Today's Poll

Greg is right where he needs to be…if you think Greg would average 31 minutes a game this season, and use his pre-season numbers from 20.8 minutes, he’d average roughly 16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 53.3% from the field and 60% from the foul line…I think that’d be great production from a rookie (who is the third option on offense) on a pretty darn good young team. Some of you may like to see his blocks/game higher, and so would I, but almost nobody has drove the lane and challenged Greg since Hawes tried to dunk on him…He already has a reputation for being a beast in the paint, which will make players wary of going inside, just to get rejected! Greg is doing just fine right now, and he’ll only get better with improved conditioning and experience!

Not forming opinions in preseason.

I think he’s right where he should be, and I think if he was playing more with Roy, LMA, and Blake, he’d probably actually look even better.

This seems like a no brainer to me. The fact that Quick pointed out Oden’s flat footedness in the preseason is reasonable, but his initial assessment of “underwhelming” is followed by an entire article of caveat saying that he was probably not being entirely fair.
Greg has been dominant at times in the preseason, and he has been a little off at times. I think that nearly all of the offseason polls about GO reflected an overall expectation of something along those lines.

My “whelmometer” is sitting right at 6000 WPMs ….which is perfect for the breakin period

I wouldn’t want to influence anyones potential vote, but I question the validity of anyone saying they don’t form opinions during pre-season. I think “ideally” we would like to believe we don’t form opinions before the season, but all one has to do is look at the Tsunami of commentary on Oden to realize most of us do form opinions.

I thought he could need almost half season to be a starter. So he is doing well for me . If you want a miracle I don´t make them until Christmas.

Crazy what being on the top of the BEdge will do for your exposure…

You could only believe that’’s what most of the comments were saying if you were delerious.

Seriously, you have no idea how whelmed I am.

Normalwhelm.

Ben said vote and explain vote in comments.

215 votes, 19 comments? Hmmmmmm

Normalwhelmed.

His game shape is where I thought he would be, given when he was cleared to do all the pracs and whatnot.

His ability to block and make people think twice about driving in the paint is maybe beyond where I thought he would be at this stage.

Free throw shooting is maybe beyond.

But shooting anything other than a dunk is underwhelming. But given all the above it equates to a nice “Normalwhelming.”

believe me, i would love to be overwhelmed. i think some people were counting on it.

i also agree that people form impressions from preseason. just as they do from summer league, college, etc. but yeah, it’s also not a hard and fast impression.

So have two thoughts here.

My expectations of Greg Oden and the hype the blazers started releasing about greg oden.

Greg is meeting my expectations.

1.) As stated above he’s averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks translated to an average playing time of 30 minutes.
2.) He’s altering plays in the pant
3.) He’s demanding DOUBLE TEAMS starting the preseason. What player has the blazers ever had that required double teaming before the season ever started as a rookie for this team?
4.) My expectations for Greg are 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks translated to a 30 minute average. (his playing time will vary)
5.) I expected him to be slow, lumbering, tired, and mechanical and I expect that to improve in twenty games or so.
6.) I expect him to make rookie mistakes and then some due to the fact he hasn’t played in over a freaking year and he was coming out of college having missed a few games there as well.
7.) He IS underperforming in the fun category. I thought he’d be a bit more relaxed and comfortable. He’s going to be awesome. I love that he feels he owes us, but he shouldn’t worry about that other than letting it motivate him. Don’t get down, get tough.
8.) Frye hinted that he’s raw before preseason. He said he was incredibly strong, but still extremely raw. This lined up with my personal expectations before preseason and all the blazer hype.

Blazer created expectations.
KP stated that greg does things he’s never seen before. I had assumed he meant good things. That smart alec comment aside, Greg dunks with guys hanging on him. that IS amazing.

Expectations created by hype:
1.) Greg ready to run out of the gate
2.) This hype added 2 points to my expectations, 2 rebounds, and 1 more block.
3.) Smoother movement in the post.
4.) Ability to hit shots that weren’t dunks (not that i freaking care as his post play is what we need and I HATE that aldridge still settles for so many outside shots) with that hook shot. or any shot.
5.) Faster running speed.

In the end, Greg is doing exactly what I expected out of the most hyped player since Lebron James except that he was delayed a year due to injury. Greg may not put up Shaq like numbers this year, but i have no doubt he will next year. I am BEYOND happy with what greg has done in that my expectations have been met. They were through the roof and he’s meeting them.

