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Didn't see this posted anywhere, and stumbled upon it watching Walton v Ferrell in a game of horse. Haven't actually watched the video yet.

Link

They talked about him on PTI today. Were proud of how he voiced his support of Obama (not cuz it was Obama, just that he said his opinion at all).

mcorrie1121 wrote:They talked about him on PTI today. Were proud of how he voiced his support of Obama (not cuz it was Obama, just that he said his opinion at all).

Yea - I saw that aswell. Talked about how people like
Jordan & Tiger are great but they never choose a side.
They thought it was great how Oden was like a throw-
back to some of the 1960-70s sports stars who were
active in politics and other things non sports.. .

I like how he's made it clear that he's not playing in the upcoming summer league, he's going to rehab and take it steady until training camp. That is a definite positive.

This interview is an example of why Oden will be a humungous superstar in the NBA. I'm not an Obama supporter, but how can you not like this guy and everything he puts out there?

He is such a nice guy, I hope he can come back and have a great season!

He's a beast in the weight room and has a great IQ for the game.

mojomarc wrote:This interview is an example of why Oden will be a humungous superstar in the NBA. I'm not an Obama supporter, but how can you not like this guy and everything he puts out there?

Ron Paul, I presume?

Tim, let's not hijack yet another thread to talk politics. Honestly, i'm just not interested in it at this point--maybe after the conventions.

I really like Greg Oden, he seems like a nice person and that makes me pull for him. He's so laid back and relaxed, very enthusiastic about the game. It's nice, he reminds me a lot of Tim Duncan.

I'm worried about the structure of his leg and how that'll affect his knees and back long-term but I'm hopeful that he'll have a long career because the league definitely NEEDS another dominant big and he clearly has that kind of potential.

That mohawk was...

Well, it's "just a haircut," so it'll eventually go away, lol.

I love that he's not a radical but that he's willing to voice his opinion if asked.

What impressed me most about that interview, though, was the size of his shoulders. Dwight Howard is not going to be able to move Greg around all that easily next year, that's for sure. His head looks like the rotunda sitting on the capital, his shoulders are so huge.

mojomarc wrote:What impressed me most about that interview, though, was the size of his shoulders. Dwight Howard is not going to be able to move Greg around all that easily next year, that's for sure. His head looks like the rotunda sitting on the capital, his shoulders are so huge.

It's not the shoulders that are important for whether you're moved around or not; the shoulders are more for moving others and not getting bumped out of position while you're in the air. The legs and the abdomen are considerably more important for holding post position, including holding your ground against someone trying to move you.

Of course, Greg's shoulders will certainly help HIM move guys around and that's promising. And from what we've seen, I'm not too worried about his base, either. Oden looks pretty dangerous, physically.

tsherkin wrote:It's not the shoulders that are important for whether you're moved around or not; the shoulders are more for moving others and not getting bumped out of position while you're in the air.

I disagree a bit, Tyler. Being able to bump shoulders while you're establishing position is pretty important as well. If two players come together, and one player is much larger in the upper body, he can essentially establish where the contest for the base will take place and how it can be set in some cases. With Oden being as broad as he is, the only way players will be able to contest him at his base will be if they are directly in front or directly behind him--they won't be able to hip-check him from the side because they simply won't be able to get close enough to his hips.

Not a major disagreement, but I think it's pretty important.

mojomarc wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



I disagree a bit, Tyler. Being able to bump shoulders while you're establishing position is pretty important as well. If two players come together, and one player is much larger in the upper body, he can essentially establish where the contest for the base will take place and how it can be set in some cases. With Oden being as broad as he is, the only way players will be able to contest him at his base will be if they are directly in front or directly behind him--they won't be able to hip-check him from the side because they simply won't be able to get close enough to his hips.

Not a major disagreement, but I think it's pretty important.

Having played in the post most of my days as a baller, I am inclined to disagree. My shoudlers were never important for holding position, it was always my base that was the most important part. And I traditionally play guys who are a LOT bigger than me, I routinely surrender anywhere between 40 and 80+ pounds to my opponents in the post and it's the strengths of my quads and calves that allow me to resist the push and such.

Upper body strength doesn't hurt, but base is infinitely more important.

The way you move someone out of the post is to lever beneath their center of mass and shove, taking away the strength of their base. It's not by getting into a shoving match up top. That pretty much clarifies the critical value of the base over the upper body.

The upper body is important once you've left the ground so you can absorb contact and finish.

Also, I don't think getting to his hip for a hip check will be an issue, regardless of the breadth of his shoulders, it's simply a matter of angles.

I mean, the classic example of this is Dennis Rodman stalling Shaq. Rodman was like 6'8, 220 and Shaq at the time was a 7'1 behemoth at 305 pounds or so and Rodman actually stopped him from moving forward. The Worm wasn't tanked out up top but he had brutally strong legs and he maneuvered himself so that he was wedged up beneath Shaq's CoM and pushed on Shaq's base, not his upper body, using the strength of his legs to hold his ground.

That's what I'm talking about, leg strength is a LOT more important than upper body strength when it comes to the post as a defender.

On offense, it can help in a variety of ways but your base is still more important for a backdown big man because it's what you lean on when you're establishing and holding position, not your upper body.

A broad upper body makes it harder to come around to steal the entry pass, though, that's certainly true.

Yep - Its in the legs & hips.