How would you rate him to Shaq, Hakeem, Patrick or Yao in their first year? That is the type of player he was hyped to be? Not saying he wont be, but honestly how do you view him in comparison right now? I'm still not sure! Yes, I understand that all of these centers are very different but their instant presence in the league I believe is more my ?
Well I agree (maybe out of frustration) . . . there has been so much hype about him that I expected more of an immediate impact. With his size and flashes of potential, there is no way a franchise or hopefully fans give up on him, but I'm surprised that with his body size, he sure can disappear on that court (and at times not just disappear but be a liability). I got to figure, when GO finally gets right, that the very least, he will be a banger down low and be the physical presence the Blazers need. At the most . . . another Ewing? I don't see this quickness that puts him into the category of a Shaq (or Howard) . . . but with all the reports of his quickness, soft hands, hard work ethics . . . I mean there has to be some truth to all that, right?
none of the great centers were coming off of micro fracture their rookie year though either so thats what makes the comparison at this point unfair.
Exactly. He has seem to have regress the last couple game. I see him sometimes and he just doesn't seem like he's trying to get position or go after O rebounds for one thing. While I don't expected him to be trying to score every time other aspects of his game that I expect him to do well right now he isn't at least in the last couple games.
I wonder what his diet is like on the road. I think he is trying to slim down so he can regain his hops. I really would like to know what he is eating because he looks dog tired out there. NBA back to back games over and over plus poor diet could equal lack of energy. Just eating a proper diet for his size coupled with the rigors of an NBA season should cause him to get in better shape, no need to starve.
Its obvious that Joel has really stepped up his energy this year. I am very impressed by him. Greg might be worried about his starting role at home so it didn't make so much of an impact as if he came off the bench. He needs to learn not to be timid by other players and just perform what he knows best. Joel has really stepped up beyond my expectations this year and can only imagine how much energy he is feeding off of others. Greg might be in a slump like LA is. Who knows.
Sometimes you just need to force the issue. With Greg he's passive in nature so you force him to step up by giving him more minutes. I think some of the issue is Greg feels guilty for taking Joel's starting spot because he feels like he doesn't deserve it.
I agree with giving him major minutes. We've already seen what he could do against Golden State in 30 minutes- 22 pts, 10 rebs. Play the guy. And get him the ball. PLEASE.
Agree force the issue. I think we'd be surprised at what he would do if he was forced to play more. 17 minutes is absurd for him. should be no less than 25 minutes a game.
I love Joel but he is overrated by many of you guys. He's averaging 6 pts, 8 rebs, and 1 blk. He shoots 82% because Roy and Blake set him for dunks right at the basket. That is all he does. He doesn't post up. He doesn't get double teamed. And thus he doesn't have the opportunity to pass like Greg has in recent games. Oden could finish the dunks right at the basket that Joel gets just as good as Joel does. If that's all he did, he'd shoot 82% too. As for Oden's offensive game, how often do we give him the basketball? For the first several games, he would set screens and roll to the basket but no one would pass it to him. Over the last two games, he's quit trying. We need to give him the ball and give him time out there. His biggest weakness right now is turnovers but that will stop if he gets more time to get comfortable. That is my opinion.
Overrated? He is a great backup center and a great mentor to Greg while he is recovering from MF surgery and getting into game shape. I see no reason to force minutes on Greg before he is in much better game shape - all it would do is put the team further down (since Joel plays better at the moment), make Greg the target of criticism if the team fails and frustrate him because he can not get over the hump. Slow and safe with this guy is the right way to go. No one assumes that he will be better than Greg in the long run, no one assumes that he is our center of the future. Nate is doing a very smart thing with Greg - he is getting him moving slowly, limiting his role (rebound, play defense, everything else is gravy) and showing confidence in him (giving him the starting role). Take a deep breath, it's a long season and everything will work just as it should. When Greg was beasting on GSW - he gave him the minutes. It was the right decision. When he is not effective because he needs to play away from the basket (as he did against the Kings) - he took him out. Not forcing him to make decisions on the break as Sergio did is the right thing - give him the time - he will be just fine.
