Greg Oden's last 5 Games

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

The next time that happens (regardless of who it is), will be the first?

Nah. It happens all the time. Look at the Adam Morrison thread that's on the first page right now for proof of it. Many, and perhaps most, people are willing to admit when they're wrong. Sometimes it just takes a while. :)

Ed O.
 
The rest of the league is F'd when Greg gets his bounce back.
 
I don't think it is unrealistic for people to have changed their mind on Oden. Early in the year he looked like he had hands of stone, no touch outside of one foot from the basket, and extremely fragile ego (Martell on downers) and the conditioning of the average member of this board. Not to mention the injury angle. All bad.

With confidence (and maybe some lost weight) and conditioning, he is much more fluid and comfortable on the court. Additionally, it appears he has learned how to reduce his number of dumb fouls, which has allowed him to play more.

Early in the season I was wondering if we made mistake too. I don't see how any fan couldn't have at least briefly entertained those thoughts. Now he has stepped up and the thoughts are gone.
 
So, that's not what you said originally. You said:



You didn't mention expectations, hype, highly rated, etc. You only asked about No. 1 picks that struggled more than Oden and I gave several examples that did, including some very recent. If you change the question, of course the answer changes.



Actually, you did. Again, in your own words:



This is what I meant by a selective memory.

BNM

Repped
 
since alonzo retired. what would you guys think of bringing him here to coach greg? HOFer, still in shape, defensive god. why not?
 
Nah. It happens all the time. Look at the Adam Morrison thread that's on the first page right now for proof of it. Many, and perhaps most, people are willing to admit when they're wrong. Sometimes it just takes a while. :)

I still say I'm right that Telfair is going to be a great point guard. He's still so young (at least in baseball terms)...point guards don't break out til their 6th year. Or 7th year. Or 8th year. Just you wait.
 
I don't think it is unrealistic for people to have changed their mind on Oden. Early in the year he looked like he had hands of stone, no touch outside of one foot from the basket, and extremely fragile ego (Martell on downers) and the conditioning of the average member of this board. Not to mention the injury angle. All bad.

With confidence (and maybe some lost weight) and conditioning, he is much more fluid and comfortable on the court. Additionally, it appears he has learned how to reduce his number of dumb fouls, which has allowed him to play more.

Early in the season I was wondering if we made mistake too. I don't see how any fan couldn't have at least briefly entertained those thoughts. Now he has stepped up and the thoughts are gone.

Because some fans realized he was coming off micro-fracture, hadn't played in a year, then got injured in his first game back, missed another six games, realized that pretty much everyone else who has had micro-fracture struggled when first coming back (even though they had already played in the NBA prior to their surgery, something Greg did not do), was a rookie big man who was adjusting to playing on a regular basis against men his size and skill (while again trying to learn to retrust his knee).

A lot of the people that called Oden a bust tried suggesting that those were excuses. They aren't excuses, they're just cold facts. No rookie big man has ever gone through what Oden did in the last eighteen months - to expect him to come in and dominate right away after the surgery, not playing a year (remember Zach's surgery only forced him to miss two months of actual playing time, infact it may have been a month and a half), then after getting injured again was unrealistic in my opinion.

Once he got back you could see the flashes. He just needed (still needs) time to get his reflexes back, his footwork back, his athleticism back, and his timing back. Unfortunately I think a few of the people calling him bust made this situation worse by not actually watching him playing but just checking box scores and playing the stats game. This isn't really how one should evaluate progress.
 
Last edited:
since alonzo retired. what would you guys think of bringing him here to coach greg? HOFer, still in shape, defensive god. why not?

Mourning doesn't have a lot to teach on offense, I don't think. He was more a Shawn Kemp type of offensive player...used his athleticism to to attack the rim off of feeds from other players and rebounds. While that's useful and I think Oden can already do that, it doesn't allow a player to be a focal point on offense. Oden would be better off learning from someone who was great in the post and had great footwork. I really wish McHale were available. Olajuwon might also be great.
 
Mourning doesn't have a lot to teach on offense, I don't think. He was more a Shawn Kemp type of offensive player...used his athleticism to to attack the rim off of feeds from other players and rebounds. While that's useful and I think Oden can already do that, it doesn't allow a player to be a focal point on offense. Oden would be better off learning from someone who was great in the post and had great footwork. I really wish McHale were available. Olajuwon might also be great.

