Man, why didn’t someone tell me about this?

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Greg Oden is a big man with great skills on the hardwood.

After sitting out a year with injury, Greg Oden is starting to have the type of games everyone thought he would.

Oden put on a show down low, violently shaking the basket standard and shot clock with five two-handed dunks in the second half, including a thunderous rebound slam with 6:01 to play that pulled Portland to 94-91. But the Warriors twice knocked the ball out of Oden’s hands while he wound up to dunk in the final minutes, and Oden scored just two points in the final six minutes.

“Greg Oden did a great job just dominating the paint, doing what he does, getting us into more of a rhythm,” Roy said. “He is getting his confidence, which is good for our team.”

source

We will have to keep an eye on this guy.

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Greg Oden is back to waiting mode and so is the NBA

In our continuing saga about Greg Oden and his injuries,

Greg Oden era almost begins

Greg Oden – Blazer Kiddy Corp part I

Oden sprains ankle, Portland holds breath

another chapter is born. Greg is hurt again. Still no NBA baskets for Greg Oden.

Only 2½ minutes into his NBA debut — which was delayed for a year by knee surgery in 2007 — the Portland Trail Blazers’ center suffered what the team called a sprain in his right foot. He played on it for the rest of the first half in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, but when the third quarter began Oden was back in the trainer’s room, preparing for an X-ray.

Sixteen months of waiting … for less than 13 minutes of play.

The X-ray was inconclusive; Oden will have an MRI exam back in Portland on Wednesday.

Trail Blazers fans already have their own diagnosis: worst-case scenario. They drafted a They-Don’t-Make-’Em-Like-That-Anymore big man, only to find out he can’t play.

source

With Oden in the Portland lineup, they have the chance to go from being an average NBA team to a good NBA team with chance to be a great NBA team in the future, but when will that happen?

Photo source Newscom

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You would think it is the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain or would that be Arvydas Sybonis? Look that one up younger sports readers.

Portland is going crazy over Greg Oden. Anything he does is big news.

Greg sprained his ankle in practice. You would have thought the stock market crashed. Oh, that’s right, the stock market did crash.

Bad analogy.

You would have thought your grandma fell down and broke her hip or something. (hope she didn’t)

The frenzy over his ankle baffled the 20-year-old Oden (7-0, 279), who played one year at Ohio State.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he says. “I walked to the training room. I practiced the day after that.”

But given his potential — and health history, which includes 2006 surgery to repair ligaments in his right wrist, which he damaged in high school — the incident provided a glimpse into the pressures he could face in his delayed rookie year, which begins Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 ET, TNT).

source

Get excited over Greg Oden

Portland has reason to be excited. Greg took Ohio State to the NCAA finals in his freshman season. He doesn’t even have a lot of moves yet. There are not many true big guys in the game and let’s face it, Shaq is about done.

Dwight Howard rules the hardwood in the box and he has about two offensive moves.

Portland, you can let your breath out, Greg Oden is fine.

Photo source Newscom

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Rudy Fernandez

The Blazers purchased the rights to Rudy Fernandez from Phoenix.

Rudy will actually make less money to play in the NBA than if he had stayed in Europe. If you flash back to the Olympics, Rudy was an outstanding player for Spain, the Olympic silver medalists.

Fernandez has been a huge surprise in early games with his ability to make precise passes to teammates. In one game he threw two passes between a defender’s legs.

The Blazers knew Rudy could score and were claiming he was the best young European in the NBA.

“All I know is, Rudy is going to play, whether as a starter of reserve,” McMillan said. “He plays the game with his heart. He plays it with passion, on both ends of the floor. You rarely see that in the NBA. A lot of guys give that effort on only one end of the floor. When you have a guy who plays hard on every possession, with his kind of potential … once he figures everything out, he’ll be a special player.”

Demopoulos said Fernandez reminds him of Doug Collins as a player. McMillan said he sees a little bit of Pistol Pete Maravich in him.

source

Nobody is saying that the Portland Trail Blazers will win the NBA or even win their division, but these two rookies have taken the town by storm and now plan on storming the NBA!

Photo source Newscom

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Greg Oden

Last year the Portland fans went crazy when the team drafted Greg Oden from Ohio State.

Greg had led the Ohio State basketball team to the NCAA finals and dominated everyone along the way. He is the best big man to hit the NBA in a long time. He has the size and the beginnings of having the moves.

Will Greg be the new Shaquille O’Neal? That is a tough bill to live up to for anyone. We do know Greg will provide the big man presence the Trail Blazers need in the box.

Limited to 20 minutes in each game by coach Nate McMillan, Oden averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, shooting .526 from the field. Of his 10 baskets, nine were dunks — six or seven of the rim-rattling, backboard-shaking variety.

Oden got few of his other attempts — jump hooks or putbacks — to fall. But he was aggressive on the offensive glass, and his presence at the defensive end meant opponents had to think before entering the paint with the ball.

Against Golden State, Oden dunked five times, more than once carrying an opposing arm or two up toward the basket.

