Oden: Honeymoon over

[whatsmyname]

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/dave_mcmenamin/03/04/030409.rookie/index.html

 

[julius]

Who cares. We have a better record than every single one of those teams. We've moved beyond ROY awards or worrying about them.

 

[RoyToy]

Idk about you guys, but Greg Oden isn't a story to me anymore.

 

[rocketeer]

the guy just wants people to read his article. i'm disappointed i even clicked on it. his statement that oden isn't among the top 20 rookies in the league isn't even worth discussing.

 

[julius]

I think we need to realize that Oden is a long term thing and shouldn't be judged on his rookie year, after coming off of MF surgery. Otherwise, we'll all be short sighted morons.

 

[LittleAlex]

Dave who? The guy who wrote that must know a whole lot about the Portland Metro Area.

Oh wait, he knows jack shit.

From now on he shall be known as Suck-A-Bag-Of-Dicks Dave.

 

[alex42083]

Ugh.. yeah, who cares about what

says.. Haven't even heard of him.

Sounds like the same type of guy who on the Fifth Quarter tonight wanted to cut Greg, then he swore live on the air and they immediately cut him off.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

He looks like some younger and uglier version of David Wenham.

 

[Boob-No-More]

The guy's a total idiot. He's been an Oden hater from day 1, His stupid T-Mobile Rookie Rankings aren't based on anything remotely measurable. They are simply stupid Dave's fave rookies.

He's not in the top 10. He's not in the next 10.... Whatever he's been, he's no longer going to be a regular in the Rookie Rankings -- at least for the time being. His 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks averages pale in comparison to the one stat everybody is harping on these days -- the 95 games, and counting, he's missed because of injury since he's come into the league.

So, Oden who has averaged 9.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG and has shot 0.568 from the field in 46 games - most of them as a starter on a team that is currently the 4th seed in the Western Conference isn't "worthy" of making his top 20 rookies. But, Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 6.2 PPG, a lofty 3.0 RPG , 0.9 BPG with a 0.494 FG% in 52 games - on a team that's 10 games under 0.500 and currently in 12th place in the (L)Eastern Conference makes his top 20. As does JaVale McGee - 6.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 0.486 FG% on a team that's dead last in the Eastern Conference and currently 33 games under 0.500.

The guy is a clueless hater. Ask any coach in the league who has had a bigger impact this season, Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert or JaVale McGee. I bet everyone of them would say Oden. Ask any GM in the league, if the draft was today, if the choice was between Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert and JaVale McGee who would you draft. Again, I'm betting every one of them would say Oden. There is absolutely no sane or justifiable reason to have Hibbert and McGee ranked above Oden in his pathetic Rookie Rankings.

BNM

 

[oldmangrouch]

The guy's a total idiot. He's been an Oden hater from day 1, His stupid T-Mobile Rookie Rankings aren't based on anything remotely measurable. They are simply stupid Dave's fave rookies.



So, Oden who has averaged 9.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG and has shot 0.568 from the field in 46 games - most of them as a starter on a team that is currently the 4th seed in the Western Conference isn't "worthy" of making his top 20 rookies. But, Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 6.2 PPG, a lofty 3.0 RPG , 0.9 BPG with a 0.494 FG% in 52 games - on a team that's 10 games under 0.500 and currently in 12th place in the (L)Eastern Conference makes his top 20. As does JaVale McGee - 6.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 0.486 FG% on a team that's dead last in the Eastern Conference and currently 33 games under 0.500.

The guy is a clueless hater. Ask any coach in the league who has had a bigger impact this season, Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert or JaVale McGee. I bet everyone of them would say Oden. Ask any GM in the league, if the draft was today, if the choice was between Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert and JaVale McGee who would you draft. Again, I'm betting every one of them would say Oden. There is absolutely no sane or justifiable reason to have Hibbert and McGee ranked above Oden in his pathetic Rookie Rankings.

BNM

I understand your point BNM, but consider this: who is the most valuable rookie on the Blazers?

You can argue that Oden is our *best* rook....when he plays. OTOH, has he really been more *valuable* than Batum or Rudy? Batum may not average 9pts/7boards......but he is out there EVERY night, busting his tail on defense.

