Oden: A Once in a Generation Rebounder

by Blaz06Draft on May 16, 2009 12:19 PM PDT

Greg Oden's rebounding is what sets him apart. If his rookie year is any indication, he is a once in a generation offensive rebounder.

According to basketball-reference.com, his rookie year offensive rebounding percentage was 15.7%. This is right up there with the rookie years of Rodman (15.6%) and Moses Malone (15.5%), and above Buck Williams (13.7%) and Barkley (12.5%). These are generally considered the greatest offensive rebounders in the last 35 years.

Dwight Howard led the league in offensive rebounds this year by a far cry, and he had 13.8%. So Greg's offensive rebounding rate was 14% better than this year's league leader.

This manifests itself not only as an individual stat. In fact, he not only grabs more offensive rebounds when he's in the game, the whole team grabs even more. So he doesn't "suck up" offensive rebounds from his teammates. Rather, he "makes his teammates rebound better" (related to "makes his teammates play better"), and to an amazing degree.

From basketballvalue.com come the team offensive rebounding stats. The average team has an offensive rebounding rate of 29%. These numbers are fairly clustered, with all but the best and the worst ranging from 26% to 31%. The best (except for Portland) is Philly at 33.4%.

Portland without Oden, is 32.5%, which would be 2nd in league. But with him, we rise far above the pack. With Greg in the lineup, our offensive rebounding rate is 38.7%! If you are into statistics, with Greg in the lineup, Portland is 5 standard deviations better than the average.

For one individual player to make that much of a difference is truly amazing. It's such an incredible margin, and indicates that he is a once in a generation offensive rebounder.

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Comments

Simpsons did it!

"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"

by Magnum on May 16, 2009 1:14 PM PDT reply actions

Good knowledge drop

Blaz06draft, your on a roll today, great couple posts……..very good knowledge.

by blazerbeliever97504 on May 16, 2009 2:09 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Nice job

36 MPG will do wonders for this guy’s cred…

by Engineering Problem on May 16, 2009 4:15 PM PDT reply actions

I say keep him

Just in case anyone was saying different

quid Latine dictum sit, altum viditur

by dvcastle on May 16, 2009 4:45 PM PDT reply actions

"Just in case"? Don´t worry, we´re a bunch and we always have some anyones for whatever you can imagine.

"They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it"

by amlmart1 on May 17, 2009 7:33 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Nice post and good information

But watch out for Tom if he starts talking about standard deviations

by southern oregon on May 16, 2009 5:21 PM PDT reply actions

Curious

and this is an honest question, not to bash Greg, but how many of his offensive rebounds are off of his own missed offensive rebound tip-ins?

by dpnim on May 16, 2009 7:22 PM PDT reply actions

well since he shoots 56% from the field

by Odenrising on May 16, 2009 8:15 PM PDT up reply actions

OOPS hit return a little too quick there

anyway to finish my thought… since he only gets 5 shots a game and makes nearly 3 of those on average most of his Offensive rebounds aren’t his.

by Odenrising on May 16, 2009 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions

That's how Moses and Rodman

padded their rebound numbers, as well

and neither of those guys were liable to tear down the basket standard if they eventually grabbed the rebound near the hoop)

but there are some that still feel Durant was the better choice…whatever(

by two4larue on May 16, 2009 8:33 PM PDT up reply actions

UH

Like I inferred above, he only has on averge 2 of his own misses available to get a game. IF you watched GO this season you would not see him trying to pad his stats. Even after good statistical games Greg was talking about whether they won or lost… not his stats.

by Odenrising on May 16, 2009 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions

I wasn't attempting to infer that Greg ever tried to pad his stats

You just read it that way

Moses and Rodman, OTOH, were great at tipping the ball to themselves (“keeping the ball alive” as they say) Malone would repeatedly tip the ball off the backboard, and eventually into the basket. Dennis would tip the ball up into the air so he could corrall it, then pass it out to Isiah (etc) to reset the offense.

I watched GO play as much as you did this year, so lighten up “Francis” I know he says he’s all about winning, but he’s also into watching movies, occasionally blogging, making commercials and taking afternoon naps. As long as Greg steps his game up this summer/fall he’ll get no complaints from me.

by two4larue on May 17, 2009 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Rec for the Stripes reference.

I like the whole team.

by RenoBlazerFan on May 17, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions

actually thats EXACTLY how you wrote it

But the clarification was nice even with the personal dig thrown in. My bad but your first post was not entirely clear to your meaning.

by Odenrising on May 17, 2009 5:54 PM PDT up reply actions

Not once a generation

Kevin Love’s offensive rebound rate last year was 15.1%, and he played 700 more minutes than Oden. Oden is a great rebounder, but I think the ‘once a generation’ moniker is earned by a career, not one season.

by biggity2bit on May 16, 2009 9:42 PM PDT reply actions

Sorry

I bring up Love only to point out that by your logic, Love also would qualify for ‘once a generation,’ therefore invalidating the argument.

Also, I’m not sure if the comments above are saying the Rodman padded his stats by grabbing his own rebounds or not. In some of his best offensive rebounding years (‘93-’95) his averaged less than 5 shots a game but maintained an offensive rebound percentage of 17.9% or better. In fact, Rodman posted 10 seasons with an offensive rebounding percentage higher than his rookie year. Malone posted 17 seasons with an offensive rebound percentage of 15% or better. Together they played over 77,000 minutes and gathered over 29,000 rebounds. That’s why they are the benchmarks against which Oden and Love will be measured.

by biggity2bit on May 16, 2009 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Doesn't this angle get posted every other day

yes. greg oden has a good rebounding percentage.

