Oden getting back into the swing of things

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Nikolokolus

Nikolokolus

There's always next year
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http://trailblazerscentercourt.blogspot.com/2008/11/greg-oden-back-in-action.html

Besides the timing of shoot around, the other news out of Orlando yesterday was Greg Oden's return to the practice court. Oden had been rehabbing with a variety of off-court exercise coupled with some light on-court shooting, but yesterday Oden ran, jumped and (lightly) bumped with the team at the Magic's practice facility.

And he looked good. I didn't get a chance to talk to him after shoot around, but it didn't look like he was experiencing any pain. Granted, it was a hour long shoot around that basically amounts to a walk-through of Orlando's bread and butter plays, but it was great to see the big man getting up and down the court again, especially considering there was some concern that he wouldn't even make the trip.
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Here's hoping. And ...

Oden played with the second unit, so if nothing else, I think we can assume Joel Przybilla will continue to start at center, at least in the near term.
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Very interesting development ... and just underscores how lucky we are to have a center of Joel's quality on this team.
 
I'm more excited that McMillan's installing new sets. Anything to help this ugly offense.
 
I don't think it's bad for Oden to come off the bench for a couple of games until he gets his legs under him. But it shouldn't be anymore than 2-3 games.

I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas, can't wait to see him play a full game. I hope peoples expectations are low for the first couple of weeks. It's going to take him some time to get back in the flow and back in game shape.
 
1 Eye Jack said:
I don't think it's bad for Oden to come off the bench for a couple of games until he gets his legs under him. But it shouldn't be anymore than 2-3 games.

I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas, can't wait to see him play a full game. I hope peoples expectations are low for the first couple of weeks. It's going to take him some time to get back in the flow and back in game shape.
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Still don't understand this logic. Batum starts, but gets fewer minutes than Travis does. Getting his legs under him has nothing to do with starting. Play the better overall center, and if that's not Greg Oden then KP made a horible mistake drafting him.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Still don't understand this logic. Batum starts, but gets fewer minutes than Travis does. Getting his legs under him has nothing to do with starting. Play the better overall center, and if that's not Greg Oden then KP made a horible mistake drafting him.
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I would argue until Greg gets healthy he's not the better center. He will be lucky to run up and down the court 5-8 times before he's winded and has to come out. Why disturb the first unit right now, winning is more important. Let Oden get his legs under him and build some confidence for a couple of games. Obviously Oden is our starter but our number one goal is still winning and I would argue Pryz gives us the best chance at least for the first couple of games.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Przybilla starting over Oden is stupid.
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Disagree...If he is good as he is supposed to be, and healthy, then he will get into the starting role within 5 games. Let him mold into the team rather than forcing it. You guys have started better than you could have honestly hoped for..dont mess with it so harshly
 
Mediocre Man said:
Przybilla starting over Oden is stupid.
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If it's anything like a long-term plan, I'd agree.

But I can see why Nate might do that for four or five games. The Blazers looked so disjointed in that first game against the Lakers, even after taking into account Oden's injury. It might make the transition for him and the team easier if he can enter the game midway through the first quarter without as much hype. Just let him join the flow of the game without having as much pressure.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Still don't understand this logic. Batum starts, but gets fewer minutes than Travis does. Getting his legs under him has nothing to do with starting. Play the better overall center, and if that's not Greg Oden then KP made a horible mistake drafting him.
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We are only talking a few games. It makes more sense to me that they work him in slowly until he is close to 100percent and has a few practices under his belt. But like you said Batum starts but Travis gets more minutes, so who cares who starts for now Eventually he will.
 
Personally, I wouldn't read anything into him practicing with the second team. The article itself states that it's basically "a walkthrough of Orlando's bread and butter plays" and, unless he's doing way better then reported, Oden won't be available for that game. Thus it makes sense for Przybilla to practice with the first team since he will be playing with them that game regardless.
 