Frankly, I'm more offended at the lack of recognition Batum gets.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

Batum does get looked over by so many people. Rudy is also often times referred to as a one-trick-pony because of his role in our offense and his.. not so great defense but he makes the tiny plays that may not seem like much but they are big because they are the exact right ones that need to be made.

 

[rocketeer]

I understand your point BNM, but consider this: who is the most valuable rookie on the Blazers?

oden and it's not close by any means.

 

[Boob-No-More]

You can argue that Oden is our *best* rook....when he plays. OTOH, has he really been more *valuable* than Batum or Rudy? Batum may not average 9pts/7boards......but he is out there EVERY night, busting his tail on defense.

Frankly, I'm more offended at the lack of recognition Batum gets.

I LOVE Batum, but Oden is our best rookie - By FAR. It's really not close. Our three biggest weaknesses last season were: rebounding, interior defense and points in the paint. Nobody even talks about the first two any more. With Oden, those have gone from weaknesses to strengths. As far as points in the paint go, the team has improved, but I think they still under utilize Oden on offense. When he does get the ball, he scores, gets fouled or draws a double team in most cases.

Again, Batum has far, far exceeded my expectations and has a very bright future, but frankly, we get outplayed and out scored at the SF position in almost every game. He has to go head-to-head against some of the top players in the league - and he usually comes up short. That's not an insult. It's a fact, and perhaps not entirely fair. You can't really expect some skinny 19-year old rookie to hold his own against Lebron, or even guys like Hedo, Artest, Tayshaun Prince or Josh Howard. He's clearly overmatched by those guys and it shows in the box scores. How often has Batum dominated an opponent this season? How many times has he been dominated and outscored by 20 or more points by the other teams starting SF?

On the other hand, Oden has dominated the opposing center more times than he's been dominated. Granted, he's had it handed to him a few times by some veteran centers, but he's also dished out his fair share of domination against the weaker center in the league.

BNM

 

[KingSpeed]

The guy's a total idiot. He's been an Oden hater from day 1, His stupid T-Mobile Rookie Rankings aren't based on anything remotely measurable. They are simply stupid Dave's fave rookies.



So, Oden who has averaged 9.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG and has shot 0.568 from the field in 46 games - most of them as a starter on a team that is currently the 4th seed in the Western Conference isn't "worthy" of making his top 20 rookies. But, Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 6.2 PPG, a lofty 3.0 RPG , 0.9 BPG with a 0.494 FG% in 52 games - on a team that's 10 games under 0.500 and currently in 12th place in the (L)Eastern Conference makes his top 20. As does JaVale McGee - 6.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 0.486 FG% on a team that's dead last in the Eastern Conference and currently 33 games under 0.500.

The guy is a clueless hater. Ask any coach in the league who has had a bigger impact this season, Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert or JaVale McGee. I bet everyone of them would say Oden. Ask any GM in the league, if the draft was today, if the choice was between Greg Oden, Roy Hibbert and JaVale McGee who would you draft. Again, I'm betting every one of them would say Oden. There is absolutely no sane or justifiable reason to have Hibbert and McGee ranked above Oden in his pathetic Rookie Rankings.

BNM

That IS ridiculous.

 

[¹²³]

Oden getting no pleasure in sitting out

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Greg Oden sits in the middle of the storm, just waiting, waiting for a chance to be healthy, to show what he feels he still can do.

The 2006 Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball out of Lawrence North High School and 2007 No. 1 NBA draft pick out of Ohio State is currently sidelined with his second knee injury.

This one came when he banged knees with Corey Maggette on Feb. 12.

Oden missed what would have been his rookie season after surgery on his right knee and missed six games early this season with a foot injury.
Around him, speculation and commentary swirl, and the opinion here seems to be less than favorable.

A local columnist recently questioned if Oden was even trying to play.

One newspaper beat writer earlier in the year said he was "sick of Greg Oden."

Sports talk shows and message boards are filled with comments comparing him to Sam Bowie, the center the Blazers drafted ahead of Michael Jordan whose career was derailed by injuries.

When and if Oden is going to be healthy has become a national story.

He addressed his situation at length Wednesday night before the Blazers played the Pacers.

Question: So how tough is this with everyone talking whether you're ever going to be able to play?

