Greg showing up out of shape or unmotivated.

I can’t wait to see his progress.

He has the freakish athleticism from OSU days back. Directly a result of his conditioning. Run the floor, jump out of the gym. The rest of the game will come with time.

considering how last year we received a whole lot of " he does things we havent seen a player do here" or “dominated scrimmages” or perhaps "the coaches looked at his play licking their chops thinking of all the possibilities…. which led to 15-20 min games fouling out and looking fat and slow with another injury which is why i havent bought their B.S. this offseason, lets see what non-biased people say

thanks for the post pre-midnight Dave. this was a welcome reminder of the team’s critical need to develop a big man so we can actually create an inside game (i’d argue that we were almost entirely without one last season)

while he hard a rough go early last season, what really caught my eye was Greg’s inability to step out and set a solid screen at the top of the key. in order for the points to get some space to dish, our 5’s gotta set tough screens. joel is the only one that was quasi-reliable in this arena. with a man of his size and strength, Greg has got to deliver a solid screen or he’s just killed our post positioning and potential offensive rebounding by setting a lazy pick.

while bayno has been working Greg out, i’m even more surprised that the team hasn’t committed the resources to assign a bonafide big to coach Greg this off-season. there has to be a solid ex-NBA center available who could coach GO on the nuance of the position. someone that can coach him on his footwork, and help him make the most of his moves in the post. his frustration and understandable inexperience of being caught out of position against seasoned 5’s led to too many fouls too early.

lastly, i’d like to see Greg move over towards Nate on the bench. it killed me to see him sit on the absolute end of the bench … away from all of his starters, and even beyond Shavlik! this boy MUST be engaged at all levels, and that means being in the midst of the chatter of the bench when he’s playing and getting an earful from his team. in my mind, that’s where tons of invaluable lessons are learned and shared.

Footwork is a good place to start with GO. On offense and defense. His drop step looks like that stupid white kid in the ‘burbs trying to CRIP walk. I love the guy though, so even if he does become a “glorified journeyman”, that’s the kind of journeyman I want on my team.

Get more elevation on his jump hook so he is actually able to get it off.

For whatever reason Roy did not give Greg the ball much. Get him some nice lobs at the rim. If Tyson Chandler can be a beast in this manner, Greg surely can.

Being in shape is vital, of course. As is slowing his shot down and taking his time. He should use his drop step more as well- he was very successful with it, but rarely used it.

The rest comes down to coaching, and I’m optimistic it’ll be handled.

We can’t make the next step—the hardest step—without Mr. Oden becoming the beast he should be.

It’s been said already that going from 54 wins to 60 is exponentially harder than going from 40 to 54.

I hope GO is the man for the job.

Your points 2 & 3 are closely related and I fully agree with them . I would say Greg needs to learn that he is 7 feet tall and the guards he needs to stop are usually 6’5 or smaller, i.e. he needs to learn he doesn’t need to stop them with his body 15 feet from the basket. He doesn’t need to reach in and swat away the ball as they drive. He doesn’t even need to reach over them. He needs to learn positioning and timing to block shots from an angle. Guards are always taught to take the ball directly at big defenders, which freezes them, prevents them blocking shots at an angle, and results in lots of defensive fouls. Once Greg learns to position himself when picking up guards the needless fouls will cease.

The one big skill that you didn’t touch on is learning to run the pick and roll. He is awful at setting the pick, usually picking no one effectively and rolling way too early. He doesn’t need to become a scoring machine but the realistic threat of scoring off the pick and roll will produce easier points for the guards, some points for him, and more fouls for the opposition. Of course some of the problem has been with our guards P&R abilities as well, so this is something that they need to work on together before training camp this year. The P&R is fundamental and one of the most difficult things to defend in basketball, and we were awful at it last year. The Pick & Pop is not an adequate substitute for the P&R, but together they can be tremendously effective for us. We were considerably more successful at the P&P thanks more to good shooting than good picks.

I also hope to see better footwork in shooting the baby hook in the paint. That is the key to Greg having an effective low post game, which will then let him pass out of double teams to open shooters. His hook was awkward and largely ineffective because his footwork was poor. I think they have been working with him on that this summer.

