I couldn't say this for all players but I feel like I could easily make a muppet out of Greg Oden. The mans got muppet face.
There is something about the league and people overrating players. I also find it amusing that some regular critcizers of Yao and McGrady chose to call Greg Oden's early injury career as just a slow start. Greg Oden looks good, but that is it IMO. He is overrated to another level, especially since some journalists have already decided to name him in the top 50 best NBA players of today. He does not look as fast as Howard, nor as atheletic (maybe as strong as howard). You may say Oden still has a long career ahead of him, but too bad Oden is nowhere near the spark of his career yet (most players spark at 25). If Oden can't prove that he can play even one full season healthy, then he cannot be looking at another contract anytime soon. Or maybe, Oden is actually 35, disguised as 20.
well at least the good news for Portland is that Rudy Fernandez made a solid debut off the bench: 16 pts on 50% shooting. 3/5 from downtown. of course that was in 29 min...more than their starting pg.
That is what I have heard, but I have never once seen the freak of an athlete that people talk about. Dwight Howard runs circles around him athletically. DD
WTF you show a missed dunk attempt to prove what? thats like me showing Rafer bricking 3-pointers and saying hes the next coming of Ray Allen.
You are swinging the pendulum too far. I agree he looked awful last night but athletically he is big, strong and fast, at least pre-injury. He was almost as fast as Aaron Brooks in some of the speed drills. http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2007/06/greg_oden_is_a_freak_of_nature.html Of course he might not make it anyway, it happens.
I would bet against him. 20 years old, he shouldn't be having all these injuries. Misses his whole first year and gets injured his first game back, he's got Sam Bowie written all over him.
I agree Sam, but even in college I didn't think he was all that great....certainly a quality freshman college player, but not someone that screamed NBA... His athleticism was just ok....he was big and strong, but he didn't seem to be a quick leaper......sort of Landryish if you know what I mean and his knowledge of where to go on the court was severly lacking. At best, he seems to be a project.....I hope he is not seriously hurt, but I think at this point...Portland may have landed an egg. DD
he reminds me a lot of patrick ewing as far as athleticism is concerned. slightly above average, just my opinion
I thought the same thing until the national tile game against UF. He had some crazy blocks and dunks. Though I dont have the youtube highlights to prove it
I think he was trying to do too much at first then he got injuried (again!) and he was not the same player again.
damn.. you guys are hard.. it's his first nba game and he got hurt early. He looked like he was moving pretty well in the time that he was in.. They were double and triple teaming him fast when he got the ball too. Lakers had a game plan and it worked...
He looked pretty good to me. He needs some time to get in better shape and get adjusted to the NBA game but from what I saw I think he'll be better than Bynum. Hopefully the injury isn't serious.