They keep saying 75%+ of NBA GM's have Oden #1, but I don't know. It almost seems to me like Mutombo vs. Garnett. At their peak, everyone would rather have Garnett. Oden should be a better offensive player then Mutombo, but it's not like he proved that in college...or in this workout for that matter. It is so much easier being the SuperSonics GM these days...
Oden will probably become a better offensive player than Mutumbo. But it's far from a sure thing that he will ever be as good as Deke defensively.
Thanks for posting rimrocker. good articles. "So when Oden walked into the gym wearing Blazers practice gear -- a gray T-shirt and black shorts -- he was startled. The sideline was filled from baseline to baseline with people, ranging from owner Paul Allen and newly named team president Larry Miller, to the entire Blazers scouting staff. Along the back wall of the gym, were the five Blazers players and team personnel. "There were a lot more people than I expected," Oden said. "I see the whole gym lined up looking at me like this (arms crossed, eyes squinted), and I'm like, 'Oh, God.' My heart started beating fast . . . I thought I would miss my first layup." Minutes into the workout, it became so apparent that Oden was nervous that McMillan said he stopped the drills. "I tried to calm him down," McMillan said. "It was like a circus in here -- two cameras filming him, both sidelines packed -- and I could tell he was a little nervous. To me, that was a good sign. He's not in awe of himself."" Reminds me of when Yao had his tryout before the NBA draft except there was probably 5x as many people watching Yao and 10x more cameras. Yao seemed to handle it better than Oden.
There's some billboards up here in Portland saying: "Oden, Honk Once. Durant, Honk Twice." The whole freaking town is swept up in the madness. Agree that the KG-Mutombo analogy is close, although Oden might be a little btter finisher around the basket, while Mutombo was a better shotblocker and rebounder.
Oden at 19 is better than Mutombo at 22. Oden was putting up the same ppg as Ewing with an injured dominant hand! OSU didn't even gear the offense around Oden. Durant's ability to drive and score from the post are overrated.
he was sick and nervous. that's fine. i just don't like his wrist not healing completely (on his shooting hand), and the buldging disc in his back. we know all too well that back injuries aren't something to mess around with. since you can't go wrong with either of these guys, i'd pick durant.
...and this is what was in the back of my mind too. i never knew he had a back problem but i did wonder whether or not he was an injury candidate and it seems like he is. i hope he can get past this but with one leg being longer than the other you have to wonder if he can maintain a healthy back.
Mutombo might actually be 32 when we thought he was only 22 and a senior at Georgetown. So no one knows how good Mutombo was when he was 22. just joking...sorry can't help it.
