but would it really hurt us that much to go to him just a little more?
LOL at Josh Boone. I totally agree that we need to continue to play through Oden in the low post. His passing is a very nice surprise and is underrated.
^I'd say around 5 of those 13 were his hook shots that have been massively improving since the start of the year.
1. Getting deep is a very good skill. 2. His hook shots are definitely not all right next to the basket to the point where he just flips it in. 3. Its still makes his shots not all dunks. Anyway, it isnt like he is spoon fed all of his dunks. Plenty come from off. rebounding which is awesome, and then some come from backing down and using his drop step and packing it.
I'm surprised at how well he's been keeping his pivot foot planted. He's had some nice moves under the basket without really going anywhere.
They weren't all dunks. Even if they had been, there's nothing wrong with that either. The point is, if a guy is making 13 straight shots without a miss, keep giving him the ball so he can keep doing whatever he is doing.
Bingo. We need to keep playing our inside/out game. McMillain is finally getting it, and by proxy, so is Oden.
THats another thing he has improved greatly on. I remember how many times he traveled early in the year trying to pivot/dropstep... I think the addition of Lucas has helped his footwork tremedously... Along with his weight and bball shape I think his footwork is one of the most improved things i've seen out of Gregory this year.
And one can't underestimate the effects of simply learning to play at NBA speed. Early in the season, it was all too obvious that Oden was taking time to think about how to proceed when he had the ball in his hands. Having to consciously think about how to proceed is too slow. You need to be able to read and react instinctively. Oden is playing much faster now...he's not planning out his next motions; he's catching, feeling the defense and making his move automatically. That allows him to move much more naturally and gives the defense less time to pressure him into a mistake. It's exciting seeing such dramatic improvements.