Why do we need to keep reminding ourselves of this?

Yellow Mamba FTW!

by northwestj on May 16, 2009 10:23 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

rec

by jksnake99 on May 16, 2009 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions

What the stats dont show

Is that Greg has a great natural ability to box out and get his team mates rebounds but I guess if you dont put big time Zbo stats you suck

by southern oregon on May 16, 2009 11:17 PM PDT reply actions

this is becoming ridiculous

i believe as much as anyone that Oden might develop into a great player someday. But you people are taking it to a whole new level by nitpicking every single stat available on the internet in order to justify the choice of Oden over Durant. The fact is, right now, Durant is producing more than Oden is. That doesnt mean he’s the better player, it just means he’s getting more playing time, more touches, and more experience, while Oden is stuck to 20 minutes per game and cant even manage to stay in the game longer because
A-he’s a once in a generation fouler and Coach Nate cant see past the fouls and let him play it out
B-He’s had more than his share of injuries
C-He’s just a rookie

And C is the most important counter argument to all of these stats I see everyday, because that means we’ve only witnessed 1 season’s worth of stats averaged in 20 minutes. And playing Oden for more minutes DOES NOT MEAN that he will surely average those same numbers again, his numbers might drop, stamina plays a role in this matter.

I really want to see Greg become all that he can be, but It pisses me off that he gets so much scrutiny and support at the same time.

by jbm01 on May 17, 2009 6:02 AM PDT reply actions

word

Yellow Mamba FTW!

by northwestj on May 17, 2009 9:23 AM PDT up reply actions

The fact that Duncan never averaged 20%

is what impresses me

Offseason:
Trade For Mike Conley Jr
Sign Antonio McDyess & Othello Hunter
Draft Kevin Seraphin/Edwin Jackson(Eurostash)

by TheGreatDane17 on May 17, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

here we go again

can oden prove hecan play at least 70 games in a season 1.st.geez you odenfanboys really dream to dream.what’s next oden challenging wilt’s season of 25 reb a game.you guys are simply amazing.

by fatty on May 17, 2009 8:57 AM PDT reply actions

here YOU go again

why do you always have to be so negative on Oden? Can’t you just let someone with a great stat for a guy that is encouraging to see, without starting to harp about “odenfanboys”? I think just about everyone on Blazersedge is a fan of Oden, and would like to see him do well. Just because you’re pessimistic about the kid doesn’t mean anyone who thinks he may eventually do great things is an idiot!

"Smile! You're on a poster!!" - Mike Rice

by lefty6283 on May 17, 2009 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions

look below

and read my fanboys point about oden dude,until he proves otherwise,it’s not pessimism it’s just the honest truth.and so far for you fanboys reality really bites when it comes to oden.why don’t guys like yourself and the rest of the odenfanboy crew,let this kid breathe a little.and maybe he’ll start performing like many of you fanboys dream he will every night.

by fatty on May 17, 2009 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions

i am

if you’d check my previous posts, i was one of the few people who said we need to be patient and not place such pressure on a kid when he doesn’t need to be an all-time great for this team to succeed.

"Smile! You're on a poster!!" - Mike Rice

by lefty6283 on May 17, 2009 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Fatty has a real issue with Oden

Its not you. He has multiple posts mocking anyone who sees Oden becoming something great. He has stated we should have drafted Durant. My take is like Pritchard said prior to drafting Oden. One would be a great stat/individual star and one would win championships. I believe he was right. Time will tell.

by Odenrising on May 17, 2009 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions

jbm01

amen brotha amen,this is the reason why guys like me love bashing the fanboys in this site.shall we again for those who missed it yesterday the following fanboys of this site.
1)-oden=injury&foul prone so far
2)-webster=most inconsistent blazer ever he clanks off the rim much more than swishes
3)—bayless-could’nt even beat out the bopsie twins blake*sergio for bigtime minutes.
these fanboys are hitting below the mendoza line with these 3 stooges so far.under 200 these fanboys are so dillusional,it maj=kes me lol why i kill them every chance i get.geez you talk about guys&gals with nothing else better to do with themselves geez.

by fatty on May 17, 2009 9:37 AM PDT reply actions

wow fatty

you actually used some syntax and structure. Very nice.

by Odenrising on May 17, 2009 10:17 AM PDT up reply actions

you talk about guys&gals with nothing else better to do with themselves geez.

Come on in, there’s room for one more

by two4larue on May 17, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions

It's not just his rebounding that can be once in a generation, it's his rebounding that we have all

noticed so far. We haven’t seen Greg at a 100% at all. His best is surely yet to come. Great post though. I love how he gets his hands on every board, even if it’s just a deflection. If he ever can get extended minutes and get a rhythm I expect him to have big time numbers on the glass.

by BRoyInThe4th on May 17, 2009 12:18 PM PDT reply actions

I love how he gets his hands on every board, even if it’s just a deflection

I like how Oden can hold a 250+ pound man off with one arm and gather a rebound with the other

Not too many guys have done that (Wilt?) Maybe it’s a “once in a lifetime” skill?

by two4larue on May 17, 2009 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Oden is on track to be

an average center. He’ll play 8-12 years. He’ll gross about $10 mil a year. Posh lifestyle. Family and friends taken care of. He’ll stay under the radar for most of his career and will be perfectly content with that – and who can blame him, really.

Joel will be the better center again next year so I’ll expect him to start. Polarizing point of view i know but how can you agrue that this isnt the current ‘track’ that GO is on?

Roy Tribute
Treat people well because Karma can hit you at any second.

by Net Ranger on May 17, 2009 12:34 PM PDT reply actions