I don’t expect miracles, but if he demonstrates he is learning basketball skills then we can expect further improvement with practice, and greatness down the road. It is sometimes argued that his problems last year were all caused by his recovery from surgery, but I didn’t see the fundamental basketball skills. Sometimes big men as physically dominating as he was in college, don’t learn the skills they need to compete with guys their own size that have similar quickness in the NBA. With only a year of college ball behind him, I suspect that could very well be true in his case.

Lastly, Nate needs to let the kid play. I don’t think he has to start, because he needs some success to build confidence. So if he plays more time against the second string centers it wouldn’t bother me. But let him foul out once in a while in the 2nd half of games early in the season. There were quite a few times last year when he would pick up a 4th or 5th foul in the 2nd half and never get back in the game. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. We got Joel until Greg gets it.

And if he still isn’t up to snuff going into the season, I don’t think we’ll need to worry unless by mid-season he’s shown no noticable improvement.

But I think he’ll prove his doubters wrong in the long run

The one area I am most concerned with is Greg’s explosive jumping. He is likely to regain most of his loss from the surgery this year and that will make a big difference, In 61 games last year Greg had 39 of his shots blocked.

I am banking on Amare’s improvement in year 2 after surgery to presage Greg’s. Then the beast will be fully fanged and learning to drink blood.

That’s what I want to see.

Seriously, the next big guys in this camp are Brook Lopez and LaMarcus as the only ones above 6’10’’, then Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, and Paul Millsap. Davis and Lee are not under contract, so I would be surprised if they go.

Most of the guys on the scrimmage squads will be guards or forwards, so no big deal if he picks up some unnecessary fouls against top-caliber quick NBA players. But I want to hear reports that he is slimmed down, moving quickly, grabbing rebounds left and right, blocking shots, and posting up a few of them.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I also hope they will give Bayless and LaMarcus some time together with Greg on the court as a preview to training camp.

I remember the story last year being that Greg was in terrific shape, but actually was carrying too much muscle on his upper body and needed to let off the weights a bit (or work his legs more, whatever).

Does anyone remember the sad character of Detlef Schrempf in Dallas? Then he was traded to Indiana and became a star. I see a lot of the same body language in Greg as I did in Detlef. It was not an issue of ability, it was an issue of comfort. Like a business man in a suit that doesn’t fit. You look at them and you know something is wrong, and that they are aware of it too. My hope is that the Trailblazers coaching staff and Portland Oregon are simply not, a bad fit.

When Detlef got traded to the Pacers, he looked like a new man. He had energy and enthusiasm. He had confidence and a love of the game. He was once again playing a game he felt like playing, in a way that was tailored to fit him. What I want to see most from Greg is a man who fits into his life, and a man who still has room to grow.

Number 4 happening would make me as giddy as a school boy.

I don’t want to spend another season reading FanPosts from fans who spent the entire game watching Oden instead of the action on the court. His number one priority should be to look happy for the fans.

MIP next year???

… is that this is the first off-season in which Greg has been able to do squats! I can’t imagine playing the 5 in the NBA with not having done squats in 18 months. I think that with some more strength and conditioning in his legs we’ll see a lot more of the quickness and explosiveness we saw in college. With that I think you’ll see some his confidence come back and his development come a lot faster.

but I’d be one happy fan if I see Greg sprinting the floor and establishing deep, early post position this season.

We’ve made many an observation that Greg needs to work on at least one go-to bankable post move, and there’s a great deal of truth in that. But Greg can get an extra 4-6 FTAs a game — or two extra dunks a game — by busting his tail down the court after a defensive rebound, bulling deep into the paint, and demanding the ball.

Shaq used to make hay with this very tactic. He was so big and so strong during his heyday that when he established that deep position on the break, opposing bigs had no choice but to bear-hug him. Now, Greg is the furthest thing from a polished low-post scorer, but even at 70% of his athletic capacity right now, he’s still so big that he could punish small 5’s with impunity if he keeps this move in mind.

does anyone know who’s starting next year? Przy or Greg?

