greg’s hooks (especially the running hook) are still coming off as like a shot put instead of a “flick” with arc. He def showed soft touch at all ranges but I would hope he could get a higher release point and use his wrist more on the delivery. The coaches don’t really seem to be giving much direction out there (obviously this is a pretty casual) besides setting up the next exercise, it would have been nice to see greg be able to display how well he uses his body in a lot of these shots. you don’t really need a perfect hook shot when you’re body provides the necessary space to get it off.

he’s certainly mobile but I’m not sure his pivot or fakes would be throwing off a defender (again, he’s prob going like half speed) with what is shown. Theres just so much more I want to see! I’m certainly not impressed with any of this but I’m not “underwhelmed” either. hope to see more at the fanfest tomorrow!

Rex got a jumper?

The biggest positive I saw in that video was conditioning. He was handling the workout, even after three hours of scrimmaging. Think of how hard it is to shoot after a really intense pickup game…. now play against NBA-caliber players for three hours and then start shooting around. If he can stay in this kind of shape, we already have a better Greg Oden, even without looking at the improved touch he displayed.

Bring on the fanfest.

Thanks for the footage, Ben. Great work as always.

You should interview those sweat wiper uppers and ask them if they ever want to make it to be a sweat wiper upper for a real game.

It’s hard to just watch Oden, I’m used to watching the ball.

Things I noticed:

1. Jay Jensen was rocking the same style….
2. Rex is balding from the stress
3. Pryz didn’t go anywhere sunny in the summer
4. Rudy must hate guarding BRoy during practce.
5. Oden looks better conditioned

Greg is not walking on water and he’s not turning water into wine. What’s up with that?

The thing I noticed the most is how smoothly and easily Greg gets up and down the court. He doesn’t run like a man that’s carrying that much weight. Thanks for feeding our hunger and giving us a sip of water in this desert, Ben. You’re doing a fantastic job.

I’m talking about the shooting drills. These are moves that are newly minted—not field tested and polished yet, but almost there. We’re going to be seeing these moves and variations off these moves for the next decade, guys. With the baby jumper (not shown) and the back-you-down-and-dunk-on-you to set them up, they WILL work. This is the ground floor of a skyscraper we’re watching being erected. GO clearly has the tools, and he has the work ethic. That skyscraper is gonna get built, and it’s going to be beautiful.

(OK, now I’ve compared GO’s offensive game to a prototype sportscar and to the foundation of a skyscraper…)

Ben what are you trying to do Blow Up You Tube like Susan Boyle. It is like having to wait 3 years for Christmas (GO) . Greg looks like a basketball player not some 7 ft guy on a basketball court.

Thanks for wetting our appetite. MORE MORE MORE!

The guy averaged nearly 10 points a game of like 4 shots a game. Stop complaining. You can’t do any better. Greg could shoot 10 shots a game and get 15 a game, but then you’d be crying that Brandon isn’t getting more shots.

First: I was impressed with Steve Blake’s floater in the lane over Oden. That would be a deadly weapon to have in an offensive arsenal.

Second: I didn’t like the way Rudy made his move before Greg came up and fully set the pick. This was compounded by Greg trying to set the pick anyway. Both players in this situation need to improve their decision making. Those are the kinds of stupid fouls that Greg can’t afford to pick up.

last year he looked like he was sulking and feeling like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. not this year. he looks happier and more loose

Glass

It’s great to get a peek at Greg before Fan Fest tomorrow.

A fun look at the team. It is definitely a deep roster. I love seeing Bayless stroke the outside jumpers.

Greg definitely looks improved. There were spurts where he played well last year, but what I see is fewer awkward plays and moments.

Hmm… we should be happy by this. Look at how he is RUNNING. And this is towards the end of practice, no?

I’ve said time and time again almost all of his basic problems will be solved by being in shape. He appears to be in good shape. The easy dunks, the hook, the rebounding, all will be so much better if he just isn’t TIRED. He won’t foul as much, he’ll react quicker, he’ll be on the damn court.

And if he is on the court, he’ll be good.

So right away, I’m halfway through, I am excited because he is RUNNING. The Oden-shuffle that looked like Shaggy running away from a ghost isn’t there anymore. Huge news. Can’t be understated. Everything else will come in time, conditioning is key number one.

