OT: Oden may be seriously injured yet again

[carlos1223]

Durant was the better pick

[Troubadour]

Durant was the better pick

I don't think many people truly felt that back on draft day. But I agree, in retrospect, Durant would have been the better pick.

[ilikecb4]

well before the draft, a bunch of people had serious concerns with his body

one of his legs is shorter than other, not a good thing

his hips are not well balanced, one is sligthly higher..

i honestly dont think his body will allow him to be an NBA player

best case scenario is Bill Walton's career

[Troubadour]

well before the draft, a bunch of people had serious concerns with his body

one of his legs is shorter than other, not a good thing

his hips are not well balanced, one is sligthly higher..

i honestly dont think his body will allow him to be an NBA player

best case scenario is Bill Walton's career

Granted, but Durant had his own body concerns. I'm not saying being under-developed is something you can't work on, but his NBA-readiness was always in question.

When a player is hailed as the second coming of Bill Russell, you have to pick him. No matter what people say about picking the BPA, public opinion plays a huge part in the draft. Just don't tell Rob Babcock that.

[Geddy]

I hope this guy's body can sort itself out so he can have a decent career.

[Ted Lasso]

Poor kid. I really want him to make it.

[whoknows]

Just imagine...If allowed, Raps would've picked Oden instead of Bargs...

I think BC would have taken Durant. At least I hope he would have...

I don't think BC likes traditional centers - see Bargnani - and Durant would have been the unconventional player BC loves.

no way BC would've picked Durant with Oden on the table. He would've been run out of town with forks. CB4 would've not signed back (wait, maybe that it is not that bad...hm....).

[djsunyc]

you think if oden was eligible for the draft, toronto would've still got the #1 pick? lol - the draft is rigged folks. always has been, always will be.

[Double Helix]

Oden is the real Benjamin Button. In another 10 years, he'll be able to run and jump and reach his full potential.

[Double Helix]

you think if oden was eligible for the draft, toronto would've still got the #1 pick? lol - the draft is rigged folks. always has been, always will be.

Do you know how many owners would be busting that out if they were suffering financial trouble, constantly losing, and weren't getting first overall picks. That would be prime time news worthy stuff if there were any truth to it.

Plus, New York's biggest star in 20 years wouldn't be Patrick Ewing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ockham_razor

[Alfred]

The draft isn't rigged.

[The Notic]

i still can't get over that article by bill simmons where he talks about meeting oden and durant for the first time.

Anyway, when you see basketball players dressed in normal clothes, it's mesmerizing to watch them walk for two reasons: They're always much bigger in person, but they move so effortlessly that it's always strangely discombobulating to watch them walk, like they belong to another species or something. For instance, we all know one or two exceptionally tall people who don't play sports -- they always move gingerly, and their posture usually isn't that good, and everything about them says, "I wish I wasn't this tall." The best athletes in the NBA don't carry themselves like this. They glide. Everything moves effortlessly as they walk, and it's impossible to fully explain unless you've seen it. Even someone like Shaq glides across the room like he's the size of Steve Nash. They don't move like normal tall people.

So, before and after the show, I was vigilantly watching everyone stroll by for one reason: I wanted to see Oden and Durant walking in normal clothes. It was like the final piece of the "Durant vs. Oden" puzzle for me. As it turned out, I got to see Durant first -- he shuffled down the hallway, all 81 inches of him, looking like he was put on Earth to play sports for a living. No big surprise there. Even the biggest nonsports fan on the planet could watch Durant walk for 35 feet and think, "That guy was born to play basketball." Now, I needed Oden. We didn't see him before the show, and I didn't see him right afterward. Just when I was about to give up, a friend of mine said, "Yo, Oden just walked by."

I scurried down the hallway to see him. Lo and behold, Oden was walking by himself down the last stretch of the hallway, about 50 feet in all, right before the exit to head outside.

Sam Bowie, 1985

Blazers fans don't need any more reminders of the 1984 draft.

And you know what? He walked like a 50-year-old man. His posture was screwed up. He had the Fred Sanford walk going. If you saw him from behind and just studied his walk, you would have thought it was a retired player, someone like Patrick Ewing or Robert Parish. I couldn't believe it. I didn't stop talking about it the rest of the night. Greg Oden walked like a guy who had bad knees. If I were Portland's GM and watched Oden walk across the room, that would have been it for me. The next day, I even called my buddy Sully (who works for the Celtics) just to have the obligatory, "Yo, we might have dodged a bullet May 22; Greg Oden walks like a 50-year-old man" conversation.

[MacDaddy]

well before the draft, a bunch of people had serious concerns with his body

one of his legs is shorter than other, not a good thing

his hips are not well balanced, one is sligthly higher..

i honestly dont think his body will allow him to be an NBA player

best case scenario is Bill Walton's career

So the hall of fame and only one championship?

