Greg's Fault

[blue32]

I didn't like that decision by Brandon at all. I guess it's just one of those early season mistakes that we probably won't see him make again. He gets the ball and dribbles right and he should have just gone up. Instead he pump faked, which gave Bird Man & Billips time to close in on him and that's why he had to give the ball up. Why did he pump fake? He had space before the fake to get a good shot off. He blew it. Instead, he throws to Oden with 2 guys on his back and 5 seconds left. Literally, the last place you want to go in that situation. Yeah, I was frustrated when Greg clanked them both but he should have never been there.

Roy has won enough games for this team that he gets a hall pass for this - no doubt. None the less I can't help but notice he isn't the same B-Roy as we watched all last year. Carmello was in mid-season form. Roy looks . . . "off". Through the preseason, and the first 2 reg. season games he's had about 2 good quarters. Of his 50 points so far this year, 26 have been on FT's. He's not finishing at the basket, he doesn't look as fluid. He just looks like he didn't do much this summer, which is disappointing.

This.
You can't put your rookie center on the line w/the game at this point in his career. not yet anyway, specially when he wasn't involved on the Offensive end at all, all game.

of course, they blew it before this stuff though....cough blake cough

 

[PapaG]

how many times have you seen them run a pick and roll with oden?

Not many. Then again, it seems like he picks up silly off-the-ball fouls while setting picks, so maybe there is a reason for not having him set too many picks.

how many times do you see oden with what appears to be great position but he gets ignored?

I can think of one time this season. Oden flashed into the paint with Hayes on his hip and Roy ignored him. Of course, Oden had about 4 TOs already at that point, and the team was up big without any offensive contribution from him.

it seems like the blazers miss most of the good high percentage opportunities that oden has and instead dump him the ball in the post not in great position against a set defense.

Again, I can think of one instance where he was "ignored", and that was after a miserable offensive performance by him to that point in the game.

I don't feel as if my question has been answered.

 

[PapaG]

This.
You can't put your rookie center on the line w/the game at this point in his career. not yet anyway, specially when he wasn't involved on the Offensive end at all, all game.

of course, they blew it before this stuff though....cough blake cough

Then why the hell have him in the game? Part of being on the court at the end of games is being able to finish. I don't blame Oden at all for the loss (although he does), but the fact is he is a "once in a generation" player who missed two crucial FTs.

Plus, Oden isn't a rookie.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Then why the hell have him in the game? Part of being on the court at the end of games is being able to finish. I don't blame Oden at all for the loss (although he does), but the fact is he is a "once in a generation" player who missed two crucial FTs.

Deleted.

 

[bobf]

But after all those misses, we still had a chance to WIN the game and Oden failed.

That only makes it partly Greg's fault... not all his fault.

 

[Shapecity]

Oden needs to play with more ferocity on the court. The one time he got pissed and actually used his strength was ripping a rebound away from Nene, shedding him off and then throwing down a monster dunk.

 

[PapaG]

Deleted.

Seriously? This stands now on these boards?

 

[Ed O]

I love Greg, but much of the loss IS his fault. All of it? Of course not. But you have to hit at least one free throw there. You HAVE to.

I don't blame Nate at all for having Roy handle the ball, and I don't blame Roy for passing to Oden... we got a very good result insofar as Oden was on the line with a chance to go ahead. His free throws earlier in the game had looked pure and he will, IMO, prove himself to be a good free throw shooter this season.

He just missed them.

In the grand scheme of things Aldridge and Outlaw hurt our chances much more than Greg last night, but he failed at the end and that failure was the single biggest impact on the ballgame.

Ed O.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

I love Greg, but much of the loss IS his fault. All of it? Of course not. But you have to hit at least one free throw there. You HAVE to.

I don't blame Nate at all for having Roy handle the ball, and I don't blame Roy for passing to Oden... we got a very good result insofar as Oden was on the line with a chance to go ahead. His free throws earlier in the game had looked pure and he will, IMO, prove himself to be a good free throw shooter this season.

He just missed them.

