Two words: Greg Oden

But premature to ask this season. There are just too many unknowns. How does Greg Oden affect things being first on the list. Second, how have the players we still have from last year improve? Third, how will our other incoming players impact this team. I’m not sure if anyone knows what we’ve got yet, but most people are pretty convinced that it’ll be dang good… eventually.

Greg’s recovery from microfracture surgery seems to be a best-case result. He is young, healthy, and strong. The damage in his knee was about as minor as you can get and still require the microfracture procedure. He’s done exactly everything he needed to do to come back the right way, and the team has refused to rush him into play. He reports zero pain. Amare and Zach were two of the best prior microfracture surgery success stories, and neither of them made anywhere near the kind of progress Greg has made with a total absence of pain.

The rebounding was good when the team played two big men and avoided small ball (Outlaw at PF hurt rebounding a lot).

is Ike Diogu.
It’s worth noting that Pryz is somewhere near 4th in the league in rebounds per minute, if I’m correct.

with Greg we wont have to play as much zone next year so that should improve our rebounding numbers

This was my pet topic last season. (To the point that Tominhawaii thinks that’s all I post about!) I maintained that the addition of GO alone wouldn’t solve the problem. Diogu is the type of banger-off-the-bench that I’ve felt the the Blazers have needed (to deal with the Milsaps and Maxiells of the league), but whether he has the skills to go with the physicality, we’ll have to see.

A lot will hinge on whether LMA and Frye are more effective on the boards this season. Both are still young and have reportedly hit the weights over the summer, so we shouldn’t assume they’ll get pushed around this year like they did the last. As for Outlaw, for all his leaping ability, he’s a poor rebounder. Only occasionally does he remember to put his body on someone, so he gets beat regularly. That’s something to keep in mind: rebounding isn’t only about size & strength: it’s just as much about technique, timing, & desire.

Fortunately, GO seems to have all the ingredients of a good rebounder, and his addition puts Przy in the second unit. That means both groups should rebound—and deal with bullies—better this year.

It’s not possible to project what the addition of any one player will do to a team. You can add in stats, ect., but there are too many intangibles. For example:

With the addition of Oden, how will that affect Aldridge’s ability to free up a bit of space when trying to gain position for rebounds?

How many rebounds will Oden take from Aldridge?

What kind of offense sets will the Blazers run? One thing that really killed the Blazers last season was that they basically lived by the jump shot. Rebounds tend to come off a bit longer than they will with guys like Bayless taking it to the hole and Oden owning the paint. So all of that dramatically affects positioning. Granted, a guy’s still gotta know how to get that position.

Will our FG % increase this year? How does that translate into rebounds?

There are a couple dozen of these questions that come to mind. Bottom line is that the Blazers are going to be vastly improved in many areas this season. They won’t lead the league in every statistical category, but look for the Blazers to rock the NBA – and surprise a few people as to how good they are THIS YEAR. I’ll bet we’re top 10 in rebounding too.

I’m also imagining those scenarios when a pesky two or three tries to sneak in for an offensive board that rightfully belongs to the men in red and black. Should the need arise, The Mighty Oden will hold these pests at bay with one massive forearm, and the denizens of the Rose CIty shall sleep soundly knowing that the defensive glass will always be protected!

Seriously though, I think having two huge active bodies on both units will help a good deal in cutting down on second-chances for the opposition, and LMA is obviously still developing-I think the more he plays as a full-time starter, the better he’ll be in helping to clean up the glass.

I like it. Imagine the Marcus Cambys and Lamar Odoms of the league trying to intimidate HIM. They won’t even try.

You can’t measure Oden’s impact on the boards by merely plugging in 2 or 3 extra rebounds for us per game. His ability to box out and clear away room under the basket will bring more rebounds to us, whether or not he actually get them. Just like a big man’s ability to simply affect shots in the paint, he will affect rebounding in a positive way for us, which can’t be measured with definitive stats.

Throw Oden under the basket and on offense, there will be a lot of kick outs from him to an open man. On defense, the other team will attempt a lot of jumpers instead of challenging Oden in the paint. Oden will make the entire team better at rebounding.

As has been pointed out, Oden will make us a completely different team on the inside. Aldridge has bulked up – why? So he can take more outside shots? I don’t think so. We are going to be very tough inside.

WIth Roy, Bayless (I still see he and Oden having the biggest impact of the new players) and Fernandez to watch the permiter, we will be fine there as well. But the lion’s share will come from the new twin towers. We’ll be among the leaders this year in rebounding.

I’m concerned about a few things. I’m mildly concerned about our ability to stay healthy. I’m very mildly concerned about the impact of a tough start to the season on a young team. I’m not – aboslutely not – concerned about our toughness this year. It will be a completely different year.

we are just flacid

why would you gravel to extrapolate a reason so suggestive? If anything Bedgers are stiff.

night.