DeJuan Blair, Greg Oden, and the Blazers front line
by Aaron Sass on Nov 24, 2009 3:25 PM PST
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PrintSo, today I heard something about the backup 4 spot for the Trail Blazers. The question was asked "why didn't the Trail Blazers draft DeJuan Blair?" Well I guess the answer is that the Blazers really weren't expecting the players they drafted this season to have any kind of impact on the team this season. Nobody thought, clearly, that Outlaw and Batum would be hurt. Donte Cunningham is a nice player but he's not a post up guy. I think Jeff Pendergraph will be a better backup 4 then Cunningham but we'll see. Cunningham looked good in the minutes he played against Chicago but long term, I think, along with everyone else probably that the Blazers need a backup 4 who can get physical inside for 10 to 15 minutes a game. DeJuan Blair fits that and Pendergraph may fit that when he gets back from his injury.
Now to Greg Oden. I was going crazy when I watched the Chicago game. To me, nothing is better when Greg Oden is just dominating. I love it. I just want Oden to do that for the rest of the season, though I know he won't. But I want him to do that every game because I'm getting sick of the people calling Oden a bust. HE'S ONLY PLAYED ONE YEAR AND HE WASN'T EVEN 100%!!! He's just 21. Dwight Howard wasn't consistently dominant until his 3rd or 4th year. People didn't kill Howard when he wasn't dominating though I know that he did average a double double every season. Also he was the number 1 pick like Oden and the second pick Emeka Okafor won rookie of the year that year. But nobody killed Howard then.
Andrew Bynum wasn't consistent until this season and I have doubts that it will keep up with him. Bynum is way more injury prone then Oden. If you look at Oden's history, the broken wrist while he was at Ohio State and the knee injury after he got drafted are really the only injuries he's had in his career. Though they're significant but that seems to be the focus on Oden that he's injury prone. Give Oden 3 or 4 seasons to determine that.
Also, can someone give me an answer to why is it that when Greg Oden does well he gets no recognition for it by ESPN and the national guys, but when he does bad everyone talks about it? I guess that's how the media is.
One last thing. After watching the Blazers beat Chicago I looked at the box score and I was surprised to see Oden only played 27 minutes. For whatever reason to me it seemed like he played more. So what I want to see is if Oden is going like he was against Chicago last night and he's not in foul trouble Nate should leave him out there. Give him 30 to 35 minutes. Sometimes leave him in there with fouls. He needs to learn how to play with fouls. Shaq, Howard, they both know how to play with fouls. Oden will never know unless he's in there. It's like Nate is scared he's going to foul. As soon as the clock hits 6:00 in that first quarter he puts Joel right in there. He's scared that Oden is going to get into early foul trouble so when it hits 6:00 Nate says "oh thank God" and gets Oden out of there. LET HIM GO!!! LEAVE HIM IN!!! You can't beat the big boys in the NBA if Oden is only playing 27 minutes. I understand you don't want to wear him out early in the season and you don't want him to pick up fouls but damn Nate. LEAVE HIM IN THERE!!!
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This would make a good post in somebody else's fanpost
I think, along with everyone else probably that the Blazers need a backup 4 who can get physical inside for 10 to 15 minutes a game.
I don’t think that.
I still think that teams that give extensive minutes to Maxiell/Millsap/Blair/Evans/Fortson/Collison/Foster types are doomed to failure.
dinasour type of guys choir boys
The Rockets have overachieved with Hayes, Landry and Scola
and besides, 10 to 15 minutes a game isn’t “extensive minutes” unless you’re Juwan Howard
Pendergraph will eventually get his chance to show how his game stacks up against DeJuan Blair. After watching Jeff play in Vegas, I’m not optimistic that he’ll become the better NBA forward of the two. The main concern re: Blair is knee re-injury, weight control and career longevity, DeJuan’s upside is higher than Pendergraph’s, by anyone’s standards
I was concerned about the Blazer’s lack of depth at backup PF after the draft, after Howard was signed and long before Outlaw got hurt. Even a minor injury to Greg/Joel/LMA would be a disaster, at any time in the next 5 months
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
My niche here on this site is as the guy who hates on Blair
That’s my only gimmick.
