Oden practices with Blazers for first time since surgery...

anorexorcism · Post #21 » by **anorexorcism** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:31 pm

With Oden on the team, I agree w/whoever said that Portland will be duking it out for the last spot; but if Denver doesn't shake up their roster soon it will be easier for Portland to deal with Golden State directly.

TheKingOfVa360 · Post #22 » by **TheKingOfVa360** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:58 pm

great news

breaker91 · Post #23 » by **breaker91** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:42 pm

theGreatRC wrote:I wanted to see how he would play because his hand is finally healthy, but he is foul prone. I think he fouled out of almost every summer league game, and they permit 10 fouls.

I think the foul prone stuff is overblown. Fouls weren't an issue during the regular season at OSU. He did have a lot of foul trouble in the tourney, but that was mostly due to the fact that the Big 10 plays a much more physical game, but he was getting calls from officiating crews in other conferences.

He only played a couple of summer league games so I wouldn't put much stock in that.

Lastly, given the hype around him, I think he is going to benefit from some noncalls like Shaq has throughout his career.

BballerShotCaller · Post #24 » by **BballerShotCaller** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:50 pm

Does Portland Really Want Oden to Play in Summer League??

I'm not so sure I would risk playing him in any summer league.

Why can't he just continue rehab, conditioning drills, shooting drills, maybe continued
half-speed walk thru practices to learn the plays, etc.

But with so much anticipation for him to play next year... I really wonder
if Summer League play would just be an unworthy risk?

theTHIEF · Post #25 » by **theTHIEF** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:51 pm

i'd like to see some photos of him out on the court, this extra 30lbs of muscle he gained and what not...

breaker91 · Post #26 » by **breaker91** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:04 pm

^ I can't recall for certain, but I'm pretty sure his recovery plan involves him skipping summer league and working on his conditioning. One of the positives for Portland is it's trainer already has experience working a player back into game shape after MF surgery (Zach Randolph).

As part of his recovery, the trainer ordered a customized mountain bike and had Zach ride it 20-30 miles a day. I'd love to see Oden out there on the streets of PDX on a mountain bike.

Moses_Malone95 · Post #27 » by **Moses_Malone95** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:12 pm

Village Idiot wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Portland is on a pace to win 45 games without Oden. In the East they'd be seeded 6th.

Add Oden, Europe's best player Rudy Fernandez, and a lottery pick and I'd be surprised and disappointed if Portland doesn't make the playoffs next year.

Those are two if-filled sentences, my friend. It's difficult to determine whether their new players will gel with the current ones. Don't look at the Celtics as example. They're an anomaly. If everyone plays together without error, I can see them making noise in the West. Oden's foul trouble issues are a great concern. He needs to drop his fouls considerably to make any sort of an impact.

SabasRevenge! · Post #28 » by **SabasRevenge!** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:20 pm

[quote="Moses_Malone95"][/quote]

It sounds like you're rooting against Oden! It's not like we're rooting against Bynum around the L, injuries are always tragic. There were very good reasons Oden was roundly proclaimed the best can't-miss big man since Tim Duncan. I understand guarded predictions and I guess pessimism is one's right, but I question just how much of Greg Oden a person has seen to suggest he won't probably be a very high caliber NBA center.

Moses_Malone95 · Post #29 » by **Moses_Malone95** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:23 pm

I'm not rooting against Oden; I'm being realistic.

Post #30 » by **5DOM** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:25 pm

theGreatRC wrote:I wanted to see how he would play because his hand is finally healthy, but he is foul prone. I think he fouled out of almost every summer league game, and they permit 10 fouls.

HOFFA V2

Jsun947 · Post #31 » by **Jsun947** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:42 pm

The only thing Oden is doing for the next 8 months is conditioning, working out, and making his leg stronger. Oden and Prichard both said he will not be participating in summer league because they would rather have him be 100% when the team heads into training camp in October. Hes put a uber crap ton of muscle on but hes only around 7% body fat. I can't wait to see him next season when he starts putting people in their place.

breaker91 · Post #32 » by **breaker91** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:45 pm

Moses_Malone95 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Oden's foul trouble issues are a great concern. He needs to drop his fouls considerably to make any sort of an impact.

What are you basing this on? Six tourney games and 1 summer league game. Foul trouble wasn't an issue during the regular season at OSU.

There is a chance fouls will be an issue with Oden, but I don't think you have a solid standing to proclaim with any certainty they'll be a great concern.

Village Idiot · Post #33 » by **Village Idiot** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:10 pm

Moses_Malone95 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Those are two if-filled sentences, my friend. It's difficult to determine whether their new players will gel with the current ones. Don't look at the Celtics as example. They're an anomaly. If everyone plays together without error, I can see them making noise in the West. Oden's foul trouble issues are a great concern. He needs to drop his fouls considerably to make any sort of an impact.

The first sentence is based on fact. Only the 2nd is iffy.

Re the summer league fouls:

1) Oden was suffering from severely swollen tonsils which caused him to cut the league short.

2) The guys had jitters and was enthused to play.

3) The refs in summer league are a joke. They're novices auditioning for the league and want to be noticed. Pleny of players have gotten a lot of fouls in summer league without it impacting their playing career.

a-rod · Post #34 » by **a-rod** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:22 pm

revprodeji wrote:Dont rush him back. With his size he could have more problems.

Exactly i don't get it?

Jack wore plaid · Post #35 » by **Jack wore plaid** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:33 pm

a-rod wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Exactly i don't get it?

I don't really think they are rushing him back. He said he went at 3/4 speed. Just running through the offense. Also, microfracture surgery takes 6 months to a year to recover from. It has been 6 months, and it has been reported several times that he is healing very well, very quickly. It's not like he is going to play or anything. Heck, he's not even going to play summer league

farzi · Post #36 » by **farzi** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:13 pm

Post #37 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:52 pm

I can't remember a player in the history of the league that we said "wow, he would have been such a great player, but his potential was wasted because of foul trouble."

Seriously, if that is the only knock people have on you, you are doing something right.

deadfeather · Post #38 » by **deadfeather** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:20 pm

Why do so many fans want Oden to fall flat on his face?