On the eve of the NBA draft...Oden or Durant?

[backbreaker]

i didn't watch all the game... but I watched enough. he just was having a somewhat off shooting night. he had no problem gettnig his shot off (ovbiously, he shot 17 times).. rolling in and out, etc. clearly the best player on the court howeve

 

[backbreaker]

Ha ha, nice try..

I didn't watch the game, so I don't know what the real reason here was:

- If he was missing open shots that he normally makes...then maybe that was just rookie jitters - and recoverable.

- But if he was missing shots because they were being more strongly contested - and he was thus pressured to rush them, alter them or take them at a longer range...then that would be due more to his unathleticism and harder to correct.

Let's not forget - 2006 #3 draft pick, Adam Morrison, was also a great unathletic shooter in college - but has arguably "flopped" in the L so far. His PER was a little over 7 (about the worst starter in the L)...compared to the league average of 15. Durant better hope he doesn't become this year's Morrison - a high lottery pick capable of having a few good shooting nights with a lotta minutes...but otherwise often inconsistent and little else. I don't think he'll do that poorly since he's much longer...but he still might fall in that general direction.

he has two problems.. first, he's white (just joking).. seriously, he wouldn't know what defense was if it hit him on top of the head. his problem isn't necessary scoring.. he is so bad of a defensive liabiatiy you can't leave him on the court. he might be the worst Defensive player in the league.

also, I think his medical condition has something to do with his performance (Diabetes)

 

[wayword]

he is so bad of a defensive liabiatiy you can't leave him on the court. he might be the worst Defensive player in the league.

also, I think his medical condition has something to do with his performance (Diabetes)

Yea, I agree. Well, not exactly... His liabilities are everything other than shooting - including rebounding and assists too. But even his shooting is sorta streaky now in the L against the more athletic defenders.

And any health issues do become magnified at this much fiercer level of competition (another strike against Oden, as well here).

Still, the guy gets 30 mpg. I have no idea why?

Most 1-dimensional guys like him would just come off the bench for limited minutes as a role player to snipe in a few 3s or something..

 

[backbreaker]

because there is no one on the team better.

MJ needs to stop drafting and trading. he has no idea what he is doing. He's the anti Isiah Thomas (who is a GREAT drafter.. but can't keep a roster together for more than 10 mintues). If I were a GM, my job wuld be to be on the beach 11 months a year, and on the 12th month, see who isiah likes and move up one spot before him in the draft and snab him. I can't think of one bust he's drafted. he ws the only guy who would take a chance on T Mac. Damon Stoudimire. Channing Frye David Lee (in the late first round, like last pick late)....

 

[ValleyDJing]

No offense dude, but I've been playing basketball pretty much my entire life. I grew up in a basketball family. I played basketball at a pretty damn high level, AAU national level. I've played on the same team as future NBA players (Joe Johnson, Ronnie Brewer) and alot of college players as well (Bam Doyne, Mike Jones (who is my cousin), and other players who most people probably don't know). I've played against what would be now considered an all start team.... Tracy McGrady (10th grade, high school tournment), Damien Wilkens (Peach Jam), Dejaun Wagner, Tyson Chandler. I've played against Corliss Williamson a number of times over the last 6 years in varous tournments around little rock.

Nice. So just outta curiousity, how tall are you? And how did you fair against the likes of T-Mac and Tyson Chandler?

 

[backbreaker]

5'8 and 3/4ths but that was in high school... I might be an inch or so taller, I haven't been measured since. and that's without shoes.

