Your Thoughts On Greg Oden (Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, best, teams)

[ABM]

Atlanta Blazer Man here. I'm REALLY looking forward to (finally) seeing Greg Oden lace them up for the Portland Trail Blazers next season.

I'm still a bit hesitant to declare him a "savior", though. Partly because of this season's injury (plus the wrist, etc.) and partly because he's seemingly foul-prone.

Anywho, this is a great forum, so I thought I'd trot a thread/poll and try and get an "objective" feel from others that may have seen him play, have some thoughts about him, yada, yada, yada.

In other words, what say you?

Thanks! ABM

[jrod2828]

I live in Indianapolis. I've seen him in person. He's incredible. When healthy he will dominate. Whether or not he will be the best of all-time is too tough to predict. I think he's going to be really good. Trust me, you guys made a great pic. I wish the Pacers could of gotten him.

[Alanboy395]

I'll reserve judgement until i see him out on the court.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I think they should do some carbon dating on him. He looks as old as Patrick Ewing, there is no way he's only 20 or so. I cant wait to see him on the court though.

[domergurl]

He'll be a complete washout.

[Canes2006Champs]

I dont know if he'll be one of the best of all-time, but i look for him to help the TrailBlazers become a contender again.

[big daryle]

I think Oden will be a great defender and rebounder, not necessarily a huge scorer. The way Portland is built right now, they dont need him to score that much. I predict the Blazers will be a constant title threat throughout the next decade, probably making their first big charge in the 2009-2010 season.

[beenhereandthere]

Well, he will be in first place,
in the Grady from Sanford and Son lookalike contest

[ABM]

This, folks, I likey. (taken earlier this week)

[nl2134]

Here's what I think.

Based on his overall skills, he will be a solid starting center. He's got it all - he rebounds, he's got great inside moves, and his defense is nice. He's young, he's got potential, everything points to him becoming a dominant inside player for the next decade in the NBA.

However, he will consistently be challenged by a few things. He seems a bit injury prone at the moment. Remember, during his season at OSU, he had a wrist injury that limited him to almost half a year at OSU (despite winning All-American honors) and he's got this current injury from Training Camp. He overcame that by playing mostly with his left-hand (which, coming from a Wisconsin fan, was unbelievable) He'll also be challenged by teams looking to concentrate their defense on him. Sure, the Blazers have a SICK young Nucleus with Roy, Aldridge and Oden, but he'll need to perform, and seeing how cutthroat the West is right now, he'll need to do it especially more.

It'll also be interesting to see how he does against the new generation of hybrid PF/C (with Al Jefferson, Amare) as opposed to the traditional big body Center in Shaq.

I really hope he succeeds. He seems like a real nice kid, real genuine, just an overall class act. He's a smart young individual too, someone I really can't root against.