Walton :devilwink:
 
You didn't mention expectations, hype, highly rated, etc. You only asked about No. 1 picks that struggled more than Oden and I gave several examples that did, including some very recent.
No, I didn't mention "expectations," but that is certainly part of the equation when you talk about someone like Greg Oden. When Oden gets 4 points and 2 rebounds in a game, he's "struggling" more than Kwame Brown is when he also gets 4 points and 2 rebounds in a game. That's because we expect so much more of Oden, and his performance is measured against a higher standard. No one is that surprised when Kwame Brown has a bad game, because we never expected that much of him to begin with.

As for my "bust" comment, I only made that in retrospect--I certainly never called Oden a bust while he was struggling in the early part of the season. That was my point, but then you probably already realize that.
 
Last edited:
Nah. It happens all the time. Look at the Adam Morrison thread that's on the first page right now for proof of it. Many, and perhaps most, people are willing to admit when they're wrong. Sometimes it just takes a while. :)

Ed O.

Ahhh, I was wrong then. Forgive me, all. I'm at all your mercies. Be gentle.
 
No, I didn't mention "expectations," but that is certainly part of the equation when you talk about someone like Greg Oden. When Oden gets 4 points and 2 rebounds in a game, he's "struggling" more than Kwame Brown is when he also gets 4 points and 2 rebounds in a game. That's because we expect so much more of Oden, and his performance is measured against a higher standard. No one is that surprised when Kwame Brown has a bad game, because we never expected that much of him to begin with.

Who is this we you speak of? Some of you may have had unrealistic expecations, but some of us realized he was coming off microfracture surgery and adjusted our expectations accordingly.

If Oden hadn't been injured and hadn't had to take a year and a half off from playing competive basketball, the expectations would have been different. But, the fact is he was injured, required surgery and a long rehabilitation process.. That should have reduced the expectations for his rookie season. It was obvious to anyone who watched him back in November and early December that he wasn't close to 100% physically.

If Oden didn't meet your expectations, perhaps your expectations were unrealistic given the circumstances.

BNM
 
Who is this we you speak of? Some of you may have had unrealistic expecations, but some of us realized he was coming off microfracture surgery and adjusted our expectations accordingly.

If Oden hadn't been injured and hadn't had to take a year and a half off from playing competive basketball, the expectations would have been different. But, the fact is he was injured, required surgery and a long rehabilitation process.. That should have reduced the expectations for his rookie season. It was obvious to anyone who watched him back in November and early December that he wasn't close to 100% physically.

If Oden didn't meet your expectations, perhaps your expectations were unrealistic given the circumstances.

BNM

:biglaugh:

Honestly, I think the biggest factors in Oden's resurgence has been his weight loss, and Nate going to him more in the post. We have seen a more active Greg Oden, and we have seen a team that finally understands how to get him the ball.
 
btw the one thing that jumped out at me the last game was his first dunk with one hand. kind of a reverse. he surprised me how quickly he went up and slammed it down. i thought to myself "hes back in shape"
 
btw the one thing that jumped out at me the last game was his first dunk with one hand. kind of a reverse. he surprised me how quickly he went up and slammed it down. i thought to myself "hes back in shape"

Or he's getting there. I'm curious what his weight is at now.
 
Or he's getting there. I'm curious what his weight is at now.
he gathered himself so quicky. i think he is in shape now. i dont mean he is 100% with his knee. just in basketball shape now. i think it was barrett who said something about how he doesnt get tired anymore running back and forth on the court.
 
If Oden didn't meet your expectations, perhaps your expectations were unrealistic given the circumstances.
Why the hell do you think Oden was so depressed and moody earlier in the season? He clearly wasn't meeting his OWN expectations, much less those of the organization. His teammates were also disappointed in his play; some were even reluctant to pass him the ball because he was playing so poorly. McMillan told a reporter that " . . . there are certain things you can be patient on, but other things if you continue to see the same mistakes then you have to discipline him in the sense of calling him out and sitting him down.”

The point is, Oden started his career off even more slowly than many people expected, including himself, his teammates, and his coach. You can keep pretending that you were wiser than everyone else, and you never had any doubts about him, but you'd only be fooling yourself.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=jy-odenblazers010509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
 
he gathered himself so quicky. i think he is in shape now. i dont mean he is 100% with his knee. just in basketball shape now. i think it was barrett who said something about how he doesnt get tired anymore running back and forth on the court.

