Oden

[Berry, Mark S]

One other thing about the Simmons take on Oden ... 

The knock on him for his demeanor irks me. He's a nice kid who doesn't
like the spotlight. You'll never see him chest-bumping and preening
around like some guys do, but he's a warrior. Don't get me started on
Mourning's histrionics.

Final point ... I'm convinced he'll be better in the NBA than in
college. The college game just isn't built for dominant big guys. The
three-point line is too close, allowing for quick double teams from
guards, with time to recover to shooters. And the guards are chucking up
threes left and right because it's such an easy shot. Oden will have
much more room to operate in the NBA and, hopefully, some guards willing
to give him the ball instead of firing the firs available three.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
Behalf Of Jeff White
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:28 AM
To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
Subject: Re: Oden

Is there any reason to worry that Oden's wrist won't heal completely?

On 3/1/07, Berry, Mark S <berrym at battelle.org> wrote:
>
> 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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