In the grand scheme of things Aldridge and Outlaw hurt our chances much more than Greg last night, but he failed at the end and that failure was the single biggest impact on the ballgame.

Ed O.

Based on what I saw last night, it's going to be a long season Greg Oden. And it's not all the teams fault. It's just as much his. Something has to change up top. He ain't close to being that dominating force inside. And I'm unsure the dynamics are in place for him to be that player. He has to go through a major mental transformation. I don't think he has what he needs to make that transformation.

I think players like him and LMA need something different. It just felt a little stale last night. LMA, I don't know what we need to do. LMA is not growing. He has more A LOT more in him than the way he played last night. I don't know if he is being challenged enough or what. Or if he is being challenged, is he taking it seriously enough? I don't know if Nate's words are getting through to some of these players.Or if they are getting through. Are they translating and having effect? Maybe the words have become a little stale for guys like LMA. Some of these guys just aren't growing. They are going to need to if this team has any intent on being elite.

 

[elcap15]

Oden shouldnt have even been shooting FT's. That was a pretty weak foul to call at the end of a game, and the basketball gods took note.

 

[Shapecity]

Oden shouldnt have even been shooting FT's. That was a pretty weak foul to call at the end of a game, and the basketball gods took note.

I agree it was a terrible call. Dan Crawford had a slew of them throughout the game. He clearly loves the sound of his whistle.

 

[hasoos]

I agree it was a terrible call. Dan Crawford had a slew of them throughout the game. He clearly loves the sound of his whistle.

And once again, Nate doesn't step up for the team and go ballistic on somebodies ass. Name a championship team over the last decade that isn't willing to get a T and get in a refs face over calls.

The Lakers have a slew of players who get T's every game, and even their assistants get them.

The Spurs Popovich and when Bowen was there got T's all the time. Even Timmy D has got a T every once in a while.

The Celtics KG gets T's all the time. Allen gets T's. Pierce gets T's. Rivers gets T's. Rhondo gets T's. Wallace will definitly get T's.

Detroit had tons of players who got T'd up. Their coach duing their championship, Larry Brown, Got T'd up all the time.

The bottom line is, sometimes players and coaches gotta call for an end to the bullshit. When Crawford called about 5 fouls in a row last night, Nate should have gone ballistic on him.

 

[LittleAlex]

Oden's a career 63% free throw shooter. Why was he even taking such crucial shots at the end anyways? You can't put people in a position to fail and then complain when they do.

Bingo!

Why did he receive a pass with only 5 seconds left in the game? I was stunned when Roy made that pass. You have a 4 good ft shooters on the floor and you pass it to the guy with the worst percentage? Way to pass the blame.

Mental mistake by Roy for sure.

 

[PapaG]

Bingo!

Why did he receive a pass with only 5 seconds left in the game? I was stunned when Roy made that pass. You have a 4 good ft shooters on the floor and you pass it to the guy with the worst percentage? Way to pass the blame.

Mental mistake by Roy for sure.

Unbelievable. Nate should run the offense for Oden, but not when it matters the most. Then it's Roy's fault for putting Oden on the line with a chance to take the lead.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Bingo!

Why did he receive a pass with only 5 seconds left in the game? I was stunned when Roy made that pass. You have a 4 good ft shooters on the floor and you pass it to the guy with the worst percentage? Way to pass the blame.

Mental mistake by Roy for sure.

I have to disagree. If Oden is half the player his fans claim, that should have been a guaranteed 2 (or even 3) points. No excuses. Oden wasn't *solely* to blame for the loss, but he needs to take his share of the blame right along with Blake, Miller, Outlaw, and LMA.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Oden shouldnt have even been shooting FT's. That was a pretty weak foul to call at the end of a game, and the basketball gods took note.

Martin had Oden's arm - period. It may have even been intentional.

 

[RoyToy]

Everyone's to blame. Aldridge sure isn't pulling his weight right now though, that's for sure. I'd start with him if I had to choose someone.

 

[rocketeer]

Not many. Then again, it seems like he picks up silly off-the-ball fouls while setting picks, so maybe there is a reason for not having him set too many picks.



