Nate on why Oden didn't play and Oden's response

[mook]

Against Chicago we basically ran the offense through him for an entire quarter. Post pass after post pass after post pass. Oden just destroyed them.

That's the thing--we didn't even pass it into him last night. I could understand going away from him if it isn't working, but they didn't even seem to run plays to enter it into him. I just don't get it.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think Nate's inability to use Oden will be his downfall as coach of this team. Nate was a guard, so it seems like he's perfectly happy running our offense through the guards, rather than our two quality big men. With that said, Oden still has a lot to learn. He isn't Dwight Howard, but Howard wasn't exactly dominating in his rookie season either.

 

[Minstrel]

That's the thing--we didn't even pass it into him last night. I could understand going away from him if it isn't working, but they didn't even seem to run plays to enter it into him. I just don't get it.

The even more frustrating thing is that it was working. Oden scored easily on one possession, then drew 2-3 fouls on Lopez. And then never saw a pass after that.

 

[graybeard]

The even more frustrating thing is that it was working. Oden scored easily on one possession, then drew 2-3 fouls on Lopez. And then never saw a pass after that.

I agree with you guys on this. Nate seems to be reactive on this.... pulling Oden. When I think he should be proactive and give Oden the ball more... and force other teams to foul him.

 

[Natebishop3]

I agree with you guys on this. Nate seems to be reactive on this.... pulling Oden. When I think he should be proactive and give Oden the ball more... and force other teams to foul him.

Pretty much. Punish teams on the offensive end for trying to attack Greg on defense. Most centers in the NBA can't guard Oden. They're either going to let him score, or they're going to foul him.

Half the problem is that we're not setting up Greg properly. How many times have we seen Greg at the top of the key receiving a pass from the point guard? Why should that ever happen? He should be down in the paint setting up shop. I remember back when Shaq was in LA, he'd get down the floor quickly, set up position, and punish you before you could even set up your defense. Why can't we do this?

 

[Ghost Pepper]

What I don't understand is why LA and Oden aren't running picks for each other in the low post passing out to the cutters like Roy, Bayless and Rudy? I see so many ways to use LA and Oden, I just can't see how Nate doesn't? I'd wake up every day estatic with all the plays I could create for the kind of team he has. Wouldn't you?

 

[blue32]

The entry passes are so slow too, and it's so easy to spot when they're going down low, it's like we play in super slow-mo when we're doing that...
It's probably part of the reason why they're having issues..

 

[Boise Blazer]

If Greg can get good at going against defenders that are clobbering him imagine how good he will get at moves against defenders when they realize that they cant just foul him everytime cuz he can hit a good free throw percentage and cuz they cant afford to get into foul trouble that gets us in the bonus. I agree we should just be punishing teams over and over and over and over till they buckle. Then at that point we can start kicking it out.

 

[MrJayremmie]

I think the fact the Gregory is such a good passer out of the post (in my eyes at least) is all the more reason to play through him... at least more than we are.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

I think the fact the Gregory is such a good passer out of the post (in my eyes at least) is all the more reason to play through him... at least more than we are.

He's also very patient and doesn't force a pass out. The only time I can remember him screwing up a pass is when he was on the left side of the post and Batum was going to cut around him for a dunk but their positioning was wrong and Batum got pushed too close to the baseline and fumbled the ball out of bounds.

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

He's a rookie and he's not going to be good for another year or two (in our system.) Imagine if he were drafted by Seattle, he would probably be putting up huge stats (and the league might even let him play a couple games)

 

[MARIS61]

Addresses Oden playing more...........

Stop fucking switching on every pick.



Blake and Sergio can't seem to figure out how to get through a pick to save their lives. That's the problem. The other problem is week side rotation.

Actually there is one more problem and that is Greg still doesn't know how to make it tough to score without fouling.

There is a reason the pick and roll is the most consistently successful play in basketball. When properly executed there is simply not enough time for anyone to fight through, or go around, a pick. It's switch or get scored on.

 

[KingSpeed]

I think Nate's inability to use Oden will be his downfall as coach of this team. Nate was a guard, so it seems like he's perfectly happy running our offense through the guards, rather than our two quality big men. With that said, Oden still has a lot to learn. He isn't Dwight Howard, but Howard wasn't exactly dominating in his rookie season either.

Howard had a very solid rookie season. 12/10 isn't bad at all. I wish we were getting that from Oden. And I don't want to hear about adjusted minutes stats because he would play more minutes if he was playing better.

 

[WillG]

Nate needs to go. Simple as that.

A lot of people were praising him for his defensive adjustments at halftime, a few games back, where we won despite the attrocious first half performance.
Hello, these are adjustments , as a coach, your supposed to plan for and make at the start of the game!

Now he's not playing Oden, stifling his development. Guarantee this team would be playing better under a coach who would just let these guys PLAY basketball. We have one of, if not THE most athletic teams in the league. So what does McMuffin do? He slows it down and he puts the leash on. . . Brilliant.

Bring in someone with an iota of common sense and an ability to develop a sub/rotation plan.

MCMuffin makes me McCrazy!!!