Oden

[Berry, Mark S]

I watch every OSU game and have been to a few. I'm convinced Greg Oden
will be a dominant franchise center in the NBA for a decade. A few
points:

--- The wrist. You can't understate this. He's playing the game with his
off hand. He's shooting free throws left-handed (and hitting 64
percent). He can't grip the ball with his right hand. The only shot he
attempts with his right hand is an awkward jump hook that he pushes
toward the basket -- and he's pretty damn effective with that. He also
can't dribble with the right hand. The defense knows this. They know he
can't face up and shoot or drive, so everything they do is designed to
push him away from the basket. It makes him look awkward at times, but
he's almost literally playing with one hand tied behind his back. Try
that sometime. Yet he's still averaging 15 a game on 60 percent
shooting.

--- And even if this is all the offense he'll ever have (and that's a
ridiculous conclusion), he'd be worth the first pick based entirely on
his defense. He controls the game defensively. It's not just the blocked
shots. He discourages any penetration and when someone does get into the
paint, he alters or blocks the shot. He dictates how the opponent plays
offensively. He's the best shot-blocker I've ever seen, and he uses
those blocks to trigger fast breaks. As Simmons said, this is where the
Russell comparisons come in. And they're legit.

--- He's getting the Shaq treatment in college. It's like the officials
have collectively decided to level the playing field by allowing
opponents to grab, hold, push and otherwise manhandle the guy. And while
that sounds like fun in a back seat, it's frustrating the hell out of
Oden, Thad Matta, and, most importantly, me.

--- Rebounding. He's averaging 10 a game. Why not more? A few reasons
... He doesn't play as many minutes as Durant (although his minutes are
creeping up). He can't grab the ball with his right hand -- he loses two
or three rebounds a game because of this. But most importantly, Ohio
State lacks any other even average rebounder. Opponents figured out
quickly that if they do whatever it takes to keep Oden off the glass --
hold, push, assign two guys to him, whatever ... -- that no one else in
scarlet and gray was going to hurt them on the boards. Their starting
power forward, Ivan Harris, is undersized, soft and hangs around the
perimeter the whole time.

--- His teammates. Other than Mike Conley, it's like they've never
played with a talented post player. This is even more frustrating than
the slanted officiating. They simply can't/won't get him the ball. Some
of it is coaching, some of it bad chemistry (a couple of the
upperclassmen haven't taken well to the Conley-Oden-Cook show and
lovefest in Columbus), and some of it is just dumb, dumb basketball. 

--- Oden vs. Durant. I still say it's a no-brainer. Even if Oden is just
Patrick Ewing -- and I believe he'll be much better than Ewing -- how do
you not take that player No. 1? Doesn't Durant have to be Michael Jordan
to justify not taking Oden? Are we willing to bet on Durant being
Michael Jordan? People get far too caught up in points, especially from
swingmen like Durant (and he's a swingman -- not a power forward). Oden
changes the game at both ends. If the Celts get the No. 2 pick, I'll be
very happy with Durant. But the ONLY choice at No. 1 is Oden.

Sorry for the novel, but you asked ... 

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
Behalf Of Kestas
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 8:04 PM
To: kelts
Subject: Oden

Mark (and other Oden watchers),
what do you think of BSG's observations of Oden?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons

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