dinasour type of guys choir boys
by mittsabishy on Nov 24, 2009 10:14 PM PST up reply actions
I am fine with Nate pulling Greg at the 6 min mark of the 1st qtr
as long as he puts him back in for the 2nd qtr and plays the whole thing, or at least most of it. I want to see Greg with the second unit more like we did last night, Miller and Rudy feed Greg the ball better than anyone else on the team, so he needs to play with them, if that means coming out after 6 mins then playing 10-12 mins in the second I am fine with it. I just want to see him avg about 28-30 a night this year as the season goes on.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
I think we all know full well . . .
If the Blazers drafted DaJuan Blair, he would have been injured by the end of training camp. Thats just how it works in Portland.
With Pendergraph’s injury we can say “What a freak thing, how unpredictable!” With Blair it woulda been “Jesus Christ, KP, do you even read the medical reports? Every team in the league passed on this guy . . . except you? WTF.”
I’m glad he is succeeding in San Antonio, because if he was here he would be wearing a leg brace by now.
by StuckeyDuck on Nov 24, 2009 4:09 PM PST reply actions 10 recs
No Comment.
Sorry, but I have to Rec. this. This is one of the funniest things I have ever read in here!
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
by OCBlazerFan1 on Nov 24, 2009 5:44 PM PST up reply actions
No kidding
If Portland and not San Antonio had the #1 pick back in 1997, then Tim Duncan would be known everywhere as the Next Sam Bowie—the guy we passed over Chauncy Billups to take.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Nov 24, 2009 6:07 PM PST up reply actions
Ha! yes.
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
by OCBlazerFan1 on Nov 24, 2009 7:39 PM PST up reply actions
DON'T DELETE IT MODS IT'S TOOOOOOO FUNNY!!!!!!
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Also, can someone give me an answer to why is it that when Greg Oden does well he gets no recognition for it by ESPN and the national guys, but when he does bad everyone talks about it? I guess that’s how the media is.
Check the frontpage of si.com today. “Oden matches career high as Blazers crush Bulls” was the headline, and the entire article was about Oden dominating his collegiate rival Noah. As Greg is able to stay on the court, and the numbers creep up, the recognition will come in waves. Oden is one of the 20 or so most recognizable names in the league, already. He’s funny, down to earth, has a great name, and is emminently marketable.
The media loves to crush him when he’s down, but they will just as quickly deify him once the numbers support it.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
by KP Corleone on Nov 24, 2009 4:57 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Absolutely
The NBA wants Oden to be a star. The Shaq-Duncan era is coming to a close. The NBA needs some new, young, marketable big men. Dwight Howard is all there is now and he needs a rival or two. Oden, Bynum, and long-shot Brook Lopez are the only options. Bynum’s got the big market team, but Greg’s got the personality (the ESPY’s one he came into the league with, not the depressed one he had last year). Greg just needs to string together some good performances (like last night) and he can seize the opportunity. In a year everyone except Blazer fans will be complaining about how he gets all the calls, gets away with being too physical, never gets called for hanging on the rim, blah, blah, blah.
The media just wants a story-line. Oden was a media bust because what other story-line was there for a #1 pick that sits out a year and then stumbles through a recovery year? He’ll be an even better story now, the comeback kid becomes a dominant NBA Star.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 24, 2009 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah but I don’t think Oden will be a major superstar in the league like Dwight Howard. The talent is there. The potential is there. But thinking about it Oden will be a third option. A second option at best in the offense. He’ll always be able to control the game defensively because of his size, strength, and raw athletic ability. Oden potentially could be the best center in the entire league. I think right now he’s the closest thing that the NBA has to Dwight Howard. I think he’s stronger then Howard. As an all around athlete I think he will be better then Howard. But as far as numbers go Oden will never be a 20-10 guy I think. He’ll come close though. Through his career he’ll probably be an 18 and 11 guy. Which is great. But with Brandon and LaMarcus there he’ll never get the numbers that he potentially could which isn’t a bad thing. But at the very least Oden will end up being a much better center then Andrew Bynum and Brooke Lopez.