I understand being underwhelmed based on Blazer management hype, but the reality is I’m ecstatic. This kid completely changes the game for us even if his stats don’t show it. The difference is amazing.

If Greg were to read this, my message to him would be:

 “You’re doing what we want you to do. You’re going to get better. You’re making this team better with just your presence. Just go out there and get a feel for the games’ rhythm. When you’re ready to kick butt; kick butt, remember who kicked your butt and how, then when you meet them again next time… make them pay for it so that the next time they see their butt is sometime in the following year. Greg, you’re doing great and you’ll be okay. You’ve already shown why you deserved to be the number one pick. Have some fun, keep doing what you’re doing and keep learning. Stay tough.”

My hope for this year was that the knee would be ok.

It is. I’m happy. the rest will come.

I don’t care how much you make or what your tolerance level is, if you heard the same question over and over again for the last year it would be hard to always be happy and carefree. We put a lot of pressure on our players and especially one who has high expectations. Hopefully this all dies down once the regular season starts.

and I’m also not putting too much emphasis on the preseason play of any of these guys right now. This is a time for the coaches to put in new offensive/defensive schemes and to see how certain guys play together as a unit.
   Due to expectations, Oden has put the weight of the franchise on his shoulders. He is also coming off of a serious injury, has not played organised basketball in over a year and at 20 years old and in his “first” season needs time to adjust to the NBA game.
  
  I will let you know what level of whelmed I am at the mid-point of the season. By then we should have a good grasp on what all of the new players can do when it matters against real competition.

is that his jump hook isn’t what I thought it would be. I thought I remembered reading that he’d worked on it quite a bit to the point it was making more than missing. Short of that I’m happy with him. If he’s in that circle under the basket—dunk. He has decent post moves and plays adequate defense. He’ll get better, but for right now, I’m just normalwhelmed. If that jump hook fell though (like it does in NBA 2k9)….ohhhhh boy.

But the effort is always appreciated. For the record, I think G.O. should have shook Quick’s hand……. VERY FIRMLY.

After one season plus a little under a handful of pre-season games, I would say I’m more underwhelmed with Kevin Durant then Greg Oden.

Yes, Kevin Durant was last year’s Rookie of the Year. He answered all the questions of the media with a smile and a hand shake while Clay Bennett ripped the team from Seattle. He also put up 21.1 points per 36 minutes, shot 87.3% from the free throw line, and, by my recollection, led the Sonics to at least 2 victories single-handedly (37 at Denver and 42 against GS).

One season later, the Sonics were 20-62 and had the 4th pick in the NBA draft.

KD in 36 minutes: 21.1 points, 4.5 total rebounds, 28.8% from three-point range, 2.5 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game.

Heading into the 2007 draft, the Blazers needed one of two types of players; either a big man who could rebound and offer more offensive punch than Joel Przybilla or a light’s out wing that could spread the floor and play defense. In the simplest terms, our choice was Kevin Durant and Joel Pryzbilla or Martell Webster and Greg Oden.

Martell Webster per 36 minutes: 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 38% from 3-point range, and 1.5 assists to 1.4 turnovers.

Joel Przybilla per 36 minutes: 7.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 58.1% from the field, 5.1 fouls (career % per 36 minutes) and 2.4 free-throws attempted.

Greg Oden (LIMITED SAMPLE SIZE) to date per 36 minutes: 19.03 points, 10.9 rebounds, 53.3% from the field, and 8.65 free-throws attempted per game.

In comparing Martell Webster and Kevin Durant, we can see that Durant was by far the more prolific scorer, they were similar in their rebounding ability and more than anything, Kevin Durant handled the ball at a far more prolific rate than Martell Webster did. The major concern regarding Kevin Durant has to be his three-point shooting ability.

But the comparison isn’t as one-sided as you probably would’ve imagined (if you were previously in love with Kevin Durant). Did Kevin Durant turn the water into wine up in Seattle? Did he walk across the Puget Sound and end hunger by seducing the aquatic life with his Salmon song? Was he even better than average at his position?

The reason that we, as Trail Blazers fans, seem underwhelmed is that Greg Oden’s legacy completely disregards any statistical benchmarks. For a minute, arbitrarily compare Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla using only what we’ve seen so far over 36 minutes of playing time. Rookie Center “A” scores twice as often, draws 4 times as many fouls, and grabs nearly as many rebounds (1.9 less per 36 minutes) than Veteran Center “B” and yet, here we are, “underwhelmed” by that same center.