I'm long armed so that helps and I'm pretty athletic. at my height I can dunk with both hands.. at least I could, I probably still can ut it would take alot out of me. I had a 42' vertical.. myb est friend, who was a legit 5'8 could out jump me, he had like a 44' and had the wingspan of a 6'2 guy.

i grew up in a basketball family. My dad played for Florida State for two years than dropped out because of chasing women/grades. my cousin played for arkansas, I have another cousin, that I barely know.. he changed his legal name because his dad (my uncle) is basically a drug addict and wants nothing to do with him, but he I think will be a freshman at Cal this year.. he's somewhere out here, I need to call my grandmom and find out. Even though I loved baseball growing up, I was basically forced to play basketball, and in all honesty, it came pretty easy for the most part, but I never LOVED it enough to put that much effort into it.

I was good enough to play on Joe Johnsons 17 and under AAU rockets team, and get alot of playing time when I was basically 14/15.

of course they weren't who they were back then. The one guy I REaLLy remember playing was chandler, because he had the media following him since he was like in the 9th grade.

honestly.. he wasn't THAT good. I mean.. Joe was better than he was skill wise.. but the dude was so damn long and athletic you coudln't do anything around the goal. But he couldn't shoot and unless it was a dunk he basically wasn't going to score against someone close to his size. i could see the "potential" but still.

lol, the funniest thing ever was when we played Dejaun Wagner. mind you.. I was pretty small. I had no problem guarding someone 6-1 or 6-2. My whole family is over 6 feet.. you get used to it. i wasn't that weak.. but DW was like 200 pounds... he lit my ass up. I"m be honest. It wasn't so much that I couldn't guard him. i could stay in front of him. But you had to make a choice.. he could shot as wel (if it weren't for injuries... this kid was GOOOOOOOD).. like.. REALLY shot. you had to face guard him, but you couldn't because he can blow by you. and he ws strong, cat quick and athletic so if he got a step he can finish. I think he had like 35 on me. Coach was like look.. we can't double team him because there is another player on the team that was pretty damn good as well, and I was the best perimeter Defender on the team.. he said well... just do what you can and we will shut the rest of the team down. we won by 4 but it wasn't by anything I did. I didn't even shoot well that game.


but in high school, regular high school games, you had no chance. by the time I was a JUNIOR, mind you I didn't even play as a senior, there might have been a handful of players at my position that could guard me. Practice was harder than games, because my best friend, who was also a PG (we both started, we had a 3 guard system) was actually probably more athletic than I was, but I was more skilled. I was just too skilled and I can shoot from just about anywhere. But I'm a natural PG so I don't look for my shot and we were so loaded I didn't have to shoot.. we had what ended up being 5 D1 players on our team and the guy with the most upside on our team was (literary) a crackhead who got kicked off the team. a 6-7 true shooting guard straight from the hood that could dunk on anyone and play 4 positions, but couldn't put the pipe down long enough to stay on the team.

anyway.. Damien Wilkens was probably the most over hyped thing I have ever seen. Why he was so highly recruited i have no idea.

the best player (besides Joe, although he had the most potential, he wasn't the best player at that time on our AAU team, Jared Heart was) I have seen with my own two eyes was T-Mac.

words can't descrive how easy the game came to him. He hit us, with Joe holding him, up for 37 and was in foul trouble the entire game. that was the only time I ever heard joe say "man, I can't do nothing with this guy". We actually tried to double team him.. no sir. he was 6-8 and could shoot with ease over anyone, handle the ball like a point guard, but you could tell he was still VERY VERY raw. just natural athletic ability.

When I played AAU ball, I got tic because I'm a very good defender, I don't turn the ball over, I can beat most people off the dribble and I know my teammates, and I can hit open shots so you have to stay off me. we had an all star team, I didn' thave to look for my shot. however in high school, my two best friends were the two best players on the team outside of me, I would be a little more assertive but not really.

I tore my ACL in practice of my senior year and gave it up after that.

 

[ValleyDJing]

Thats cool. Thats some serious hooping right there.

I really wish I would've started basketball earlier. I didn't start playing seriously till 8th grade. I honestly feel like if I'd have had the time I could've played for my Junior College team this year. They actually, just won the state title for Jr. colleges. So that just makes me wonder what I could've done if my parents had started me young, thrown a ball in my crib you know? but I guess now I'll never know.

