| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Oden or Durant |
| Oden |
|
60% |
[ 3 ] |
| Durant |
|
40% |
[ 2 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 5 |
|
| Author |
Message |
JMO
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Daegu
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:25 pm Post subject: Oden or Durant |
 |
|
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/77264.html
I found this article from a link on Bill Simmon's column on ESPN. I love his basketball stuff, although I want to throttle him when I read his take on football(american). He actually said he had high hopes for Jamarcus Russell cos he has 'swagger'! Anyway this article is interesting as it puts some doubt on Oden being a lock for number 1.
Also interesting is the players they are compared to. Here are some excerpts.
| Quote: |
an NBA personnel man who asked not to be identified illustrates the problem: �Taking Oden is like taking Shaquille O�Neal. If you look back at Shaq when he was at LSU, he and Oden have almost the exact same bodies. Shaq just bulked up over the years. Taking Durant is like taking Tracy McGrady.
|
| Quote: |
Durant is singularly myopic regarding basketball, reportedly practicing for up to 10 hours a day when he was growing up in Suitland, Md., his skills incredibly advanced and diverse for a man his size (6-9, 220).
|
| Quote: |
| Oden is a rebounding and defensive force who needs to polish his offensive repertoire. Durant is breathtakingly skilled, with an ability to score from behind the 3-point line or in the post, especially off the dribble. He is Kobe Bryant with 4 more inches, 20 more pounds and 10 fewer years |
Yikes. what a hard choice to make. Personally I really don;t know as I don't watch enough college ball. If I had to make a choice it would be Oden as big men like him are so rare. Durant sounds like a guy with drive though and is supremely talented. I'd say Stern is pissed that both these guys are going to the north west. He would have loved to have at least one in the east I'm sure. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
animalbirdfish
Joined: 04 Feb 2004
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Lifelong, die hard Blazers fan here and I lean in favor of Oden. This is to take nothing away from Durant, who's going to be a phenomenal player, but Oden is just such a freak of nature, as Jason Quick put it. Bigs like that just don't come around very often. I love the idea of an Oden/Aldridge frontline - with Brandon Roy in the backcourt, for years to come.
Tough choice, indeed, but if anyone can make the right decision it's Kevin Pritchard. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MANDRL
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Location: South Korea
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| animalbirdfish wrote: |
Lifelong, die hard Blazers fan here and I lean in favor of Oden. This is to take nothing away from Durant, who's going to be a phenomenal player, but Oden is just such a freak of nature, as Jason Quick put it. Bigs like that just don't come around very often. I love the idea of an Oden/Aldridge frontline - with Brandon Roy in the backcourt, for years to come.
Tough choice, indeed, but if anyone can make the right decision it's Kevin Pritchard. |
You gotta be stoked right now, things are looking up for your team. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dutchy pink
Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Location: Incheon
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I gotta say Durant. As a net's fan i'm emotionally scarred from the big man pick. Yinka Dare and Sam Bowie(?) You never know about a big man. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tarmangani
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: the Calm
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Seattle fans must be feeling pretty good these days as well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
faster
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'd go with Oden. I watched a few OSU games and his offensive game is pretty raw; he may struggle a season or two but bigs with his skill set and upside don't come around often. We may have not seen a Center like Oden since Yao. And, big men generally are difference makers. You can always find a scorer but a dominating big man just doesn't come around that often.
I know you are all probably sick of me saying this but big time scorers like McGrady and Kobe really do not win championships; dominating centers do.
Ask the Spurs who they would rather have Duncan or any SG or SF in the leauge?
Now, big men can be a gamble but Oden is no ?Bogart? from the Mil. Bucks. He is not a softy. He will bang and block shots. At worst, he is Alonzo Mourning. If he finds an offensive game, he is Shaq. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
animalbirdfish
Joined: 04 Feb 2004
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah, I saw that Givony article and I agree wholeheartedly. Durant - who as someone pointed out, couldn't bench the 185 - is proof of that: desire, heart and determination count for a lot. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Still, I expect Durant (and Oden, too) to look a lot more human next year when he hits the Association.
One of the more impressive things about Oden this past year was that he was playing with a nasty wrist injury for a lot of the time and still managed to get to the NCAA championship on his off hand. Plus, he's got tremendous footwork, great hands and excellent timing for blocking shots. He'll be a great low-post defender, allowing Aldridge to play out farther knowing that Oden has his back. Ditto for the offensive end, where Aldridge can be effective from up to 18 feet out.
Of course, all of this is to say nothing of Zach Randolph. If PDX keeps him, Oden will certainly help cover some of his defensive weaknesses but I wonder if they wouldn't clog the post too much on the offensive end. In the end, I think Aldridge is a consistent 20/10 guy, too, but one who, unlike Randolph, can affect the game at both ends. Any of you all want Z-Bo for your team?
Kevin Pritchard (PDX GM) has proven to a great evaluator of talent and one of the consistently best-prepared execs in the NBA - no surprise given that he earned his stripes in San Antonio with Buford. One need only look at the '06 draft - when he landed Roy, Aldridge and Rodriguez - for evidence of this.
A great site for following the Blazers:
http://www.blazersedge.com/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