For some reason (pre-draft hype, I would assume), Greg Oden is no longer compared against his peers and has, instead, transcended into a category of legend after his 4th preseason game. We ask not whether Oden has bested Al Horford and already outperformed Jaokim Noah after 4 games, but rather how he stacks up against Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal.

The expectation, as it stands now, is that Greg Oden must trascend expectations.

His legacy, as a 20 year old rookie, is already measured in championships won, despite the fact that he’s never played a season. We expect a Shaq-like rookie season, despite the fact that the NBA has created rules to prevent a Shaq-like player from dominating. We expect all the stories whispered by Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan to be present in every action of our hero, failing to recognize that he has frequently found himself on the court with Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless in lieu of LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.

The fact of the matter is this: everything about Greg Oden is and always will be overwhelming. That and Kevin Durant still can’t bench 135.

But am completely satisfied with the direction we went.

COMPLETELY. 100%

kinda bummed about the micro surgery.

kinda bummed I had to wait….another year to see greg play in the nba.

but 100% satisfied he’s playing for us…..rather than against us.

he’s a monster. he wouldn’t have to score a single point in 10 games straight to keep me happy. I’m happy. that dunk from sergio in the summer league a year and a quarter ago….sold me. the block against the celtics summer league team sold me. the espy’s sold me….

durant is durant….but oden….lol…

piling on the pressure and all…..

…. I’d like for him to be comfortable, but I can’t say I don’t want him a little pissed everytime he steps on the court….provided he uses the anger the way I’d like :)

he’ll get over it. and really….it wasn’t all gonna get sugar coated for him, he knew there would be bad days …..he’ll be alright after we crush the puddlers. (we win….that’s all that matters right?)

I’m having a hard time understanding how anyone can say Oden’s performance has been underwhelming. Maybe his minutes has been underwhelming. His hook shot isn’t dropping, but there’s a guy in Orlando who has trouble shooting anything except a dunk and no one says he’s underwhelming. His rebound rate is good, foul rate is ok, shooting over 50% from the field, draws enormous attention and fouls, and he’s a defensive presence. I think if Oden improves his hook shot, pick and roll defense, and conditioning, he’s an All-Star.

Since we didn’t draft Oden with the expectation that he would be a “normal” decent or average center, we drafted him with as what KP said at the time, the expectations that Oden was the type of center inwhich championships are won around, does that make every “Normalwhelmed” vote really in essence an Underwhelmed vote? Normal or average has never really been the presented expectations for Oden and about Oden. Okay, don’t crucify me I was just Wonderwhelming.

but put me with Quick in the underwhelmed category. And please give me a chance to say why before someone opens fire.

During the summer workouts, everyone that played with Oden said he was going to be a BEAST. KP talked about Oden doing things few others have ever done. I do not believe it was a coordinated conscious effort, but all the tidbits floating out of the practice facility were of a player that was ready to go now, and would be dominate right away.

The small part of my brain that is not wrapped in Blazer fandom says that Oden is already well ahead of schedule with his rehab and doing mighty fine. The fanboy part sees a somewhat tentative jump hook from a player still working into game shape and so I’m feeling a little bit “underwhelmed”.

I do think Quick did a great job of lowering expectations for Oden because they are too high. And the huge amount of pressure Oden is feeling is not making it any better.

So am I wrong for feeling underwhelmed? Absolutely. But deep down inside we were all HOPING for 20 and 12.

Wouldn’t after the season be better for evaluating him? He’s still finding his way, and in the preseason isn’t everyone finding their way ? He’s not bad, but it is way too early to start calling him the next ( insert big man name here ). He’ll be fine and after the season would definetly be better to evaluate. If some want to evaluate before hand go ahead.

As pointed out earlier on, Greg is averaging in the neighborhood of 16 and 10 per 30. He has drawn fouls well, though has looked rusty in his offensive game.

Before last September, we heard that his offensive game was primitive and would consist of mainly dunks. As he didn’t play last season, which would have theoretically given him experience and developed his offensive skill set, it was reasonable to expect a primitive game; however, his passing has been eye-opening. If he figures out that passing out of the double team will win his team games, the Blazers will be unstoppable in the future.