 

[backbreaker]

actually, I didn't start THAT early.. like 9. I didn't touch a basketball until I was 8. I didn't want to. the only sport I knew about that early was horse racing and baseball. Then like one day my dad just started making me practice. i was playing REAL baseball when I was 6-7 in tiny league. and tee ball at 4. the one regret I have in life is quiting baseball. No exergration.. I was probably the best baseball (non pictcher) player in my state for my age until I quit. By the time I was 8.. 8 years old, I was playing in little league, which is 10-12. When I was 9 and the summer I turned 10, i played little league minor (Chris harris, the saftey for the chicago bears was on my team and his twin brother gerald) but I was on call for the little league major which was I think 13-14. I basically played more games than anyone at the field because I played all games for both teams. I played my sophmore year in high school for my school and it was a nationally ranked team, and i started 2nd base from day one, but there wasn' t position I couldn't play, including catcher (which is actually my fav position) had a .398 BA, 5 HR, and a 52ssomthing OBA and I am (to this day) a switch hitter. You couldn't throw a ball fast enough I couldn't pop, very veyr quick bat. the only real pitch that gave me hell was someone who had a good split finger honestly believe I could have been a pro baseball player. what women will do to you. I quit for the simple reason baseball wasn't popular.

as good of a football player Chris Harris was, he was a better baseball player (Trust me) his dad is a legendary coach down here.

 

[wayword]

honestly believe I could have been a pro baseball player. what women will do to you. I quit for the simple reason baseball wasn't popular.

Are you saying a hor derailed you from your baseball dreams...or was it its lack of popularity?

But h3ll, even if it's been declining...you'd still be making millions and getting some serious DHV!

 

[Bling]

Your best comparison for Durant is Kevin Garnett? How many NBA Finals has he attended? Western Conference Finals? 1 WCF, 0 NBA Finals. Oden can be compared to any of the big men. Duncan, Shaq, whatever. Shaq fouls like crazy. Being a Laker fan, you can attest to that. Being a Heat fan, I can attest to him missing the whole season every damn year and him getting into foul trouble to easily. So what? At the end of the day, Shaq has made an NBA Finals with each team he's playin on. 6 in total with 4 rings. Duncan has gone to 4. At their expected potential, Oden outshines Durant.

 

[wayword]

Well, as a few of us here projected, looks like Oden was far from a "sure thing."

Out for the season due to...you guessed it...knee surgery.

Face it, it was like buying a used car that looked great on paper, but didn't pass inspection. The guy is 19 going on 45. Maybe he took HGH or something. Regardless, he was a muuch higher-risk pick than most people thought.

Guess we'll see how the other 2 top picks pan out now..

 

[FoolsCause]

Hmm. Sam Bowie versus Michael Jordan.

 

[CrashOverRide]

Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the NBA. I think he might have even won a scoring title last year. Who is Greg Oden?

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

I thought Oden was over-hyped when we was at Ohio State, and you don't hear that very often in Buckeye country. He was a good all-around player, and he was a good leader on the team, but he was always getting hurt.

I remember people talking about him like he was the next MJ, and I said, "Well, one of these days when he gets off light duty, he just might prove you right." Wonder what happened to Greg Oden, anyway?

 

[Kailex]

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Glad to see BB knew what was up with Durant back in the day.

 

[Reyaj]

lol just wanted to bump this one up again

 

[backbreaker]

i really don't see how anyone could draft oden over durant it was so clear durant was going to be a superstar.


the draft is coming up. I am in LOVE with De'aaron fox. i'd take him first overall. people complain about his shoot but hre can't shot because he's never had to, becuase no one can stay in front of him. if i had to create a player on nba2k it would look like fox. long armed, 99 in speed, plays defense,. he's going to be a star.

not high on MF. he isn't a winner and runs with a stick up his ass.


I HATE ball.