“When he grabs on to that ball and pumps it up to the basket, you have two choices — get out of the way or foul him,” Portland assistant coach Dean Demopoulos said. “And a lot of the time, he’ll make the shot. Wherever he is, there’s going to be something physical happening.”

source

Greg Oden is a tower of power that will make the Blazers a good team for years!
Photo source Newscom

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If you are in Portland honk your horn!

Wait, what are you doing reading a basketball blog while driving? Oh, no matter.

Greg Oden worked out lightly with the Portland Trailblazers.

Oden, the 7-foot center taken with the first pick in last year’s draft, participated in offensive drills and even dunked during 45 minutes of work Wednesday. The Blazers were in Sacramento for Thursday night’s game against the Kings.

“It was fun,” Oden told The Oregonian newspaper. “It felt good to get out there … and I wasn’t hurting at all.”

Coach Nate McMillan surprised the team when he called players to participate in a drill—and included Oden.

“There was somewhat of an uproar by the team,” McMillan said. “Some of them said `Greg?’ and I was like, `Yeah, Greg.’

“I think everyone was just excited to see him on the floor.” source

Here is a look at Greg in the Summer League.

Oden has the size and skills to turn Portland into a playoff team.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Have you seen Greg play yet?

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Kobe is flat out a great scorer

The Bulls have got to be wondering what they were thinking.

Hold on to Luol Deng and pass on Kobe Bryant?

Luol Deng. Now how many votes for the All Star team did he get? Hmm, there was that one from his mother. And that one from his agent.

Oh well, Luol is going to be great, right? Right?

Kobe is great and has been since the day he stepped on the court.

GM Mitch Kupchak should get more credit for not pulling off any deals.

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports has compiled some first half of the season awards with the MVP being one of them. Let’s look at Adrian’s awards choices and why he feels that way.

Your intrepid author’s comments will be in italics.

Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Sometimes, there are superstars due to win the Most Valuable Player Award. It is the year owed them. No one wants to hear this, but it’s true. Kevin Garnett has an MVP trophy. So does Dirk Nowitzki. Steve Nash has two. Once Shaquille O’Neal left, Bryant was considered an unworthy candidate because the Lakers were still losing. source

Adrian goes on to support his argument, by stating that LA winning in the West is far harder than Kevin Garnett winning in the East.

He also states that LeBron will win several MVP’s but this is just not the year for him to get support from his team.

It will be a great MVP race. Not like in past years where you arguable could have just handed the trophy to Shaq every year. In fact, it got to the point that someone had to get smoking hot to take the trophy away from Shaq.

For the first half of the season you have to go with Kobe.

Least Valuable Player: Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets

He has stopped going to the rim, stopped risking life and limb and declared his new four-year, $62 million contract fit for a suburban jump shooter.

Have never understood why Rod Thorn thought the Nets could win with a 6′ 4″ ball hog that played no D.

Rookie of the Year: Kevin Durant, Seattle SuperSonics

Adrian brings up what could have happened with a healthy Greg Oden.

Kevin Durant is instant star power in a franchise that is floundering. He will be a star for his entire career and hopefully will leave town to play for franchise intent on winning.

Oden has the power to bring back the true center into the NBA. But at this point, Greg is just potential and Kevin is doing it.

Rookie Bust: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

no one can live with the insubordination that he showed with assistant coach Ron Adams prior to getting a two-game suspension in mid-January. Maybe his chatter will be entertaining when he’s considered a good player, but until then, Noah needs to grow up.

Just be glad you are not a kid in an adult world where everything you do is told to the media and printed the next day or shown on the internet. Noah will make it in this league. He will mature as well.

Executive Disaster of the Year: Isiah Thomas, New York Knicks

This is a career achievement award for Thomas. Kevin McHale has been a different disaster, but he does have a blossoming young star in Al Jefferson, No. 1 picks and cap space on the way. Odds are, he’ll do nothing with it, but at least you know Thomas has no chance with the constitution of his team.

All the Isiah Thomas stuff just stuns me. As a long time Piston fan it is so hard to fathom.

Did Isiah ruffle feathers as a Piston? Absolutely.

Did Isiah turn people off, in spite of his cherub smile and youthful energy? Absolutely.

Did Isiah move beyond all that and get the job done? Absolutely, positively.

Try two rings as the team leader of a franchise that had no belief in itself for decades.

And, like now, Thomas told everyone that he would do it!

Let me leave you with this thought, no matter how ludicrous. What if the Knicks start to win?

Adrian gives us some other awards, so be sure to check them out!

NBA Basketball Fan Question What other MVP candidates are out there?

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He is at it again.

Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports has come out with his Power Rankings of the NBA.

Let’s check out some of his top teams with your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

PARADE PLANNERS

1. (2) Boston Celtics – In less than a week, the Celtics were linked to Damon Stoudamire, Sam Cassell and Gary Payton. At this rate Bob Cousy will be back in uniform by mid-February.