[The Flying Gent]

i still can't get over that article by bill simmons where he talks about meeting oden and durant for the first time.

Anyway, when you see basketball players dressed in normal clothes, it's mesmerizing to watch them walk for two reasons: They're always much bigger in person, but they move so effortlessly that it's always strangely discombobulating to watch them walk, like they belong to another species or something. For instance, we all know one or two exceptionally tall people who don't play sports -- they always move gingerly, and their posture usually isn't that good, and everything about them says, "I wish I wasn't this tall." The best athletes in the NBA don't carry themselves like this. They glide. Everything moves effortlessly as they walk, and it's impossible to fully explain unless you've seen it. Even someone like Shaq glides across the room like he's the size of Steve Nash. They don't move like normal tall people.

So, before and after the show, I was vigilantly watching everyone stroll by for one reason: I wanted to see Oden and Durant walking in normal clothes. It was like the final piece of the "Durant vs. Oden" puzzle for me. As it turned out, I got to see Durant first -- he shuffled down the hallway, all 81 inches of him, looking like he was put on Earth to play sports for a living. No big surprise there. Even the biggest nonsports fan on the planet could watch Durant walk for 35 feet and think, "That guy was born to play basketball." Now, I needed Oden. We didn't see him before the show, and I didn't see him right afterward. Just when I was about to give up, a friend of mine said, "Yo, Oden just walked by."

I scurried down the hallway to see him. Lo and behold, Oden was walking by himself down the last stretch of the hallway, about 50 feet in all, right before the exit to head outside.

Sam Bowie, 1985

Blazers fans don't need any more reminders of the 1984 draft.

And you know what? He walked like a 50-year-old man. His posture was screwed up. He had the Fred Sanford walk going. If you saw him from behind and just studied his walk, you would have thought it was a retired player, someone like Patrick Ewing or Robert Parish. I couldn't believe it. I didn't stop talking about it the rest of the night. Greg Oden walked like a guy who had bad knees. If I were Portland's GM and watched Oden walk across the room, that would have been it for me. The next day, I even called my buddy Sully (who works for the Celtics) just to have the obligatory, "Yo, we might have dodged a bullet May 22; Greg Oden walks like a 50-year-old man" conversation.

Heh. I remember when that first got posted here and everyone slammed it like it was the new cool thing to do and said how Simmons was such a funny guy but he just didn't know a lot about basketball.

[Phenomenologist]

pritchard's accumulation of players are somewhat overrated. roy is great. but all those other guys are role players. they better cash in on all of them before everyone finds out they're overrated.

Dude, they're like 20 games over 500 and right in the mix of the Western conference elite. They can't be that bad. Though I do admit that Pritchard overrates his own young talent; a lot of GMs make this mistake actually, usually based on outlandish projections/extrapolations (which don't often come true). Chicago did it and now they're in no-mans land, potentially saved only by a fortuitous stroke (winning the lottery as the 9th worst team).

Anyway, I think LMA is most definitely more then a role player. And Fernandez should eventually be a quality starter as well (either at the 3 or on another team). And Oden too, if he can ever get healthy.

[Scase]

Yeah it's a shame, the kid seems to have a real desire to play and has just had crappy luck. Hope he get's better and rebounds (no pun intended) back.

[vulture]

I would still trade Bargnani for Oden.

[Luv 4 da game]

I know its random and OT but its related to the Blazers

Rude Fernandez Down ... they brought out a stretcher for him.

Rudy Fernandez was carried off on a stretcher Monday night following a flagrant foul from Trevor Ariza.
Fernandez took a vicious fall following a hard hit to the head area on a breakaway attempt. He was down for several minutes before being immobilized on the stretcher, and at this point it's unclear what injuries he may have sustained, though he could be seen moving his right hand as he was carried off. Ariza was ejected and could face a suspension, while Lamar Odom is likely to be suspended for leaving the bench in the altercation that followed. We'll continue to monitor this situation as more information becomes available.

Trevor Ariza was ejected for committing a flagrant-2 foul on Rudy Fernandez Monday night.
Given the nature of the foul and the fact that Fernandez was carried off on a stretcher with his injuries, it seems likely that Ariza will face a suspension. He finished with three points in 11 minutes on the night.

amar Odom is likely to face a suspension for leaving the Lakers' bench in the altercation that followed Trevor Ariza's flagrant foul on Rudy Fernandez Monday.
TV cameras very clearly showed Odom leaving the bench, and you can bet that the league office will be reviewing the tape. Given how quickly the NBA tends to act in these situations, it's possible that official word could come down as soon as Tuesday.

[whoknows]

I would still trade Bargnani for Oden.

you would trade Bargs for a slice of pizza as well...

[J Dilla]

Lol at trading Oden for Bargnani.

Oden is a huge risk right now. This is why I hate it when scouts hype up big men.

The only positive is, he's 19 years old. So he has tons of time to recover from his injury.