Agree 18 & 11
May not equal a superstar but,
When you add in how much he affects the paint on the defensive end. I mean there are probably 5-7 shots per game that he alters but gets no stats for. Sometimes it seems he is sucking all the oxygen out of the painted area all by himself. Then toss in his passing skill set rapidly developing. Finally, the guy has got the “it” factor personality wise.
Add it all up and I don’t think major superstar is unreachable for the big guy. Of course a championship would certainly help make my case.
The Oden Era, Day 886
w0rd
If he brings the heat, the media will give him the meat.
That makes no sense but it rhymed. The media is LAZY, not anti-Oden. Oden = bust was the easy story, and when Oden does well, Oden = Awesome will be easy as well. Anything inbetween will just result in the media going with the easiest story, and since it was “established” that Oden sucks, that will be the default storyline until Oden makes it easier to say he is awesome.
People are dumb. Media people are even dumber.
Mortimer
Wizards first rule!
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
Re: Oden's Minutes
I think Oden’s still getting to know his NBA body at this point.aopop0Z ,-O0P0D (my 6-month-old boy just typed that) … anyway … Oden’s still getting to know his body at this point. Eventually I’d like to see him up around 30-32 minutes per game, but right now I’ll take an energetic/effective Oden for 25 minutes over a tired Oden at the end of 35 minutes. That’s a big body to lug around, and I’d like to see him lose some more weight before logging big minutes. It’ll come, though.
Re: Blair
He’s a good rebounder, but what else can he do? Our offense is built on guys who play smart and spread the floor. Cunningham does that perfectly right now and should only get better. Will Prz cleaning the boards on both ends for the second unit, we don’t need another rebounder as much as we need someone to do what Cunningham is capably of: Play smart D and hit some open shots.
"These are dreams that we have." --Rudolfo Fernandez
Blair’s a good rebounder, but what else can he do?
He’s a scrappy wide-body, and the rest of the Blazer forwards are skinny and tend to get pushed around
Nobody wants to be reminded of this, but…last April the Blazers had a double-digit lead in game 4 down in Houston at the beginning of the 4th quarter, then they were outhustled, outscrapped and outrebounded 11-2 down the stretch and lost by a point
That’s why they still need someone like Blair. Joel’s good, but he can’t do it all by himself. I like Cunningham as an “out of area” rebounder, but he can’t hold his position down low, like DB can. (Neither can Howard or Pendergraph)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Wait a minute.
… the Blazer forwards are skinny and tend to get pushed around.
Nobody wants to be reminded of this, but…last April the Blazers had a double-digit lead in game 4 down in Houston at the beginning of the 4th quarter, then they were outhustled, outscrapped and outrebounded 11-2 down the stretch and lost by a point
I read on BE it was 100% Steve Blake’s fault we lost that series.
No wait, I read on BE it was 100% Travis Outlaw’s fault we lost that series.
No wait, I read on BE it was 100% Nate’s fault we lost that series.
No wait, I read on BE it was 100% LMA’s fault we lost that series.
No wait, I read on BE it was Oden and Joel’s fault we lost that series.
No wait, I read on BE that Roy was selfish and it was his fault we lost that series.
Ok, now I get it. It was LMA’s, Outlaw’s, and Batum’s fault for being skinny and getting pushed around that we lost that series.