I agree with all Daves observations and comments concerning Odens improvement. I’d also like to add that I would like to see the media and fans step back a little, or maybe a lot. What I love about Portland is the focus, care and concern many fans show about The Blazers year round. Unfortunately on a young player with Odens short but troubled history that same focus can become “ant under a magnifying glass” hot.

There was some debate as to why Oden wasn’t playing in summer league. While I think playing experience helps Oden, I also have to admit I was simultaneously relieved that he wasn’t playing in summer league. The same all or nothing evaluations that are now being placed on Bayless’s performance by many fans, would of been placed on Oden. So one of my hopes is that Oden can prepare, does prepare and is ready for this upcoming season, but that also we can all relax and not go on the emotional roller coster with each report of each move Oden makes or doesn’t make.

One of the most frustrating aspects to Odens rookie season was his seeming disconnect at times with the team and media. I think a lot of fans could understand a rookie, coming back from micro, would struggle. I think most of this fanbase was dying to embrace Oden not only as a Blazer player but also a team personality. Unfortunately a funny thing happened. The laughing, easy going, personality was far too rare. The pressure Oden was under changed the Oden we expected. To really over simplify? Next season, I’d like to see more “fun” from Oden. Win, Lose, or Draw a high five on the way to the bench, or a post game smile or joke, can go a long way to easing the heat from that magnifying glass. Sullen, glaring and silent goes a long way to fanning the flames of rumor and discontent. I’ll be watching this season to see what Oden shows up. A new refreshed Oden, or the young man that seemed to withdraw in self imposed intensity. Bill Russells advice to Oden before he was drafted was to have fun, enjoy. Maybe Russell saw something coming, I think Russell probably understands the pressure of competition and expectation and media and social scrutiny better than anyone. It seems simple and unimportant, but I think it is crucial. A little joy to Odens game would be nice to see.

I think we as fans can help by not living or dying with soap opera like angst with every foul. The media could help by not posting front page headlines with dark pictures of Oden, when he just sprains he ankle. Oden doesn’t get a free pass, I think Daves expectations are legitimate and viable. I think we should expect improvement. But a little joy from the fans would also help.

Avoid small injuries. Okay, this is silly because it’s largely unavoidable, but I think Greg was making progress before the Golden State pre-all-star game injury. That injury set him way back, don’t you think?

Avoiding nickel and dime injuries, or coming back fast, could be another benefit of arriving in shape.

I also think he can be a fine shooter; at least as good as Patrick Ewing. I was actually pleasantly surprised by his free throw shooting last year.

Jump and rotate in the air, extend your arm, and finger-roll the ball through the hoop. If done correctly, your defender’s head becomes the deodorant.

about Oden coming out of the summer highly conditioned with good endurance and with his weight substantially down. I just haven’t seen any evidence yet that he willing to put in the effort to get that accomplished. Oh yeah, he likes to lift weights ….. but how about his cardiovascular conditioning?

 He was out of shape when he first worked out with the Blazers, he was out of shape for his Summer League play, he was out of shape for the opening of last season, he was out of shape when he came back from his knee cap bruise. Even with injuries, there are lots of things you can do to improve and maintain some degree of endurance such as swimming, but I’ve seen no evidence as of yet that Greg is committed to that end.

I hope he proves me wrong and if he does, look out NBA. But I’m not really sure if he is capable of it. Come on Greg, make me eat crow. Make me look so wrong with this fear that I won’t ever be able to post comments again here because I will have lost all credibility. Please—make me look senile and stupid Greg. Have you been willing to work hard enough to do it? Or has your priority of returning to the good life in college gotten in the way?

These questions will soon be answered (probably not until training camp rolls around though as I doubt this USA thing will reveal much.)

Joel is like a soccer goalie. He just hovers near the boards and waits for the play to come to him. If Greg just holds his position he should do better.

If Oden can show that he is improving his footwork in the paint, I will be happy. His footwork will determine whether or not he will ever contribute on offense other than as a garbage guy. He doesn’t need to turn into Ewing or Hakeem this year, but if he can show that he spent his summer working on steps to get to the basket from the post…look out.

Defense and rebounding should improve with his body getting healthy again so he can beat his man “ta da spot” as Tommy Heinsohn would say.

should have drafted Stanko Barać