Answer: It sucks. I want to be out there and just play. I feel better and more comfortable with myself when I'm out there playing and not really worrying about injuries and rehab and all that stuff and hearing people's mouth about, 'Oh, he's injury prone.' Like this isn't an injury game. Like things don't happen. You'd rather be out there playing where you don't have to worry about people's mouths.

Q: Reading the Internet and listening to the radio here, people are saying those things, that you're injury prone, that you may be a bust. How do you handle that?

A: I don't listen to it. I know everybody is out there just talking. I feel it. I try to just keep it out of my head and not just worry about it.

Q: Ever looked at your body and just thought, what the heck? Why does this keep happening?

A: No. This injury, a guy ran into my knee. Nothing you can do about that, and this (right) one is perfectly fine. I have no problems with the one I had surgery on. This (latest) one just happened. If somebody else was in the game at the same spot, it would have happened.

Q: How tired are you of hearing the name Sam Bowie?

A: I don't listen to that. I really don't. I just try not read the papers or watch what people say on TV because it is very frustrating, so I try to keep that out my mind.

Q: Do you feel the city of Portland still wants you?

A: I know this team does, the organization does. Everybody else, I don't worry about that. We worry about our family right here (in the locker room). I know I got their back and I know they're behind me.

Q: Are you still 100 percent confident that at some point in the future, whether it's two weeks, two months or the start of next year, that you'll be healthy enough to be the Greg of old?

A: I would like that. I really have had no problems until a guy ran into my knee. That was just unfortunate. I'm just waiting until I get to the point can play and do certain movements where it's not painful on my knee. I'm hoping any day now I go out there and do certain things, and there's no pain. That's when I'm ready to go out on the court.

 

[RayDavies]

Go GO!

I like that he doesn't worry about the haters (or at least says so). He isn't a bust based on an incidental injury like this... he'll be back.

It has been a bit worrying that he's been hurt so much, but a bunch of it still might just be bad luck.

 

[Hank The Dwarf]

Go GO!

I like that he doesn't worry about the haters (or at least says so). He isn't a bust based on an incidental injury like this... he'll be back.

It has been a bit worrying that he's been hurt so much, but a bunch of it still might just be bad luck.

While I agree that it is a bit early to call him a bust.. how do you ignore all of the warning signs?

1- His attitude.. its not that he has a bad attitude.. just no fire. He doesn't seem to really care on the court. Have you ever seen a great player that didn't play with some passion or fire? I have not.

2- Multiple injuries - enough said.

3 - Lack of Skills. - I understood Oden was not a polished offensive player coming into the NBA.. but did anyone really think he'd be this bad? His footwork is terrible, he has virtually no post moves, it often seems like he just chucks the ball at the rim and sometimes he gets lucky and it goes in.... even defensively he's worse than I thought he'd be.... terrible footwork and constant hacking and reaching.

While it's too early to call him a bust.. it is clear that we should be very concerned about how things are going with Oden.. because we cannot win a ring without him being dominant. It just won't happen with this team.

 

[Sinobas]

Who cares? Message boards and blogs are making guys like this obsolete. Because everyone has an opinion, and these national sports writers are less informed than the actual fans reading them.

 

[Minstrel]

The fortunate thing is that reality is not a debate. It's not dictated by what people believe. Even if everyone decides now that Oden is a bust, that doesn't decide what will happen. Oden will determine that by his play. If, in three years, he's doing great, it won't matter a whit what people are saying today.

The really promising thing is that he's been playing well when healthy, outside of the fouls. If he weren't producing even when healthy, I'd be worried.

 

[crandc]

One may argue about who has been the most valuable rookie to the Blazers this year. But to say Oden is not in the top 20 rookies, that the world class future hall of famers BNM cited are all better rookies than he, is absurd.

Rookie sensations are all very well, some like Shaq, LeBron and Roy turn into all stars, but a lot flame out. I mean, who would you rather have, Harold Minor, who was called Baby Jordan his rookie year, or Dirk Nowitzki, considered a bust his rookie year?

This is the kind of crap that makes Greg wonder if the city is still behind him, although written by someone who appears to know little about the city or the team and does not appear to have talked to GO or his teammates.

 

[Blazer Freak]

While I agree that it is a bit early to call him a bust.. how do you ignore all of the warning signs?

1- His attitude.. its not that he has a bad attitude.. just no fire. He doesn't seem to really care on the court. Have you ever seen a great player that didn't play with some passion or fire? I have not.