At least that’s finally cleared up.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 25, 2009 1:51 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
It would only have taken one "stop" in that 4th quarter and there would've been a game 7
If Portland had won the Rocket’s series, there would have been a whole new list of reasons why they couldn’t “beat L*A” in round 2
Regardless, the #1 goal should be to “improve the roster” to help prevent the past from being repeated
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Oh, and BTW
wasn’t it Nate, KP and Brandon who were saying the team team needed some veteran help, and to add “toughness and physicality” to the roster last May?
Miller, Howard, Pendergraph, Cunningham and Mills didn’t exactly tip the scales in those areas
Bedger roster concerns are very similar to Blazer front office concerns. We just talk about them more, and longer
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Oh, I'm not really disagreeing with you.
We lost game 3 and game 4 on the road by scores of 86-83 and 89-88. My point is that better play from any one or two players, fixing a couple of weaknesses, or a couple better coaching decisions could have won that series. It seems like every time someone wants to criticize one of our players (Blake lately) they trot out “the fact” it was specifically that player’s fault we lost the Houston series.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t make improvements (prior to Outlaw’s injury I was also suggesting we trade him for “the right” backup PF), but I’m saying we will be a much better ball club going into the playoffs this year with GO’s improvement, Miller if he embraces his role, hopefully Webster’s play, and the general experience and growth and last year’s playoff experience of our players. Just wait, we will be a much better team in April than we are now.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 25, 2009 1:15 PM PST up reply actions
Hope you're right
But L*A, Denver and San Antonio will be improved, as well
And, as good as the Blazers 11-5 record looks right now, let’s see where they stand in January, after going through the first “rough patch” in their schedule
Like I’ve said a few times, one more “hit” on Portland’s “big man deflector shield” and the USS Trail-Blazer will be extremely vulnerable. Drafting Blair could’ve helped shore up that weakness; Pendergraph was more of a long-term project. When the playoffs roll around, our favorite team can never secure “too many” rebounds, so the argument “Portland doesn’t really need another tough rebounder” is wimpy, to me
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
i agrede with you on the 6 minute mark benching
up to last night. before last night he was taken out at the 6 minute mark and would not get back in until the 8 minute mark or later n the second (assuming no foul trouble). Last night he sat down at 6 and Nate had him back in at the first stoppage of play in the second. That worked great. the other guys bigs just went 9 to 12 in the first. A fresh Greg still warm from his prior action will eat teams up coming back early in the second. Plus it postions him with Dre and Rudy, who are the best at getting greg the ball, with Roy and aldridge coming back on for their second shifts….I think last night was a brilliant substitution pattern, and you could see it in the result…I say ride this pony until teams come up with a consistent counter.
"Oh Yeah!" ~ Kool Aid Man
putting oden back in vs chicago late in the 4th quarter of a blowout
would have served no purpose, and an injury in garbage time would’ve been a disaster. greg will score 30 in some other game, a close game where the points come oganically, as part of the natural flow. conserving minutes during the early part of the season will pay off when players are less tired in the playoffs.
ignacio
I was extremely happy to see Nate finally play Greg late when he is rolling.
He needs the conditioning and at this stage of his development needs to play especially when he s playing well. This leads to his confidence growing which will payoff down the line. More importantly, a 24 and 12 game leads to front page articles and helps him to gain cred and shake the bust label. This further increases his confidence and his teamates confidence in him. The refs do read box scores and clippings too. This changes narrative from Greg being a foul prone bust/stiff and will enable Greg to start getting more favorable treatment from the refs!
I have wanted Nate to play him more and get him in synch with his teamates. If he is really that injury prone better to know that now. His conditionng needs to improve if we want and need hom to log more monies come playoff time. Why not start to develop that now and reap the additional benefits?
I get the injury thing
infact i brought that up before. But there comes a time when you have to stop worring about “what if he gets injured” and just start playing the guy like a normal player.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
Blair is a monster
Can’t believe we passed on him.
half the nba passed on him too
Cloudy is Sergio. Makes other people look good, can’t score himself. -Cablinasian
by Philthyanimal on Nov 26, 2009 12:35 AM PST up reply actions
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