Canzano questions Oden's desire to play

[Minstrel]

I'd need to see Greg have more than a handful of good games before I'd replace Joel with him. Our offense still can't get the ball to Greg and he looks lost to much to be a starter. That's the way I see it.

Oden draws far more double-teams than Przybilla does. For what is essentially a jump-shooting team, that's gold. Double-teams in the post + good ball-movement = open shots.

Oden's only real problem on the court, as things stand, is fouls. He draws double-teams, scores at a high percentage, rebounds at a high level and is a good defensive presence. For such a "catastrophic" rookie season, that's pretty impressive.

 

[blazerboy30]

Joel's better at staying on the floor, but that's about it as far as I'm concerned.

Ed O.

I'd say, at this point, Joel is a better defender. They get a similar number of blocks, but Joel is FAR superior at playing D on the pick-and-roll, and is a better 1-on-1 defender. I would give Greg the edge on the "intimidation factor" though. Greg seems to force a lot of players to toss up ugly shots.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I don't know what "desire" Oden has to play ball, but this is hardly an original thought by Canzano. Oden's desire has been questioned before . . .

 

[maxiep]

It's not uncommon for players to miss games, and it's not that uncommon for young players to "grow out of" being injury prone.

Let's just look at Joel, shall we?

00-01: 33
01-02: 71
02-03: 32
03-04: 17
04-05: 76
05-06: 56
06-07: 43
07-08: 77

Even with another injury-free year this year, Przybilla isn't exactly A.C. Green, but he was injured a LOT in his career and has made adjustments to stay healthier.

Ed O.

I should have read this post earlier. I made almost exactly the same argument in another thread. Of course, I was a sarcastic prick about it, so you get points for presentation too.

 

[MARIS61]

It's not uncommon for players to miss games, and it's not that uncommon for young players to "grow out of" being injury prone.

Let's just look at Joel, shall we?

00-01: 33
01-02: 71
02-03: 32
03-04: 17
04-05: 76
05-06: 56
06-07: 43
07-08: 77

Even with another injury-free year this year, Przybilla isn't exactly A.C. Green, but he was injured a LOT in his career and has made adjustments to stay healthier.

Ed O.

I'm guessing one of those adjustments was to stop letting people with a vested interest (coaches, fans, sportswriters) advise him when he is ready to play.