I think that's possible. He looks much much slimmer now. He looks closer to the greg of old.
 
Why the hell do you think Oden was so depressed and moody earlier in the season? He clearly wasn't meeting his OWN expectations, much less those of the organization. His teammates were also disappointed in his play; some were even reluctant to pass him the ball because he was playing so poorly. McMillan told a reporter that " . . . there are certain things you can be patient on, but other things if you continue to see the same mistakes then you have to discipline him in the sense of calling him out and sitting him down.”

The point is, Oden started his career off even more slowly than many people expected, including himself, his teammates, and his coach. You can keep pretending that you were wiser than everyone else, and you never had any doubts about him, but you'd only be fooling yourself.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=jy-odenblazers010509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Holy crap. What's your problem? It was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain that Oden wasn't in basketball shape back in November and early December. Heck, it was obvious in preseason. Anyone with any familiarity at all with how long it takes a player to come back from microfracturer surgery would know Oden wouldn't be putting up 20/10 right out of the shoot. This doesn't make me wise, and I never claimed it did. It makes me realistic.

Yes, I do have high expectations for Oden eventually. I've said all along that I expect by the time Portland is contending for a championship, he will be our leading scorer (or at least neck and neck with Roy). But, that's a couple seasons down the road, not in November/December 2008.

And no, I NEVER had any doubts about Oden - EVER. Again, not claiming to be wise, just realistic - and patient.

BNM
 
Yes, I do have high expectations for Oden eventually. I've said all along that I expect by the time Portland is contending for a championship, he will be our leading scorer (or at least neck and neck with Roy). But, that's a couple seasons down the road, not in November/December 2008.

I could see him as our leading scorer. The guy has shown he can score in bunches, and he can make his free throws (something Shaq could never do on a consistent basis). I could see Oden average 25 a game in a few years. I just don't think anyone can really match up with his size. He just needs to develop more of a well-rounded offensive game. A few more baby hooks and jump hooks. Something he can use out to five feet.
 
Is he not allowed to change his mind with more evidence?

Would you rather, like so many of us do on this board, continue holding an opinion no matter what happens in the real world?

Or are you trying to goad him into stating that he was wrong and to throw himself on the mercy of the RC2 community?
Ed O.

Yeah, that.

KS likes to say "learn the game before you post." He should expect to be called out when it's clear that he's wrong.
 
Yeah, that.

KS likes to say "learn the game before you post." He should expect to be called out when it's clear that he's wrong.

Eric doesn't need to learn the game. He IS the game.
 
I still say I'm right that Telfair is going to be a great point guard. He's still so young (at least in baseball terms)...point guards don't break out til their 6th year. Or 7th year. Or 8th year. Just you wait.

Heh. I'll have to throw myself on the mercy of the board on this one, too. I bought the hype, hooked though the gills.
 
Heh. I'll have to throw myself on the mercy of the board on this one, too. I bought the hype, hooked though the gills.

I didn't think that Bassy would be great, but I did think he'd be a good starter. I still think he could be.
 
Last season Oden was really underwhelming! Not a single basket or rebound! And I'm tired of all the excuses about a little injury!
 
Last season Oden was really underwhelming! Not a single basket or rebound! And I'm tired of all the excuses about a little injury!

I hear you. When he walked around in those suits during the games it looked like he wasn't even ready, emotionally or physically, to play.

Ed O.
 
I hear you. When he walked around in those suits during the games it looked like he wasn't even ready, emotionally or physically, to play.

Ed O.

He looked awesome at 24 Hour fitness though :devilwink:
 
Being a "bust" is a permanent condition. If Oden isn't one now, then he never really was.

I think you can't call someone a bust until several years down the road. If these 5 games were just a blip on the screen and 5 years down the road, he hasn't developed into a premiere big man in the league, then he'll be considered a bust. I mean, was Bowie a bust in his rookie year? Not at all. And he was mostly considered a bust because he wasn't as good as Jordan which isn't fair. Statwise, he had a great rookie year. Better than Oden is having so far. I'm loving Oden's recent play though.
 
since alonzo retired. what would you guys think of bringing him here to coach greg? HOFer, still in shape, defensive god. why not?

Not after that G2 commercial. Zo is dead to me.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top