2- Multiple injuries - enough said.

3 - Lack of Skills. - I understood Oden was not a polished offensive player coming into the NBA.. but did anyone really think he'd be this bad? His footwork is terrible, he has virtually no post moves, it often seems like he just chucks the ball at the rim and sometimes he gets lucky and it goes in.... even defensively he's worse than I thought he'd be.... terrible footwork and constant hacking and reaching.

While it's too early to call him a bust.. it is clear that we should be very concerned about how things are going with Oden.. because we cannot win a ring without him being dominant. It just won't happen with this team.

1) This is ridiculous. Just because Oden does not scream on the court and show a lot of emotion doesn't mean he doesn't have any "fire". He just keeps his emotions to himself. Do you know Greg? Have you seen him in practice, working out, trying to get better? No. None of us do, so we have no right to question his "fire". And somebody that doesn't play with "fire"? How about Tim Duncan? The only time he shows emotions is when he is bitching to the refs.

2)'Nuff Said? Microfracture surgery and his wrist injury are the only major injuries he has had. Both he has come back from perfectly fine. The sprained foot? Typical basketball injury. Chipped bone? It would have happened to anybody. You can't call his tonsillectomy during his first summer an injury like many on ESPN did.

3)His defense too me is just fine. The main reason he gets in foul trouble is because refs give him no respect on the offensive side of the ball, and many games gets 1-2 offensive fouls a game. On defense the only time he picks up fouls is when he doesn't bring his arms totally up. It's his first year playing NBA ball, and it's something he will pick up on and fix. His offense coming into the league was the thing he definitely needed to work on. In college you can get away with shuffling your feet much more than you can in the NBA, especially a dominant big man. (Look at Blake Griffin, I've seen quite a few instances where he travels with the ball and it's not called). All he needs to do is dunk everything his first year or two and keep developing those post moves. Did you see Dwight Howard coming into the league? All he could do was dunk.

Overall, we've got to cut the kid a break. Obviously he came into the league with huge expectations, and then went down with MF surgery. He's 21 years old, and I think the main thing we as fans need to do is adjust our expectations. This rookie year is the year where he gets the jist of playing NBA ball, and I expect and think he will come back next year a much better player in his 2nd full season.

 

[PapaG]

One may argue about who has been the most valuable rookie to the Blazers this year. But to say Oden is not in the top 20 rookies, that the world class future hall of famers BNM cited are all better rookies than he, is absurd.

Rookie sensations are all very well, some like Shaq, LeBron and Roy turn into all stars, but a lot flame out. I mean, who would you rather have, Harold Minor, who was called Baby Jordan his rookie year, or Dirk Nowitzki, considered a bust his rookie year?
This is the kind of crap that makes Greg wonder if the city is still behind him, although written by someone who appears to know little about the city or the team and does not appear to have talked to GO or his teammates.

Harold Miner was called "Baby Jordan" before his rookie year mainly because of his dunking ability. His play on the court made that nickname a joke; he never "flamed out" because he never really accomplished anything outside of a dunk contest.

 

[Hank The Dwarf]

1) This is ridiculous. Just because Oden does not scream on the court and show a lot of emotion doesn't mean he doesn't have any "fire". He just keeps his emotions to himself. Do you know Greg? Have you seen him in practice, working out, trying to get better? No. None of us do, so we have no right to question his "fire". And somebody that doesn't play with "fire"? How about Tim Duncan? The only time he shows emotions is when he is bitching to the refs.

2)'Nuff Said? Microfracture surgery and his wrist injury are the only major injuries he has had. Both he has come back from perfectly fine. The sprained foot? Typical basketball injury. Chipped bone? It would have happened to anybody. You can't call his tonsillectomy during his first summer an injury like many on ESPN did.

3)His defense too me is just fine. The main reason he gets in foul trouble is because refs give him no respect on the offensive side of the ball, and many games gets 1-2 offensive fouls a game. On defense the only time he picks up fouls is when he doesn't bring his arms totally up. It's his first year playing NBA ball, and it's something he will pick up on and fix. His offense coming into the league was the thing he definitely needed to work on. In college you can get away with shuffling your feet much more than you can in the NBA, especially a dominant big man. (Look at Blake Griffin, I've seen quite a few instances where he travels with the ball and it's not called). All he needs to do is dunk everything his first year or two and keep developing those post moves. Did you see Dwight Howard coming into the league? All he could do was dunk.