Rajon Rondo a key to the Celtics

The Celtics put together a little win streak after their little losing streak. The injury to Rajon Rondo showed a weakness in the formerly impenetrable armor of the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo, who has missed the Celtics’ last two games and three of the last four with a combination of back and right hamstring woes, went through practice yesterday and thinks he’ll be ready to play this afternoon against the Knicks. His coach isn’t so sure. source

The Boston Celtics and GM Danny Ainge will most certainly be looking for point guard talent.

The player mentioned most often is Damon Stoudamire. Damon has been a shoot first player in the past and would not fit in well with the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all of whom need the ball on offense.

There is also accusations of a little too much bonging going on.

2. (7) New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets played in front of an announced crowd of 9,882 last week against Seattle, leading Chris Paul to shout to Kevin Durant: “First one to Oklahoma City wins!”

Chris Paul is awesome and the Hornets continue to be one of the surprise teams in the NBA. Hard to believe at this point they could survive the playoffs without more experience.

3. (5) Phoenix Suns – Let’s get this straight: Steve Kerr and Mike D’Antoni reportedly are at odds; Amare Stoudemire is miffed over his shot count; Shawn Marion wants to be traded; Boris Diaw forgot how to play; Grant Hill just had an appendectomy; Steve Nash claims the Suns haven’t had “that same joy” as previous seasons; and Phoenix continues to lead the Western Conference? Maybe there’s still hope for the Knicks, after all.

Face it, the Suns are loaded and play a style that few teams can stop. The missing piece is a center.

4. LA Lakers

Probably headed downward in the rankings until Andrew Bynum returns. Although Kobe may have something to say about that.

5. Dallas Mavericks

Love to watch this team play. They leave it all out on the floor in a race to see who shoots first. When they drafted Maurice Agar from Michigan State University, they announced they got him for defense. Still trying to figure out who Mo ever guarded. So is Tom Izzo. My friend, Ron B, points out that compared to the Mavericks; Mo is a defensive wizard.

6. Detroit Pistons

Another team lacking a post defensive presence. When Rasheed Wallace wants to shine, the Pistons are unbeatable.

7. San Antonio Spurs

Because of Tim Duncan, a Center, you can’t count out the Spurs come playoff time.

8. Portland Trailblazers

Think what this team becomes with the defensive presence of Greg Oden. Unfortunately that happens next year.

9. Golden State Warriors

The mini version of Phoenix starring Baron Davis.

10. Denver Nuggets

Plagued with injuries and lacking defense. What will happen to this George Karl team?

Teams poised to move up:

Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James,

Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and a big victory over my Pistons

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your team make the rankings?

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Chris Paul has the Hornets buzzing

Boston has been winning like there is no tomorrow.

Except this week had a lot of tomorrows. They lost 3 out of 4.

So when Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports came out with his rankings of all NBA teams, there was no way to put the Boston Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen fame at the top.

At least Johnny admits that the Lakers stay may be short.

Here are the top 10 of the rankings and your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

1. Los Angeles Lakers – This could be one-and-done for the Lakers at the top spot. Seven-game winning streak doesn’t say as much about team’s future as one 20-minute MRI did.

An injured Andrew Bynum means a sure drop in the rankings. Should be interesting to see how Kobe’s game responds.

2. Boston Celtics

No doubt, Boston will hover near the number 1 spot all year. 3 stars with great defense is a winning formula.

3. Detroit Pistons– Yes, getting routed by the Knicks was embarrassing – but also slightly understandable given the Pistons’ four-games-in-five-nights stretch. Having two opportunities in five days to make up a game on Boston and taking advantage of neither? Now that’s hard to stomach.

Rock solid defense with a lineup of 4 lower level all stars plus mismatch player Tayshaun Prince make the Pistons a contender for the number 1 spot.

4. Dallas Mavericks

Live by the Dirk, die by the Dirk. Can an all offensive system win it all?

5. Phoenix Suns– Who had 34 games in the “Grant’s First Injury” pool?

Poor Grant Hill, a true gentleman of the sport. Something always seems to derailing his career. Steve Nash keeps this team on top.

6. San Antonio Spurs– Gregg Popovich, after loss to Detroit: “Timmy and Jacque needed help tonight and they didn’t get it.” Translation: “Tony sucked.”

Can the Spurs really be at the 6 spot? Does anyone believe they will stay that low?

7. New Orleans Hornets– Any correlation between Hornets’ seven consecutive road victories and the out clause in their New Orleans Arena lease?

Chris Paul is a dynamic young player. Look out for this team.

8. Portland Trail Blazers– Portland has won 19 of its past 21 games, a remarkable accomplishment that has left the team with a record that is the conference’s…sixth-best. Welcome to the West, young Blazers.

Whew, have to admit, thought they would be fighting for the number one pick in the draft after losing Oden.

9. Denver Nuggets

Camby, AI, and Carmelo, can this trio win?

10. Golden State Warriors– Who else wants to see Captain Jack in the All-Star Three-point Shootout? Prediction: He misfires his first nine shots, slings his mouthpiece into the bench, curses Craig Sager then closes with 16 consecutive makes.

A wild team with a wild offensive philosophy and one of my favorite players to watch in Baron Davis.

source

Team to most likely move up in this set of rankings is the Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your favorite team make the rankings?

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