I can think of one time this season. Oden flashed into the paint with Hayes on his hip and Roy ignored him. Of course, Oden had about 4 TOs already at that point, and the team was up big without any offensive contribution from him.



Again, I can think of one instance where he was "ignored", and that was after a miserable offensive performance by him to that point in the game.

I don't feel as if my question has been answered.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/10/28/1105221/charting-greg-odens-touches

 

[PapaG]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/10/28/1105221/charting-greg-odens-touches

Yeah, I read that on BE. It proves that Oden had more plays run for him early in the game as anybody on the team. He didn't do much with those early touches.

 

[RoyToy]

There was one play last night where Greg was right under the basket in perfect position and Aldridge didn't get the ball to him, and instead settled for a fade away jumper. Sort of disappointing.

 

[rocketeer]

Yeah, I read that on BE. It proves that Oden had more plays run for him early in the game as anybody on the team. He didn't do much with those early touches.

so he never touched the ball again all game. instead of giving him the ball a few times early and saying if he doesn't score, he's not going to see the ball again all game, wouldn't it make more sense to actually use him as a part of the offense?

 

[maxiep]

Did anyone see the video of GO after the game? Man, I felt for him. All he's known previous to coming here is success. Since he arrived here, it's been largely struggle. He took this loss personally and hard.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/postgame_video_denver_97_portl.html

The bottom line is we shot 36.4% against a very good team. You're not going to beat the best in the NBA shooting like that. This loss can be shared by Oden, because he's a Blazer, but it's not his alone nor does he bear a disproportionate share.

 

[RoyToy]

The amount of good opportunities Oden got last night was about perfect imo considering he only played 20 minutes. It's sort of his own fault he didn't get more in the 2nd half by getting into foul trouble and not being able to play long stretches and get in a rhythm.

I still think he can avg 13/11 this season.

 

[rocketeer]

And once again, Nate doesn't step up for the team and go ballistic on somebodies ass. Name a championship team over the last decade that isn't willing to get a T and get in a refs face over calls.

what? it was terrible calls both ways. nate's supposed to lose the game by getting a tech near the end because the refs are being shitty both ways?

the funniest thing about the "nate never stands up for the team" argument was that last year when he did get a tech, it always seemed like the same people who would make that argument would complain that he cost the team by getting one.

 

[rocketeer]

The amount of good opportunities Oden got last night was about perfect imo considering he only played 20 minutes. It's sort of his own fault he didn't get more in the 2nd half by getting into foul trouble and not being able to play long stretches and get in a rhythm.

of course his 4th foul that put him on the bench early in the 2nd half was a pretty weak call.

 

[maxiep]

what? it was terrible calls both ways. nate's supposed to lose the game by getting a tech near the end because the refs are being shitty both ways?

the funniest thing about the "nate never stands up for the team" argument was that last year when he did get a tech, it always seemed like the same people who would make that argument would complain that he cost the team by getting one.

Done correctly, losing one point on a tech can garner you another 3-6 points in letting the refs know you're watching. Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson are masters at it.

 

[maxiep]

of course his 4th foul that put him on the bench early in the 2nd half was a pretty weak call.

So was his second foul in the 1st quarter. The game was being called tightly. We have to learn to adjust.

 

[oldguy]

I would've been happy with 1 of 2. I know Joel would've made one.

No, you don't know that.

 

[BrianFromWA]

The Spurs Popovich and when Bowen was there got T's all the time. Even Timmy D has got a T every once in a while.

Including from the bench while laughing at Joey Crawford.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Unbelievable. Nate should run the offense for Oden, but not when it matters the most. Then it's Roy's fault for putting Oden on the line with a chance to take the lead.

I think you're misrepresenting. The vast majority of the posters you're painting with that broad brush think that Nate should run SOME offense for Oden, so that he gets more than 1 actual shot attempt (other than his own OReb) per game. I'm not sure that that one shot should be as Roy's safety valve with 5 seconds left. That's the argument, here.
Do you think Oden should've been the safety valve, and that that's how the play was drawn up? Taken in that context, its probably a bit more believable.