Oden, finally starting to get out of his funk?

[jwhoops11]

Not sure how many have noticed, as he's had limited floor time the last two games, but Greg for the first time is reminding me of the Oden I expected out of College. Perhaps it's him getting into better physical shape ( he's slimmed down a lot since the start of the season), or maybe it's a confidence thing. There's just been an aggressivness when he's been on the court that wasn't there prior to the Sacremento game. He's made really nice basketball moves, setting good screens and rolling to the hoop with strong finishes. He's jumping higer and last night made a few really important plays down the stretch to help win that game.

Anyways, just something I haven't seen mentioned, and I wanted to give the big guy his props. Great win last night, the Garden was electric!

 

[andalusian]

Yes, I agree. He had that explosive dunk off the pick and roll against the Kings - and he was fast on the court last night. He is starting to regain his fluidity - it will probably be another 2 months until he is fluid and fast most of the time everynight - but the signs are really encouraging.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

What the Blazers need to buy ODEN is a full length mirror to put next to his locker!!!!! He needs to remember he's a 7 foot nightmare on the floor and stare into that mirror before every game and say.... " I'm scary! I'm huge! and People Don't Want To Be In My Way!!!!!"

 

[¹²³]

What the Blazers need to buy ODEN is a full length mirror to put next to his locker!!!!! He needs to remember he's a 7 foot nightmare on the floor and stare into that mirror before every game and say.... " I'm scary! I'm huge! and People Don't Want To Be In My Way!!!!!"

He sure is scary.

 

[alex42083]

Yeah, I think we're slowly starting to see what Greg is going to bring. In his first game back, if Shaq had dunked on him, Greg probably would've shrunk like a turtle. But last night, he brought it right back with two dunks, a huge block and a left-handed hook over Shaq.
It's a shame he didn't get more time out on the floor, but he's looking better and better each time.

 

[blazerboy30]

The most encouraging thing (to me) about Oden last night wasn't his dunks, or his block on Amare.

It was his block on Nash (or was it Barbosa?). I remember, as the play was happening, "oh great, there is a wide open lay-in, with nobody even near him". Then, the next thing I know, Oden had swatted it off the backboard. He seemed to have been completely out of the play, but all of the sudden he sent the ball sailing.

It was beautiful, and a glimpse of just how quick, agile and athletic he can, and will be.

 

[Shooter]

The most encouraging thing (to me) about Oden last night wasn't his dunks, or his block on Amare.

It was his block on Nash (or was it Barbosa?). I remember, as the play was happening, "oh great, there is a wide open lay-in, with nobody even near him". Then, the next thing I know, Oden had swatted it off the backboard. He seemed to have been completely out of the play, but all of the sudden he sent the ball sailing.

It was beautiful, and a glimpse of just how quick, agile and athletic he can, and will be.

Yes, but I'm wondering if we didn't see the "quick, agile, and athletic" Oden last night only because he was playing Shaq. He seemed extra-motivated to have a good game, which makes me think he's been dogging it a little in the other games. I hope I'm wrong.

At any rate, I was very encouraged to see how quickly he can still move. I think the injury/rehab stuff is old news by now. Oden needs to light a fire under himself and make sure he plays hard every night.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Dogging, no dogging, no player wants to make the Shaq highlight reel especially with a Shaq motivated NOT to pass his torch on to you!!!!!! Shaq is the measuring stick for Greg and I think we'll see a much more aggressive Greg now this hurdle has been cleared!

 

[HailBlazers]

out of his funk!?!

Do the words MICRO FRACTURE SURGERY mean anything to you!?!? Amare Stoudemire has just this year reached full performance. Due to Oden's injuries he has had barely any time to hone his skills because he's been so busy rehabilitating. After all the KID has been through I can't believe anyone could questions his effort^^^^^^^^^


GET THE F*** OUT

 

[andalusian]

Yes, but I'm wondering if we didn't see the "quick, agile, and athletic" Oden last night only because he was playing Shaq. He seemed extra-motivated to have a good game, which makes me think he's been dogging it a little in the other games. I hope I'm wrong.