Like when the ball is stolen from his team and Blake leads a break… he sprints back past everyone and manages to steal the ball (or gets it after someone else deflected it, it’s hard to see). He wouldn’t have been able to do that last year after several minutes of up and down play.

It’s so simple and maybe most of us didn’t notice it because we take it for granted (he’s a NBA player, why make a big deal with how he is getting up and down the court?), but his conditioning was so bad last year and it affected him so much. It’s a big deal.

Ok, the drills…

Running left hook looks great. I think the right turnaround hook looks fine too and is obviously working on touch. It’s not a sky-hook, but it’s a controlled soft hook which is better than Shaq or Dwight’s line drive hook.

Kinda reminds me of Jamison’s. As long as it goes in… and it’s soft, which matters a lot.

Right running hook looks great too. The running hooks look better than the simple turnaround ones, which is great because if ya get it down it’s almost unguardable. LMA does a great job with his running hook, and Oden is able to get much better position than LMA really easily. He’ll be 4 feet from the basket and able to go to the running hook every time.

Once teams realize he can do that they’ll send a defender to meet him in the middle of the key to disrupt him like the Rockets started to do to LMA, but we’ll deal with that then. Not all teams/defenders are smart enough to do that, and the turnaround counter move will come around in time, if he doesn’t already have it.

He can clearly score in close with either hand.

Ok, watching the jab steps in the drills, I notice something else related to conditioning— he’s much lighter on his feet. He is moving his feet much faster in these drills than he was in actual games last year, and I am imagining this isn’t full speed right here because he is just working on the foot work and touch. So, that’s big too.

Well, I liked what I saw. He is in shape, and the rest will come in time. Thanks for shooting this video Ben, you’re good peoples.

Mortimer

that’s a good vote in my book.

I am not “underwhelmed” by anymeans, but I need to see some real action before I start rocking the GREG ODEN song and dance….

Sure is a nice step though…

Garnett

Form is great, if it means more buckets, but if the BB is going in as many times as his was and are not getting blocked then form isn’t that important. He should not be graded on his grace or his technique, just his BB skills and physical and mental fitness.

Of course I am not a BB whiz, but if he gets the job done on D and O. then I don’t care what he looks like. Maybe it is white men can’t jump and big men can’t dance LOL.

hg

It is just great being able to view the video of practice, I am Thankful of that Ben.

hg

I’m stuck in Idaho until Jan. No 95.5, Courtside or anything besides Boise Broncos. Its so nice to see the blazers again. Especially Blazer on Blazer action in HD :) Wish I could be there for fanfest.

much appreciated

My thoughts:

Greg is no longer lumbering and cumbersome. Last year he looked like a boy that didn’t belong on the court. I know he did some great things for us, but he just didn’t look like he belonged.

This year, he still looks like a kid on the court but now he has talent and can move. He’s limp wristed and, to me, still unsure of his place. I don’t sense intense focus and purpose yet in the variety of “this is my space, I rule here, enter at your own risk.” That will come in time. His shot still seems a bit raw in that it should be a little easier, but he also has a variety which he didn’t last year. He also has a nice quick jump which he did NOT have last year.

I love this video because I had two visions in my head based on the typed reports and this clarifies that he’s improved, but he’s not all star level yet. You can see the talent is there and he will be, but he still has a lot of improvement he can make.

I believe Joel will be the starter. He still looks like the better basketball player in terms of movement and position.

Overall, I believe this is almost the oden that we’d have seen if he hadn’t been injured. I’m glad to have him.

On non-Oden notes. The Blazers looked like they were playing incredibly fast. I saw a break down on defenses, but part of that was also excellent play on offense. I love it. These team looks like they’re in a rhythm.

For the first time in YEARS it looks like they’re going to be starting the season with the core group intact and the innate awareness of who does what and where they’ll be when doing it. So many years we’ve had issues starting the season due to an entirely new team playing together (last year was Rudy, no WEbster, Batuum, Greg, Bayless… all new people on the court together). I think the stability of this year will pay huge dividends. We have new pieces, but they’re not key pieces nor are they inexperienced.