Just got home from the game. He looked nervous early, and you can tell his post game is raw and needs some work. But MAN OH MAN! He can rely on his size until the post moves arrive! What a beast!
He was getting triple teamed already. There is no chance teams will guard him single coverage, he'll eat them alive. I am impressed with his ball control (not losing the ball despite multiple defenders) in the deep post.
Not only that he passes out of double and triple teams so well for a 20 year old rookie, he looks like LaMarcus at the end of last season in that respect. Greg is going to be 8 kinds of scary (as opposed to the current 3) once he gets his full wind and drops maybe another 10 pounds.
I always hated Shaq when he would power down a dunk after a rebound and I would think that's not fair... Well now it is. I missed the beginning of the game (due to the debate) but from the point I started watching on-line I was very impressed with everyone. That double and triple team will be nice with whoever we have on the floor including Rudy who was the most impressive.
His footwork reminds me of Shaq. He also manuevers very well in the paint. Since he'll draw a lot of fouls, if he can shoot 70%+ from the foul line, he'll be completely unstoppable. He recognizes double teams well and passes effectively out of them. All he really needs to do right now is drop 10-15 pounds and get in shape.
he needs to make sure he doesn't get stupid ticky tack fouls like that one under the hoop when he bumped him out of bounds(questionable call)..but seriously, the offense is going to be money as long as they dont go away from feeding the rock down on the block
He never looks like he's in a hurry in the paint, but in a good way. He keeps his pivot foot in place and just feels out the spot he wants to explode in, just like a young Shaq. Also like him, he knows that nobody is going to be able to hold onto the ball for a jump ball (he'll just rip it away with his overwhelming strength). He's already in that Amare/Howard category of "anything 5 feet from the hoop is a dunk." I remember having some doubts about the LeBron hype when he was drafted until I saw him with my own eyes in his first NBA game. After that it was obvious he was going to live up to every bit of it. I'm not quite there with Oden, but I'm not far away.
Oden is fat. he needs to get in real shape and stay that way. I'm worried this is going to be a trend ever summer.
Every summer? Greg hasn't played a game in well over a year. You know...knee injury? I think we can forgive him for not being in the greatest shape this season, since he couldn't even run until a couple months ago.
Just my observations 1st he looked like he needed to gather himself before he dunked. Prior to surgery he'd just jump and dunk. 2nd he is definitely not in game shape. If season started today he'd last about 25 minutes a game. 3rd he comes out to far from the basket on his help defense. The good was he's just a beast. There is not one guy in the league that will be able to push him off the block. Even though he's not in great shape he still grabbed a few offensive rebounds, something this team has really lacked over the last couple of years. Roy, Rudy, Bayless, LMA and Webster will all benefit greatly from how much attention Oden gets. Trying not to jinx him but once he gets his legs under him he's going to be the best center in the league.
Haha... exactly right, Cake. Further, he very well might be at an awkward age, physically, where he's starting to fill out. I know he's been physically mature, and he gets flak for being 40... but he was pretty thin at OSU and the odds of him naturally filling out as he gets distance from his teen years are pretty high. He'll have to work with trainers and professionals to ensure that he works out appropriately. I certainly wouldn't say we should worry about a career-long weight battle, though, based on last night's game! Ed O.
He was definitely nervous from the start. He's going to get a lot of fouls called if he keeps going over guys for every offensive rebound. He's got to be more aware of his positioning, but I like the work ethic. The best play he made was the first dunk of the second half. He made a quick spin move to the baseline for the dunk. Reminded me of a young Shaq. Moves like that show a lot of confidence. As soon as he puts the ball on the floor, he's asking for the double team. I know he has to mix it up, but it was good to see him attacking right away. His passing was everything you'd want out of your big man. He's very unselfish and is fitting right in with all the other players.
Here's a great quote from Mikki Moore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp08/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=oden-081008
Good stuff. Polished game or not, he's going to command double teams. I also wanted to say in my previous post that he's got great hands. He doesn't fumble the ball at all and catches the ball anytime he gets his hands on it.
Anybody catch Bynum highlights from last night? His low post moves impressed the hell out of me. Cant wait till Oct 28th
