Greg Oden's good numbers behind limited minutes

[Warren2ThaG]

Yes, limited minutes becuz' of foul trouble. But he's on the right track...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4243/gamelog;_ylt=At6DhYHkN6.YhQEg3_Sm20.KPaB4

[Celtics3420]

He's nice defensively, but he's nowhere near the "dominant big" he was supposed to be. He still has the potential to be a superstar big just by anchoring a defense IMO. But i just dont see him doing it on both ends of the court.

[The Next Knick]

I remember during the draft 2 years ago when everyone was hyping him up, I never realized how much potential he has until now. I know he's not playing as well as some people should be but he's a freak of an athlete and can really be a defensive specialist. I wish he proves the critics wrong and starts playing better and better every time he's on the floor, he can really help Roy and the rest of the Blazers.

[fish7718]

It's his fouls, same problem he had in college. He gets in foul trouble and has to play less aggressively and less minutes. If he learns how to manage himself and his fouls he will be one of the top 5 centers in the NBA and probably lead Portland to a championship.

[Force]

He needs to desperately develop his offensive game though..all his points usually are just dunks, and a turnaround hook which he's developing quite nicely. We all know what he's capable of doing on the defensive end of the floor though..hopefully he can live up to the hype.

[Real Deal]

I'm guilty of hyping him up draft day. I figured this guy was going to already be in beast mode. He went through his last year of college with a broken right hand, and did everything with his off-hand, and he still led Ohio State (along with Conley) to a very good record.

 

Foul trouble can be easy to overcome, though. I really don't need to give you names, but you can go down the list of great centers in the 90's and find out just how many were getting themselves into foul trouble, yet found a way to adjust to stay in the game and produce for their team.

[Dr. Feelgood]

It's been great slowly watching Oden develop and turn into the beast that I know he'll be. He had a hell of a game against Tim Duncan, putting some little post moves on him and scoring. Though, we really don't need him to score when we've got players like Roy, LaMarcus, Martell, Blake, Rudy, Outlaw, etc.

[xx.]

Is it safe to say though that he is already one of the best rebounders in the game?

[Doc]

aha about 5 fouls per game.

[Dash]

He's pretty clumsy on both ends but whats scary are his per 36 minutes numbers.

 

12.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.9 blocks. 4.6 turnovers and 7.5 fouls per game.

 

Like Celtics said, he's on the road to becoming a great anchor defensively/rebounding but he won't ever amount to anything offensively. If he had the athletic prowess of Dwight Howard then maybe he could.

[Sun Tzu]

He should really stop fouling so much. His actually doing really well and could probably average a double double if he wasn't fouling so much.

[Built Ford Tough]

The thing about Oden that a lot of people seem to forget is that he is still only 21 years old and is really only in his second NBA season. Add in the fact that big men take longer to develop than guards (obviously there are some exceptions to this) and I still have faith that Oden will be able to become more than just a defensive anchor. I am going to withold judgement on him until his rooke contract is finished because players like Oden can either come into the league and dominate right away, or they can take time to develop.

 

Oden showed in college that he can be a force both offensively and defensively. When he is confident in his offense hs is better than what he has shown so far in his NBA career. He just needs more time to get used to the faster pace, more athletic players and tougher defense. This in turn will lead to him being more confident in himself and his abilities. That microfracture surgery really hurt his development and I think hurt him mentally as well.

 

Then you also have to take into consideration what Dr. Feelgood said about the Blazers not needing Oden to be an offensive player. With players like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller, Oden is more often than not the 5th option on the floor. This can be good for his development because the Blazers have the luxury of not having to put much pressure on him offensively and are able to bring him along slowly.

 

The foul trouble is an issue that I am sure he will figure out. A lot of defensive big men like Oden experienced foul difficulties when they first came into the league but as they gained more experience and discipline, they were able to rectify it.

 

I still have faith that Oden will become a top tier center in the NBA. I admit that I am bias as I was a huge fan of Oden's since reading about what he accomplished in high school and was literally pissed off that Stern implemented the age limit rule when he did as it didn't allow the Raptors to draft him (I imagine he would've entered the 06 draft and would've been the consensous number 1 pick). I think that you just have to be patient with him and reserve judgement for at least another couple of years.

[Dr. Feelgood]

Great post BFT, I couldn't agree more man. He's still a very young player and like I said before, it's been great getting to see Oden grow each game. It's like he's understanding the game more and more each and every game he plays. He got hit with a couple of injuries early on but ever since his last injury, he's been great. I'm loving his development regardless if it is taking a bit longer. He'll get there and no doubt in my mind he'll be one of the better centers in the league.