The player that hurts us more then helps us most of the time is your favorite Outlaw. So, stop bagging on Oden and watch the game with a little objectivity.
Well part of the problem (no, not all of it but part of it) is that Oden is one of few players making an effort on the defensive end. The problem is that when his teammates arent matching that effort and their players get around them then that leaves Oden trying to defend a smaller, quicker player that already had the advantage of momentum to the basket. Sure, Oden is a good shot blocker but its stupid to think that he clean up all of their mistakes.
I agree... I don't know why it's better to end with 5 fouls than with 6. Just let him fucking play and if he fouls out, so be it. Him being tentative is clearly not working, so just encourage him to be aggressive, especially in the fourth quarter. Ed O.
Oden was going to have some growing pains this season. It is unavoidable. But absolutely needed. Portland will not win a title without an inside threat. Currently the only guy who even has the potential to fill this role is Oden. Portland has to live with the mistakes now so Oden gets comfortable in the future. Oh, and one other thing. The team plays better with Oden on the floor then off. You have also downplayed the importance of offensive rebounds. Those are the only things keeping Portland in games right now.
Honestly, they are all fouls, but not ones you normally seen called on big men, especially centers. So you can argue that they are bogus, but if you ever "replay" them, they are actual fouls. I don't know why he is getting called for every little foul. I mean they give him no room to operate. It's like tying his hand behind his back, and making him guard a prime Shaq. You give the edge to his opponent every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
I agree that most are actual fouls but a lot are the kind of fouls that the refs let go if the player is playing aggressively. And Oden is playing aggressively so it really does make no sense. The real problem is that you want your center to play aggressively and you understand that he is going to pick up some fouls that way. That can be good thing and will send a message to the other that between fouls and blocks that you will not be getting shots easily. But when your center is getting 1-3 extra fouls a game because of botched defense from the other players then they cant afford to lose other fouls by playing aggressively.
The problem is that fouls keep him off the floor where he will get the needed experience. It's a catch-22 with him. I think he just needs to be WAY less aggressive on the defensive end this season. I'd rather have him out there grabbing boards than trying to block every shot.
If they had called all the fouls on Shaq that they call on Oden, Shaq would've averaged 20-something minutes a game as well. Oden is being pinched for whatever godawful reason. A lot of his fouls just simply do not get called on other big men.
What really annoys me is that it is a one way street. A lot of his "turn-overs" are the same kind of fouls on the other side that are not called. Pretty ugly officiating, imho. The replacement officials were a pain - but they did not play these favoritism games.
What s/he said. Him/her too. What makes the referees' job difficult is that everybody fouls on every play. But that's like saying everybody speeds. Of course they do. Should the cops stop everybody? Of course not. Make examples of the more egregious examples. But Oden's fouls are not egregious. It's the Rasheed-getting-technicals syndrome. He got them because he was Rasheed. Same as a black kid with baggy pants is a gang member but a white kid with baggy pants is just a dickens who's going through a phase.
I would say almost half of his fouls are questionable. 1 of every 5 is complete BS. He is still getting screwed.
I would point out that Oden hasn't been the only one in foul trouble at center, Joel has too. He wasn't last night, but in a lot of games Joel has been in foul trouble. The problem is the switches. Its the same problem that has plagued the team the last few years. Why do they keep getting caught in switches with our bigs in the perimeter, and our smalls being caught on power players? Both of those situations put our big men in a position to fail.
Exactly... I laugh so hard when announcers say things like "I don't know what they are complaining about, it's a foul" Well games would last about 2 extra hours if the refs called every foul. And I completely agree with giving the calls that are blatant. Oden isn't out there "trying to foul" in fact, you can see him trying to avoid a ton, knowing he may get called and still get called for it. That's the "frustration" you see in Oden's face. He's like "What the hell am I supposed to do to stay in this game?!?!?!"
Like it or not, Greg now has a reputation as being a fouler. We may as well get used to it. It's BS, but it happens to players.
So you'd just accept taking it in the ass after a few times of forcing it on you? Not that I would. But please tell me if I am wrong to be so analogous.
Reminds me of the line from Father Ted: "He was the victim of 200 cases of forced transvestism in one year!" And exactly what are we as fans supposed to do about Oden's victimization? I guess the entire Rose Garden chanting "the refs suck" would be a start...
I think most of the fouls he gets called for are legit. He is good at blocking shots, but still not moving his feet very fast. If a guard gets around one of our guards (often happens) and drives to the hoop, I watch Oden step out to try and cut him off. Problem is the guard just takes it to the hoop and into the body of Oden. Oden isn't quick enough (yet) to adjust and gets the blocking foul (legit blocking foul) as Oden is moving. I can see it coming. It is when Oden steps out to try and stop a driving guard.
The play last night on offense where he tipped the rebound to himself and instead of the easy two points for us, they call the loose ball foul on Oden, no matter that it was he who actually touched the ball and was in control enough to corral it. It's shit like this that gets really old. One or two of those calls that shouldn't be called really affects the outcome of the game and it happens every game to Oden. Very rarely will I see a game where ALL of Oden's fouls are of the typically called variety.