While his offensive game is primitive, his defensive ability was supposed to be truly great. The problem that he has faced on defense is related to his conditioning. There are two types of muscle: slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fiber. Greg has been held back by the training staff in any kind of activity that exercises the fast-twitch muscles. This means that he still is working back into true game shape.

Beyond all of this, KP said this summer that the real Greg would not show up until midway through the season. If this isn’t the “real Greg,” then we should all be completely ecstatic that he is out of shape and coming back from microfracture averaging 16-10 per 30 minutes.

What the heck? Have The Oregonian’s editorials dipped so low that they now publish stream-of-consciousness pieces about one’s emotional response to one situation around being a reporter? If it is all about you, The Oregonian might be the place to wait out the recession.

The only item of interest that is not well known in that dreary, slurred effort is more evidence of what a nice guy Roy is. Wow, he tried to chide Quick into realizing what an idiot he was being, but Quick simply did not get it (ironic, aren’t I). Quick thought that it was excuse making for Oden. Is Quick like the anooying investigator that would follow Obama into the bathroom during his Senatorial campaign?

Oh, I did learn thing: Jason Quick is evidently as much a self-centered, negative putz as Canzano.

Oden is right where he needs to be. Testing the waters and working on his conditioning. He’ll be the Greg we all dreamed of in due time. Just chill…to the next episode.

how many votes?

60+% of the vote is for normalwhelmed and that is how I voted as well. I feel so very normalwhelmed.

Keep up the good work Greg you are doing fine. Anyone that says different needs a reality check (IMHO).

Looking forward to tonights game – G.O. Blazers!

Some points to consider:
1. Like most of you I think he’s still getting his feet
    wet. He’s not in game shape yet, nor will be for
    another month.
2. He’s probably holding back 5 % on his plant and
    drive (jumping or running) just in post knee mental
    recovery. I’ve had torn ACL’s in both knees and the
    mental recovery / trust, takes a while.
3. He’s only been playing 20 minutes and should average
    30 + this season. Acclimation will come with minutes.
4. GO will demand the double, but more important he will
    draw FOULS. Fouling out other big men and getting to
    the line. I think he will average 6-8 FT per game.
5. GO will get angry at some point and dominate the glass.
    Double figures and 6-8 offensive boards on many nights.
6. PRE-SEASON is over for the scrubs. Now GO will have
    Smooth, BRoy and Blake to spread the floor, not Outlaw
    jacking up shots. GO should average 2-3 assists per night.
7. The banging on the other teams front line will show in the
    4th Quarter with GO and the drivers gaining a 1/4 step from
    that damage.
8. Quick may have rung the bell for GO. As a coach, sometimes
    you have to ridicule, so to speak, to make praise worthy. GO is
    a MAN, he can take it !

   It’s time to release the BEAST !!! GO BLAZERS !!!! Down with _

he just needs time to get back to where we were told he would be. We were expecting David Robinson Jr.; skilled, fast, agile, though with a somewhat meaner streak to throw down power dunks. We are getting Recent Vintage Shaq Jr.: sheer power with little to no speed or agility.

Then again, coming off a serious injury, coming out of college early, fighting niggling injuries…those things add up.

Fortunately, the Blazers only need big numbers from Oden in 2 areas: rebounds and blocks, and even those don’t have to be eye-popping.

Pre-season is…or shouldn’t be…about numbers, it should be about the process, getting people ready for the season, seeing who is ready and who isn’t. So Oden has not whelmed me over, under, or normal, he simply has shown where he is and flashes of where he theoretically will be.

A few months back, one of the posts queried people on what they thought Greg would average this season. While there were definitely outliers on the optimistic side, I recall the majority of the statlines at around 13-15 points, 8-12 rebounds, 1-2 blocks. Then something funny happened on the way to the season’s beginning and many people’s expectations increased. This may have been in large part due to the media’s interpretation of KP’s and Nate’s comments. Maybe it was our interpretation of the media’s stories. Either way, that 13-15 point statline appeared to jump closer to 20.

I think we are just seeing some recalibration of perceptions here. IMO, Greg is still putting up very good numbers in the context of the situation. The next Bill Russell or not, I would happily take 12 point s a game and 9-10 boards. And my name is Mr. Grinch so that’s saying something! I think Greg is doing fine. I’m not underwhelmed or overwhelmed. I’m pleased to see a healthy Greg Oden patrolling the middle.