Overall, we've got to cut the kid a break. Obviously he came into the league with huge expectations, and then went down with MF surgery. He's 21 years old, and I think the main thing we as fans need to do is adjust our expectations. This rookie year is the year where he gets the jist of playing NBA ball, and I expect and think he will come back next year a much better player in his 2nd full season.

1 - It's not "Ridiculous" to say that Greg's emotions have been a problem this year. He pouts. Pouts on the bench, pouts on the floor. Coaches, Teamates and every Journalist in Portland has seen it.. countless articles have been writen about it. This is not simply my opinion or speculation.. something is wrong with the kid. I'm not sure what it is and I'm not even going to guess.. but I have watched enough basketball to know that if you don't have "IT" you can't just get it someday.. and Greg doesn't have "IT".

2 - Injury Prone people are more prone to injury. PERIOD. You can explain it away as freak accidents or whatever helps you sleep at night.. but Greg Oden IS injury prone. There were Red Flags before the draft in his medical charts.. KP simply could not pass up on a once in a generation Big Man.. I'm not blaming him for it.. but it doesn't change the fact that he is injury prone.

3 - You are a typical Blazer Homer - always blaming the refs. Odens footwork is terrible, he constantly reaches in or hacks. His offensive game is comparable to Dwight Howards was as a rookie.. EXCEPT he doesnt have the explosiveness that Howard has.. he's nowhere near the athelete that Howard is.

At this point it's simply time to lower expectations on Oden .. he's no longer a Franchise changing Big Man prospect.... lets just hope he develops into a servicable big man someday ... and that KP can pulll off another draft like 2006 and get us that 3rd piece to the puzzle.

 

[MrJayremmie]

3 - You are a typical Blazer Homer - always blaming the refs. Odens footwork is terrible, he constantly reaches in or hacks. His offensive game is comparable to Dwight Howards was as a rookie.. EXCEPT he doesnt have the explosiveness that Howard has.. he's nowhere near the athelete that Howard is.

He will get the explosiveness back. Maybe by next year sometime. The difference is that Howard was a little more fluent in his motions than Greg... The great big men in the past have all been big guys, but they have all been very fluent in their motions and looked very natural, while a lot of the time when Oden is out there, he looks very awkward, but even that is starting to correct the more he plays... that is the main difference in their offense (Dwight/Greg as rookies), imo. If Greg played in Dwights situation as a rookie (focal point on a bad team with lots of minutes) I think his numbers would be better than Howards as a rookie, honestly.

I do agree that excuses are made for Oden all the time, which I dislike.

At this point it's simply time to lower expectations on Oden .. he's no longer a Franchise changing Big Man prospect.... lets just hope he develops into a servicable big man someday ... and that KP can pulll off another draft like 2006 and get us that 3rd piece to the puzzle.

I heavily disagree with this. I know this is going to sound like making excuses, but when Greg plays 30+ minutes, not only does our team have a good record, but his statistics are very good for a rookie big man. He will recover from his foul problems, and his game will continue to develop. The off-season between your rookie and sophomore year is when most players make the biggest stride of their careers. Hopefully this summer Greg won't have to concentrate on rehab and simply work on his game. I can see Greg be a 15 and 10 player next year, honestly. And I think that will be nice for a 21-22 yr old big man in his sophomore season.

The fortunate thing is that reality is not a debate. It's not dictated by what people believe. Even if everyone decides now that Oden is a bust, that doesn't decide what will happen. Oden will determine that by his play. If, in three years, he's doing great, it won't matter a whit what people are saying today.

Yeah, I agree.

Edit - it is also odd when people rail on him because he is more quiet. He has a similar type demeanor as Tim Duncan, and even Brandon Roy a lot of the time.

 

[rocketeer]

1 - It's not "Ridiculous" to say that Greg's emotions have been a problem this year. He pouts. Pouts on the bench, pouts on the floor. Coaches, Teamates and every Journalist in Portland has seen it.. countless articles have been writen about it. This is not simply my opinion or speculation.. something is wrong with the kid. I'm not sure what it is and I'm not even going to guess.. but I have watched enough basketball to know that if you don't have "IT" you can't just get it someday.. and Greg doesn't have "IT".

that entirely is your opinion and speculation.

