Is It Oden's Time to Shine? This time of year every team is optimistic. Every team has a player they gush about, a player who improved a ton, and player they think is going to make "the leap" in their career. For the Portland Trail Blazers that player is oft-injured center Greg Oden.
If you follow the Blazers at all, you can't go past a single article, blog post, message board, or tweet without seeing something about how Oden is doing. He's impressing his teammates and coaches with his expanded face-up jumper and spin move post game. He's blocking shots like a maniac. Grabbing boards in a frenzy.
So is it true? ........................
More Iverson: Yesterday we linked to the first half of ESPN's Scoop Jackson's interview with Memphis Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson, which was fantastic in itself. Today, part 2. Just like with the first part, this is a fantastic read that really gives a lot of insights into Iverson as a person, which is something he rarely grants.
An interesting point of the interview is when Iverson talks about the potential for playing overseas.
"I want to do other things in my life, and I know basketball is not going to last forever; I understand that," said Iverson. "But at times, I'll be honest, it was frustrating because I really think from last year everybody threw everything but the kitchen sink at me. They probably threw that at me, too. I could have gone overseas, made $10 million or something like that. I thought about it. Actually, my wife wanted to [go]. To get away from here. It wasn't about the money -- she's got enough money. But she just wanted to get away, do something else. Something to make her and my relationship a whole lot better -- we could bond, you know how it is. All the traveling all over the place, that takes a toll on your marriage -- not doing that could have made our relationship a lot tighter. My relationship with my kids would be better, because I'd be there a lot more. You know, it just seemed like, to her, [going to Europe] would have been a good thing to do. But I took this money and stayed [in the NBA]. I could have gone somewhere else for more money."...................
What's Gary Payton Up To? If you are a young player or have one that has some decent skills and wants to get better, he could do far worse than learning some fine points from future Hall of Famer Gary Payton. The Seattle SuperSonics legend was in Oregon this week for his induction into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame (he was named SI's College Player of the Year while at Oregon State), and also showed up at a Blazers practice.
Payton was reportedly very impressed with the skills he saw in second-year point guard Jerryd Bayless, seeing a little of himself in Bayless with the edge and ability to score the ball. He also spent some time in Corvallis with Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson (this is where I'm obligated to point out Robinson is Michelle Obama's brother – I think there is an actual stipulation somewhere).
GP, always loquacious but never a huge fan of the media while a player, also spent some time doing media work. This past summer Payton worked individually with some players in Las Vegas, where he lives, and he is very interested in training. Not necessarily coaching per se, but more of the one-on-one environment where he can teach a player some of the finer points of the game of basketball.
Payton also feels like he owes a debt to Oregon State University, he told John Canzano on Canzano's radio show on 95.5 The Game in Portland. Former Oregon State coach Ralph Miller took a chance on a talented kid from Oakland with a big mouth most programs wouldn't touch, and he taught that kid – who never played a lick of defense – the finer points of the game, turning him into the legend we all know as The Glove.
Now, Payton wants to give back. The current Oregon State coach, Robinson, was the first to actually reach out to Payton since his retirement, something that hurt GP but he embraced it when it finally happened...................
More Instant Replay: From a NBA press release late Friday, the league has approved the expanded use of instant replay.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2009 – The NBA Board of Governors approved the expanded use of instant replay in two circumstances, beginning with the 2009-10 season, the league announced today. Referees will now be permitted to use instant replay in the following situations:
· To determine at any point during the game whether a 24-second shot clock violation occurred prior to the release of a successful field goal attempt OR prior to a foul being committed.
· To determine during the last two minutes of regulation play and the last two minutes of any overtime period which player last touched the ball prior to it going out-of-bounds or whether the ball was last touched simultaneously by two opponents.
The out-of-bounds proposal was developed by a new instant replay committee consisting of: Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations and General Manager; Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks Head Coach; Mike Dunleavy, Los Angeles Clippers General Manager and Head Coach; Danny Ferry, Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager; Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets General Manager; Sam Presti, Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager; and Ed Stefanski, Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager. The committee will continue to meet to discuss possible new uses of instant replay and monitor existing uses.............
