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C Greg Oden (All B1G, All-American, Defensive Player of the Year, Butler Assistant Coach)

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'Beast' is back for Trail Blazers

The Wolves' Corey Brewer knows all too well what 7-foot center Greg Oden brings to the game.

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune
Last update: November 15, 2008 - 1:04 AM

The big have gotten bigger.
Already blessed with 7-1 center Joel Przybilla and 6-11 forward LaMarcus Aldridge in their starting lineup, the Portland Trail Blazers also have reserve 6-11 forward/center Channing Frye. As if that's not a tall enough task to take on, the Blazers have added a new big man to the mix, one who looks far more grizzled than his actual age (20).
Perhaps you've heard of Greg Oden, the 7-footer from Ohio State who finally is getting some regular playing time after a run of injuries at the start of his NBA career.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft missed all of last season following knee surgery and then sat out two weeks earlier this season because of a foot injury. He returned to the lineup Wednesday, blocking two shots in 16 minutes against the Heat. Tonight at Target Center against the Timberwolves, Oden is expected to step in and prevent easy baskets.

Continued..............
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13 pts 8 rebs 3 blocks in 24 minutes. He's not even in game shape yet and this was only his 3rd NBA game of his career. Bill Simmons and all the other writers who have already labeled him a bust can go eat a big of dicks.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=281115016

"That was just a taste of it," Roy said. "He didn't give you the whole meal, it was just a taste of what he's going to do."
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OregonBuckeye;1328139; said:
Bill Simmons and all the other writers who have already labeled him a bust can go eat a big of dicks.[/url]
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I know Simmons is unpopular with a lot of people around here, but I think he's been very careful with his criticisms of Oden. To me it seems he's worried that he'll never be healthy, a valid concern up until this point. He's also stated on numerous occasions that he likes Oden a great deal and wants him to find great success.
 
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mross34;1329237; said:
I know Simmons is unpopular with a lot of people around here, but I think he's been very careful with his criticisms of Oden. To me it seems he's worried that he'll never be healthy, a valid concern up until this point. He's also stated on numerous occasions that he likes Oden a great deal and wants him to find great success.
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Simmons drove me crazy leading up to the draft. He had the hugest man crush on Durant and put down Greg Oden more than a few times. He never seemed to look at both players objectively.
 
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Greg Oden, three games in

Posted by Sean Meagher, OregonLive.com November 17, 2008 10:21AM

Categories: Greg Oden, News & notes
c3e0838805394280972033af8efd612c.jpg
Photo by the N.O. Times-Picayune
And we're pleasantly surprised. The growth from game one to game three has been inspiring.
After going down in the first half of the season opener against the Lakers in his rookie debut (drawing bogus, way-too-early comparisons to Sam Bowie) and a return in which he played a full 16 minutes, recording 3 points and 2 boards, Greg Oden is improving with each outing, as he should. He's getting into the groove as the Blazers slowly but surely bring him along in just over 20 minutes per game.
After his first game there was a collective sigh of relief when the big fella made it through unscathed and scored the first two points of his NBA career on an emphatic one-handed dunk. After his second game (and a beneficial day off in between), serious optimism was produced with Oden's first career double-double. And a night later, the second of a back-to-back, a more featured part of the offense and a strong defensive performance in 24 minutes showed this play was no fluke.
-- After Oden's return against Miami last Wednesday, ESPN basketball scout David Thorpe wrote:
It's important to remember that there is so much going through his mind; defensive responsibilities, awareness to help on finishers (he had two power blocks), block-out duties, etc. As the game slows down for him, he'll clear his head and get back to being a beast on the glass. That's his natural instinct. He may have looked rough in the post Wednesday night, but as he learns what NBA teams will do to stop him, he and his teammates and coaches will come up with strategies to counter those actions. He is a very cerebral player with a good feel for the game, so I expect that learning curve to be both steep and fast.
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-- With the more run he gets, the more comfortable he becomes playing with his teammates and against NBA competition, the more natural his movements become, the more effective Oden is. After that 3 and 2 game, Oden recorded his first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and more importantly 4 blocks in 24 minutes. Follow that up with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 24 minutes, and it's safe to say that the learning curve Thorpe mentioned is moving forward quickly. Echoed here by Dave from Blazer's Edge:
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OregonBuckeye;1329759; said:
Simmons drove me crazy leading up to the draft. He had the hugest man crush on Durant and put down Greg Oden more than a few times. He never seemed to look at both players objectively.
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Bingo. He decided back when Durant and Oden were both in college that he was going to go against the grain and say that Durant was going to be the better pro. Everything he's written since then has been biased garbage in which he tries to justify his position and get his readers to believe that he was right all along. He's so quick to point out what he perceives as Oden's flaws, but he ignores the fact that Durant, for example, has a bad shooting percentage, still plays no defense, turns the ball over at an alarming rate, and isn't a good enough player to keep his team out of the cellar.
 
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