2 - Injury Prone people are more prone to injury. PERIOD. You can explain it away as freak accidents or whatever helps you sleep at night.. but Greg Oden IS injury prone. There were Red Flags before the draft in his medical charts.. KP simply could not pass up on a once in a generation Big Man.. I'm not blaming him for it.. but it doesn't change the fact that he is injury prone.

again. entirely your opinion and nothing more.

wade, yao, amare, vince carter, shaq, etc are all terrible players because they have been what you would call injury prone over their careers, right?

3 - You are a typical Blazer Homer - always blaming the refs. Odens footwork is terrible, he constantly reaches in or hacks. His offensive game is comparable to Dwight Howards was as a rookie.. EXCEPT he doesnt have the explosiveness that Howard has.. he's nowhere near the athelete that Howard is.

oden's offensive game constantly is understated by everyone.

At this point it's simply time to lower expectations on Oden .. he's no longer a Franchise changing Big Man prospect.... lets just hope he develops into a servicable big man someday ... and that KP can pulll off another draft like 2006 and get us that 3rd piece to the puzzle.

bullshit.

 

[Blazer Freak]

1 - It's not "Ridiculous" to say that Greg's emotions have been a problem this year. He pouts. Pouts on the bench, pouts on the floor. Coaches, Teamates and every Journalist in Portland has seen it.. countless articles have been writen about it. This is not simply my opinion or speculation.. something is wrong with the kid. I'm not sure what it is and I'm not even going to guess.. but I have watched enough basketball to know that if you don't have "IT" you can't just get it someday.. and Greg doesn't have "IT".

2 - Injury Prone people are more prone to injury. PERIOD. You can explain it away as freak accidents or whatever helps you sleep at night.. but Greg Oden IS injury prone. There were Red Flags before the draft in his medical charts.. KP simply could not pass up on a once in a generation Big Man.. I'm not blaming him for it.. but it doesn't change the fact that he is injury prone.

3 - You are a typical Blazer Homer - always blaming the refs. Odens footwork is terrible, he constantly reaches in or hacks. His offensive game is comparable to Dwight Howards was as a rookie.. EXCEPT he doesnt have the explosiveness that Howard has.. he's nowhere near the athelete that Howard is.

At this point it's simply time to lower expectations on Oden .. he's no longer a Franchise changing Big Man prospect.... lets just hope he develops into a servicable big man someday ... and that KP can pulll off another draft like 2006 and get us that 3rd piece to the puzzle.

I'd like you to show me one instance where Greg has "pouted" on the bench. I have season tickets and sit close to the bench, and whenever I look over at GO on the bench he is watching the game, no emotions on his face. Please show me an example of this pouting..

The only red flag before the draft was one of his legs was like 1/4 or a 1/2 an inch longer. A red flag, but that doesn't constitute as "many". And if Greg Oden is injury prone, then so is Yao Ming, Andrew Bynum, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal...big men get hurt more often, that's a proven fact. But the 2 injuries he has sustained this year are basketball injuries, and can happen to anyone playing basketball.

And of course the Blazer homer comment because I'm a Blazer fan and I don't agree with your point. And obviously GO doesn't have the explosiveness as Dwight does, this is still his 1st year playing after MF. Next year will be a much better time to judge his explosiveness again, but did you watch him at all in college? He was pretty damn explosive to me. And I don't always blame the refs, it is just clearly visible when watching games that Oden does get a lot of offensive fouls called on him, that when it was any other non-rookie starter was playing, would NEVER be called. He's a rookie, and doesn't yet have the refs respect.

While I do agree it is time to lower expectations, they are only for the short term. Greg still can reach that franchise player level, and I really believe he will. He still has only played 46 games of NBA basketball. Give the kid some time, christ.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I wouldn't say Oden "pouts", but there are times he looks dispirited and unenthusiastic. That is very different from Duncan, who is merely calm. Early in the season, Oden wouldn't even cheer for his team-mates when he was sitting on the bench.

 

[Enzo Aix]

Why would Oden seem happy or alive on the court when every time he turns around some person is asking him if he is a bust?

The players on that list of the top 10 rookies have one thing in common their teams suck.