The saga of a young center whose promising career so far has been married to injuries continues. Greg Oden cannot catch a break. He's still recovering from an injury, and is possible that he will play after a period of five months which will be probably after the new year. But then again, his value has increased for a little bit even though he hasn't played a single game from like an year and a half ago.
Then again, his upside is very big, he can offer so much on the court, has the heart and desire to play basketball, to improve, to dominate and his work ethic gives him the chance to be in the elite even without so much time on the court. All of that is in risk, thanks to the injuries. However, with his age (23), things are likely going to get in his way so he can finally prove to everyone how great he truly is.
Teams will get plenty if they can sign him, but is he worth a risk? I think so and here is why
1.Defense
When healthy, Greg Oden is arguably the best post and overall defender in the NBA. Part of that, is because he's got size, remarkable strength, fantastic skills, natural instincts and excellent timing that make him a superb defensive force. He arguably is the best shot blocker as well, because he uses to advantages to excel in this aspect.
He can additionally use his abilities to defend star/superstar players at his position, who has stopped a lot of them. He's a force in the paint, who forces tough, contested shots, doesn't allow easy points from anyone. He led all in blocks in both average and in PER stats as well.
He can easily make his impact on this end of the floor, and those teams will become one of the best in terms of defense.
2.Rebounding
Rebounding is an another part of the game in which Greg Oden excels pretty well. Again, he uses his physical tools such as excellent strength, positioning, size, long arms and athleticism to be a well established presence on the glass. He's pulling down a lot of boards when healthy, because he's aggressive and focused.
He grabbed 8.7 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action, while leading all in most boards grabbed in PER minute stats. He collected well over three offensive missed shots a game as well, while catching well over six on defensive. His ability is well among the best in the league.
In one game against the Heat he had 20 boards, versus the Hornets he collected 15 and so on. All of that under 30 minutes. That's so good production on the glass.
3.Inside Points
He's a remarkable center who possessed fantastic strength, has size, athleticism which are nice physical tools for having his way in the low post. He worked hard through the 2009 off season to improve and the results were pretty well. His post up abilities improved and he showed big effectiveness in there.
He can make a hook shot with either hand, spin quickly and finish powerfully inside, finish easily inside which is the reason why he is effective. Oden is capable to score well around 16 points per game on a high 60% efficiency from field. That's pretty good. He attracts attention in there, forces double teams because he can find his way with easy.
So, he can score on a high rate in bunches and he opens the game for his teams because they need to stop him from getting looks in the paint.
4.No Chemistry Trouble Maker
Greg Oden is a humble guy, whose main mission is to prove why he's such a great center. He's not a trouble maker, is known for taking blame for his team mates and is focused towards winning. Even in his top performance as a pro, he was more talking about the team, rather than himself. He asks for his touches which is naturally for a big man. However, his main production is mainly on the defensive end and on the glass where he makes most of his production.
5.Productive Player
Greg Oden is a guy who brings a lot of things on the court, who in his brief sophomore season had the highest top 10 PER minute production which made him the most productive center in the league for a while.
In most part of it, it's without the ball which is a positive thing regardless where he goes. He's a top notch defender as i already said above, who uses his physical tools, skills and instincts to succeed. He's a real presence on the defensive side when he's healthy, as he blocks many of them but alerts so many more. He excels in 1 on 1 defense where he usually gets the better of his opponent and as a result because of him, Portland got real better during the briefly Oden 2009-10 era.
He possessed phenomenal abilities to rebound as he gets a bunch of them in short time, thanks to his ability to translate his advantages and excel as well. He had a bunch of beyond high numbers that show excellence. He can score inside well, thanks to his nice post up game and do that on a fantastic efficiency. Overall, he did have a good sophomore season minus the time he was active.
11.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks on more than 60% from field in just 24 minutes of action. Fine. How about in at least 28 minutes of action? 12.6 points, 12.1 boards and 2.1 denied attempts. How about in his finest performances? He poured in 14.5 points, grabbed 14.0 missed shots and swated 3.3 shots which are a prove of his All-Star talent and a good reason why he will be a consistent superstar player if he can keep himself healthy.
He brings it on both ends, and he's a dominant presence. Those numbers are insane and not many people know that. Well, it's about time! Note. His PER stats are off the chart as well.
6.Franchise Player
Greg Oden is a franchise center, who's a remarkable center, phenomenal athlete who's got amazing physical advantages, size, skills and talent to succeed big time. There are a lot of good factors for that, as i showed in the parts above. He's compared to such all time great big men like Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond and Patrick Ewing who made their mark overall and mostly on defense.
It was because of his overall capability to change the course of a single basketball game with his interior defensive skills that turn him into a No.1 pick. Believe it or not, he's a franchise worthy player who was often called by the Blazers as even the Most Valuable Player for his dominance in big minutes as some stats show it. So, even if he isn't part of the Portland, there are still plenty of teams in which he'll dominate and make them contenders/playoff ready teams.
By Darko Mihajlovski