Nope. His block on Amare (who is a big, strong, quick and great leaper) was where he looked quick, same with the recovery to block Nash or Barbosa (can't remember which one it was). His game against Shaq was not one of speed but of strength trying to hold him down.

As I said - this is the 2nd game in a row where you saw a couple of quick athletic freak possessions from Greg - and these are pretty much the first two this year - so I think we are slowly starting to see the real Greg coming out - and in two months he is going to do it consistently and everyone that was calling him a bust will be claiming that he knew he would be a stud and always said so.

 

[Shooter]

Re: out of his funk!?!

Do the words MICRO FRACTURE SURGERY mean anything to you!?!? Amare Stoudemire has just this year reached full performance. Due to Oden's injuries he has had barely any time to hone his skills because he's been so busy rehabilitating. After all the KID has been through I can't believe anyone could questions his effort^^^^^^^^^

Ah, I see! It's just a coincidence that he happened to get his quickness back on the night he faced Shaq!!! OK, I get it.

 

[noknobs]

Yes, but I'm wondering if we didn't see the "quick, agile, and athletic" Oden last night only because he was playing Shaq. He seemed extra-motivated to have a good game, which makes me think he's been dogging it a little in the other games. I hope I'm wrong.

At any rate, I was very encouraged to see how quickly he can still move. I think the injury/rehab stuff is old news by now. Oden needs to light a fire under himself and make sure he plays hard every night.

I think he's just gradually getting his legs under him. He just had his first three day break between games all year, it probably let his legs recoup a bit. This ten day stretch with only two games is a very welcome break for the entire team, but espeicially the rookies, and especially the rookie coming back from injury. And no the rehab is not old news, since it usually takes longer than twenty some games to recover from microfracture surgery.

Not surprisingly, he seems to be showing a little more personality on the court the last few games as well.

 

[Shooter]

I think he's just gradually getting his legs under him. He just had his first three day break between games all year, it probably let his legs recoup a bit. This ten day stretch with only two games is a very welcome break for the entire team, but espeicially the rookies, and especially the rookie coming back from injury. And no the rehab is not old news, since it usually takes longer than twenty some games to recover from microfracture surgery.

Not surprisingly, he seems to be showing a little more personality on the court the last few games as well.

Yet he was sitting on the bench with a glum look on his face when Brandon scored his 50th point . . .

I don't know, man. I want to give Oden every break in the world, but I think Adrian Wojnarowski is right in the article he wrote today. Oden has been feeling sorry for himself for a long time, and he needs to snap out of it.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Re: out of his funk!?!

Ah, I see! It's just a coincidence that he happened to get his quickness back on the night he faced Shaq!!! OK, I get it.

It might be a coincidence, except his explosiveness started to show a little in the Clippers game and then again against the "mighty" Spencer Hawes and "terrifying" Brad Miller. I'm not saying that Oden has or hasn't taken it easy or been passive at times, but the hard reality of MF surgery is that it takes a helluva long time to come back to 100%

 

[¹²³]

Dogging, no dogging, no player wants to make the Shaq highlight reel especially with a Shaq motivated NOT to pass his torch on to you!!!!!! Shaq is the measuring stick for Greg and I think we'll see a much more aggressive Greg now this hurdle has been cleared!

On His Favorite Player
Oden: Shaq because he is a big, he is a monster, especially when he was in Orlando, those times when he was in LA, he was everything to me. He’s a guy -- I am just going around yelling Shaq everywhere. Everytime I tried to dunk I’m yelling out Shaq’s name. He was a monster.

On What part of Shaq’s Game He Would like to Emulate?
Oden: Domination. He dominates every game. Even now and whenever he is on the court he dominates. I met him one time when I was in L.A. We were in the same room in a restaurant together and I happened to see him leaving and he came over and shook my hand.

