Greg Oden as Dwight Howard: Nate McMillan went there before.Will he go there again?
After spending the past three summers with Howard on Team USA, McMillan knows Dwight’s game intimately. But can Oden transform himself into that kind of player?
Last year when Orlando rolled into town, McMillan said he (and the organization) envisioned Oden being Dwight Howard-like once healthy and back on the court. The size. The body. It was easy at that time to see the comparison. But now I’m not so sure McMillan ventures that theory. Maybe he does.
I’m sure at least one writer will go there with the Magic rolling into the Rose Garden on Tuesday night.
So is it farfetched?
Let’s forget how Dwight can run the floor, while Oden is pulling the plow right now. He’s kind of a plodder. I’m starting to think that’s just Oden’s style. You know, kind of like how Sam Perkins – “Big Smooth” himself who played for the Mavericks, Lakers, Sonics and Pacers – always looked like he was half-asleep.
Instead, let’s take a look at Howard’s numbers from his first year in the league to see if Oden can get there…..
In 2004-05, Howard started all 82 games for Orlando. He finished the season averaging 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 32.6 minutes per game. Howard also finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting behind Charlotte’s Omeka Okafor and Chicago’s Ben Gordon.
So far this season, Oden has appeared in 16 games and is averaging 7.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and roughly 22 minutes per game. Where is he among the leagues top rookies? First? Second? Is he even the best rookie on the Blazers, let alone the league?
For a rookie season comparison, the numbers between Dwight and Greg aren’t that drastically different. Now whether Oden can follow in Howard’s impressive footsteps and accomplish similar feats that Dwight has achieved in his brief career remains to be seen.
pic via: orthopreneur
Crossing fingers, praying to God.
i’m sure many are….
Oden will get faster as the season goes on . At the NBA Pre-Draft Measurement’s he ran the 3/4 court Sprint in a fast 3.27.
thanks for the line todd….good call. sure the injury he suffered in the first game of the season against the lakers took its toll.
I remember the old (Nike?) commercial with Larry Brown and David Robinson, when Larry called out urgent instructions to the Admiral, like “running is when you move your legs fast!”
At what point does Nate require more “effort” from Oden in the transition game? For #52 to be “like” Sam Perkins should not be the goal…
man, you are dating yourself with that commerical….
nate said last night that greg is “coming along”….where they are trying to get him to go is a different story. i haven’t delved into the conversation with nate yet…..but i plan on it.
stay tuned….
Dude, just look at YouTube clips of Oden in college… they guy was freaking quick. But when you sit on your ass for a year and a half, and you’re 7’1, you’re going to lose that quickness, no matter what training regimen you’re on.
He’ll never be as athletic as Howard, Shaq or Olajuwan, but he’ll be way quicker than he is now, in a year or so.
I imagine your muscles have to be in pretty prime shape to move a 7’1, 300 lbs frame with the kind of speed you saw at Ohio State
I think the muscle Greg put on is getting a little overlooked. He’s too big. Like Nate originally wanted, Greg should have stayed lean, quicker and more agile instead of putting on 25+ lbs. of muscle.
…like he was in college. He was fairly quick and cover ground nicely on defense.
Hopefully he drops muscle/weight as the season plays on. I think that was Jay Jensen’s plan.
thanks for the line rajeefs and j.d…..
here’s the thing: howard bulked up some after his first season in the league. he added 20 plus pounds of muscle. i think he carries it well. as for greg….i think the extra bulk hampers him.
can’t blame him for hitting the weights. it’s paid-off in some ways (moving other guys around), but not in others (moving himself around).
as the season grows and the trips up and down the floor increase, i think a leaner oden could start to show once again. it all comes down to his conditioning….and right now he’s not where he needs to be.
don’t people take into consideration the fact that Oden is coming off of microfracture surgery? He just isn’t going to have that freakish athleticisim until next season. Look back to Amare, when he first came back after his surgery there were a ton of people questioning wether he would ever be that same player he was pre-surgery, how did that turn out?
Seriously, when we see Oden next year we will all wonder where this guy came from…..he’s going to be good….REAL good
no doubt joe….i feel you. this kid is going to be scary good.
[...] On Monday, I launched into a quick flashback about Greg Oden and Dwight Howard – the whole “Greg… Appreciate those who chimed in with some thoughts by the way…..really good stuff. [...]