I have no problems with GO being the backup center until he has his legs under him. Might do him well as he does not think he needs to carry the team on his back immediately.

I did not have a problem with Aldridge not starting his first year, I have no problems with Rudy coming off the bench and I see no issues with having Jerryd take some time before he becomes a regular rotation player. The same should be for Greg - the goal is the same - and once he gets his legs under him, have the butterflies disappear and regains his game shape... he will be starting by merit.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Play the better overall center, and if that's not Greg Oden then KP made a horible mistake drafting him.
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The elephant in the room. What do you do when the coach and the GM have different criteria for why a player should play.

In this case, I am with Nate. Joel starts until Penknife *earns* the job. (and I say that as someone who is not a big fan of Joel!)
 
Let him come in off the bench, then keep him in until he's tired. Let him go to work on some second string guy, or at worst, let him handle the first stringer after he's been in the game for a while. Three to five games later, let him start. Three to five games isn't going to stunt his growth, and I really don't think he's going to break down over this. Everybody knows he's the guy. He's not in a Sergio type of situation. Just let him get in a groove first.
 
I don't get what the BFD is about Oden coming off the bench. When Brandon Roy was injured his rookie year, he came off the bench for his first two games back - and this was after starting every game before his injury. Being "demoted" didn't seem to have any negative impact on his development.

When players are injured in baseball, they usually do a short rehab stint with the Triple A farm team before rejoining the major league team. It's helps them get their timing and mechanics worked out against lesser competition before going against the best in the world.

Why not let Oden do the same thing? Give him a couple games against the other teams' second units to get used to the speed of the game and get his wind back. Remember, in the 19+ months since the NCAA championship game, he's only played two Summer League games, a handful of preseason games at 20 MPG and 13 minutes in the Lakers game. Seriously, he's played less than one week of competitive basketball in the last 19 months. He's bound to be rusty. Who wouldn't be? Give him a couple games against the other teams' second units to adjust and get his timing and wind back.

The team is doing fine with Joel starting. Remember Oden's return also impacts everyone else in the starting unit, too. It changes the entire offense. Give his teammates a chance to get used to playing with him before you make him the de facto starter.

Coming off the bench will also take some pressure off him. The expectations have been ridiculous. He will eventually be the player we want him to be, but not instaneously after playing so little over the last 19 months. He's still a young kid. He feels those expecations and tries to do to much. Let him come off the bench for a couple games to get back in a groove before we all start referring to him as the next great big man, game changing center, most dominant big man since Shaq, first ballot Hall of Famer, team saviour, etc.

BNM
 
P.S. When Michael Jordan injured his foot during his 2nd season in the league, he came off the bench for the remaining 11 regular season games after coming back from the injury. This was after starting all 82 games as rookie and all the games prior to his injury his second season. It didn't seem to hurt his development.

BNM
 
Yay! Lets blow everything out of proportion! Wooohooo!:ghoti:
 
Let Greg get his legs back. I don't mind him coming off the bench to beat up on backup Centers until he gets back into basketball shape.

With the way Batum has been playing, the way Brandon is taking over games, the way LaMarcus is turning into a beast, I forgot that Greg was on the roster.
 
Maybe Greg is practicing with the 2nd team because he won't even be playing! If he was gonna play in Orlando, I could see it as a big deal, but right now Joel needs his reps with the starters.
 
DaRizzle said:
Disagree...If he is good as he is supposed to be, and healthy, then he will get into the starting role within 5 games. Let him mold into the team rather than forcing it. You guys have started better than you could have honestly hoped for..dont mess with it so harshly
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Wyrd! (and repped).
 
Bring Oden off the bench. Bring him along slowly instead of throwing him into the fire. After five games where he plays 20+ minutes off the bench, then he's ready for the starting gig. It's not a demotion, it's simply getting him back into playing speed (really NBA speed for the first time in his career). Wouldn't it be better for him to get a few more minutes against backup bigs anyways at first.

"This will set him back"....what, like two weeks?
 
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