Link

 

[Shooter]

Re: out of his funk!?!

I'm not saying that Oden has or hasn't taken it easy or been passive at times, but the hard reality of MF surgery is that it takes a helluva long time to come back to 100%

I think you're right on both counts. I'm willing to be patient with Oden. If he keeps showing the fire that he showed last night, he's going to be alright.

 

[noknobs]

Yet he was sitting on the bench with a glum look on his face when Brandon scored his 50th point . . .

I don't know, man. I want to give Oden every break in the world, but I think Adrian Wojnarowski is right in the article he wrote today. Oden has been feeling sorry for himself for a long time, and he needs to snap out of it.

No, I don't think you do, since you apparently want to overlook all the times last night he was clapping, smiling, and joking with teammates on the bench. Let's overlook all that and just focus on the five second clip where he didn't have a big smile on his face. You read way too much into way too little. Lighten up.

 

[Shooter]

No, I don't think you do, since you apparently want to overlook all the times last night he was clapping, smiling, and joking with teammates on the bench. Let's overlook all that and just focus on the five second clip where he didn't have a big smile on his face. You read way too much into way too little. Lighten up.

Actually, I'm basing my impression of Oden on the entire season, during which he has looked mighty glum most of the time. You almost want to put your arm around him and tell him that everything is going to be alright.

That said, I will agree that there were flashes of the old Greg last night. I did see him smile as the team came out for warmups. I'm hoping that we'll see more and more of this, and that Oden will finally start having fun on the basketball court!

 

[blue32]

No, I don't think you do, since you apparently want to overlook all the times last night he was clapping, smiling, and joking with teammates on the bench. Let's overlook all that and just focus on the five second clip where he didn't have a big smile on his face. You read way too much into way too little. Lighten up.

The dude was probably still pissed from getting that 5th foul for his "magical" strength ability to finger-push Shaq out of bounds.

douche bag refs.

Oden's got people to fuck up and shit to do Shooter, I'd be pissed too and not wanting to suck roys balls on his 50th point.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Yet he was sitting on the bench with a glum look on his face when Brandon scored his 50th point . . .

I don't know, man. I want to give Oden every break in the world, but I think Adrian Wojnarowski is right in the article he wrote today. Oden has been feeling sorry for himself for a long time, and he needs to snap out of it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-royblazers121908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I think Adrian Wodjnarowski writes a good article but he makes an awful lot of assumptions (hey that's his job, he's a columnist not a reporter). 1) I don't think the Conley talk was ever initiated by KP; Mike Conley Sr. sees his son's NBA future slipping away and probably thinks reuniting him with Greg could help save it and it's been a poorly kept secret that the Grizz have coveted Outlaw since last season. 2) I do think Greg has been a little morose, but claims to his state of mind based on watching his facial expressions from across the court or on TV just rings a little hollow; after all it's not like Greg checked out of the game and never got his head back into it last night -- he had some huge offensive boards in the stretch that helped secure the win.

I think he just wants to play well and he's not living up to his own expectations, that's gotta be tough for a young kid.

ps. I fully agree with Wodj's assessment that Roy is the heart, soul and lungs of this team. No doubt about it.

 

[Shooter]

Oden's got people to fuck up and shit to do Shooter, I'd be pissed too and not wanting to suck roys balls on his 50th point.

Oh, you are so eloquent! Where'd you learn to talk like that--a trailer park?

 

[blue32]

Oh, you are so eloquent! Where'd you learn to talk like that--a trailer park?

LOL -- go away troll nice try, see Picard.

 

[jwhoops11]

Yes, but I'm wondering if we didn't see the "quick, agile, and athletic" Oden last night only because he was playing Shaq. He seemed extra-motivated to have a good game, which makes me think he's been dogging it a little in the other games. I hope I'm wrong.

