I was listening to Cowherd on Monday. Ric Bucher was his guest in the 4th hour. They were talking about Yao and the L*kers defense. Bucher went on a tangent for a moment.
He said that G.O. gives Yao more trouble on defense than anyone in the league “including Dwight Howard.” He didn’t say anything more. I can only think that he was talking about G.O. fronting Yao. Maybe he was alluding to something else, but they didn’t go down that road. I’d like someone to ask Bucher about it. I e-mailed wheels. No response. Maybe Bucher would come on Courtside. Sorry, I’m rambling with this random thought.

Better off at a very svelte 260-265 lbs, same weight as Dwight Howard. Instead of attempting to out “big” everyone. He should not go up in weight, or I fear for his body not coping well with it. He is better off using a finesse game like we saw at Ohio State with the bevvy of hooks with either hand. His dunks will always be ferocious, perhaps even more so at 260.

I also think Oden will get better, but I cant ignore that Oden has been injured every year since college.

Statistically longevity in the NBA is better for big men than for smaller guards and forwards who rely on their athleticism (a player like AI is the exception). It increases up to 6’10’’ – 6’11’’, then slightly drops for 7 footers, and drastically drops for players far above that (although the sample size of course is smaller). Also quite a number of players coming out of college and some still in the NBA probably list inaccurate heights (Hayes made himself smaller, as did some of the old timers like Jabaar and Russell. Ben Gordon makes himself bigger than he is).

Greg would fall in the group of the 7 footers (slightly below according to some reports, if you don’t measure him in shoes). Of course the elephant in the room are his legs and his microfractured knees. Recovery from that procedure is vastly different depending on size, weight bearing and rehab procedure and rest afterwards. But it has matured from the early beginning (Stockton, etc.) and could actually add years to the end of his career by creating more cartilage. Jason Kidd still plays. Amare seems fully recovered. Even Kenyon Martin looks much fresher in this season than he did a few years ago.

I would like for Greg to not gain further weight, rather convert some pounds into lean muscle or outright drop it. Then, who knows, he could have a normal ten year plus career with the occasional injuries almost all big men experience them.

we need to get off him like a hefty chick does a moped. and…. FOR THE LOVE OF GOLLY GEE WIZZZ….

lol.. but yeah oden should be a monster, and well, we’ll see soon enough.

Some lurker should so steal that and start using it regularly.

I doubt Yao didn’t want to play for China for the Olympics in Bejing. That’s worded confusingly. I don’t think anything would have kept Yao off the court in Bejing. China doesn’t “own” him.