At any rate, I was very encouraged to see how quickly he can still move. I think the injury/rehab stuff is old news by now. Oden needs to light a fire under himself and make sure he plays hard every night.

I see where you are coming from, but he seemed equally as quick and aggressive in the Kings game. That dunk off the pick and roll (against Sacrameto) that was mentioned earlier, was the best offensive move I've seen from him yet. A month ago he wouldn't have been able to roll to the hoop, catch a pass in motion, hold on to the pass, then elevate over two people for a dunk. He also followed that up with a move baseline in that game where he took a dribble and powered up for a dunk. Really encouraging to see!

 

[Shooter]

LOL -- go away troll nice try, see Picard.

I guess Picard was born in a trailer park, too. Did you guys have double-wides next to each other?

 

[blue32]

I guess Picard was born in a trailer park, too. Did you guys have double-wides next to each other?

Keep the thread on track, and refrain from your dim-witted approach of attacking me personally. It's funny and amusing, for sure, but just junks up this thread.

and for the record....

Jean-Luc Picard was born in La Barre, France on Earth on July 13, 2305. He and his brother, Robert, spent their childhood tending to their family vineyards with their father, Maurice.

 

[Blazer_Hippie]

Totally off topic: Nice vid Nikolokolus!!! Do you have the part where 3 other guys ripped their shirts off and the chick started spanking the guy?? That was the funniest thing I have ever seen on the big screen @ The Rose Garden!

 

[noknobs]

That said, I will agree that there were flashes of the old Greg last night. I did see him smile as the team came out for warmups. I'm hoping that we'll see more and more of this, and that Oden will finally start having fun on the basketball court!

Yep, it will show itself as the rest of his game improves. Blocking and Dunking = fun = smiling & relaxing


It'll be fun to watch for the rest of us too.

 

[Kaydow]

Re: out of his funk!?!

It might be a coincidence, except his explosiveness started to show a little in the Clippers game and then again against the "mighty" Spencer Hawes and "terrifying" Brad Miller. I'm not saying that Oden has or hasn't taken it easy or been passive at times, but the hard reality of MF surgery is that it takes a helluva long time to come back to 100%

I don't think Oden is taking it easy in ANY of the games. He's just not that comfortable yet. I was at the game last night, and here's what I saw. He looked really intimidated at the beginning of the game, even before Shaq dunked on him. Something changed about midway through the game. There was one play (2nd quarter I think with Shaq guarding him) where he had just made a baby left hook and the next possesion they went back to him. Oden backed Shaq in the lane and went with this ugly looking fade away right handed hook that missed the rim. It was the only shot he missed last night. He sort of slapped his knee and I think he was telling himself "Man Up. Don't show this guy too much respect. Go up strong." After that, he seemed to settle in. He wasn't a factor offensively, but he did have a HUGE offensive rebound late in the game that helped seal the game. I loved his tenacity and how high he jumped on that play.

He has a long ways to go. No way I'd call him a bust, but I've tempered my short term expectations from him. I think I thought he was an immediate 17/10 guy when we drafted him. He'll probably get there at some point, but for now I'm just hoping to see consistant improvement.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Totally off topic: Nice vid Nikolokolus!!! Do you have the part where 3 other guys ripped their shirts off and the chick started spanking the guy?? That was the funniest thing I have ever seen on the big screen @ The Rose Garden!

It's just an animated .gif file that somebody posted on the Oregon live boards last night after the game, so sadly I don't have the full clip.

 

[Kaydow]

It's just an animated .gif file that somebody posted on the Oregon live boards last night after the game, so sadly I don't have the full clip.

That's too bad. I was at the game last night and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. That is just one of about 10 variations that guy did last night. It was just freekin' hillarious.

On another note - the RG was electric last night. After the game people were screaming "MVP. MVP. MVP" in the parking lot. It felt like a playoff game. Not a lot of defense, but entertaining for sure.