Andrew Bynum vs. Greg Oden, Round 1
Greg Oden (photo. Mannion)If you’ve already gone and bought into the hype machine, tonight’s head-to-head between Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden was Round 1 of Hakeem Olajuwon vs. David Robinson 2K10.
Unfortunately it was far from epic, especially for Oden. He bricked a couple of point-blank hook shots in the first half and generally handled the ball with all the grace and fluidity of Kwame Brown, if Kwame was trying to play in oven mitts. As Charles Barkley deadpanned during the halftime show, “He got a loooong way to go.” Two early fouls put Oden on the bench in the first quarter, and on top of that he tweaked his ankle and didn’t return in the second half. Oden finished the game scoreless with five rebounds and blocked one shot in about 12 minutes. Play-by-play man Kevin Harlan often talked about how Oden’s ability to draw double-teams will make the Blazers’ offense better, but at this rate, I don’t see Nate McMillan making a big point to feed the ball in to him.
Bynum wasn’t setting the world on fire, either. While he didn’t look nearly as stiff or awkward as his 7-foot counterpart, Bynum missed some easy shots and wasn’t much of a presence on either end for most of the game, looking like a rookie compared to teammate Pau Gasol, the other half of L.A.’s twin-tower tandem. Bynum finished with eight points, three boards and three blocks, most notably catching an alley-oop from Jordan Farmar in the fourth quarter and spiking the ball into the crowd. Granted, the Blazers didn’t make the best show of an opponent, but Bynum might not even have to be dominant for the Lakers to cop a championship next June.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:16 am
JDig89 says:
Dime lets hear about why Batum didn’t get in til 4th when he was supposed to start, why Bayless didn’t play til 4th, how bad the Oden-Bynum match up i was excited about was. And how happy did Trav Outlaw look walking off? He was pretending to be upset he lost, but you know he’s gotta feel good shooting over 50% and leading the team in scoring, he’s one of a few Blazers who actually earned their burn tonight. Maybe if he keeps it up he’ll keep getting those shots he was talking about all summer.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Jay says:
Debut for Oden 2 years in the making and that’s how it starts off. I’ve never seen much in the horizon for him besides maybe just an above average center throughout his career.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:39 am
specialguydurrrrr! says:
Oden will be better than average. I think the combination of nerves and Andrew Bynum jumping on his back led to this injury. I don’t think it was just a freak injury. It’s not like he just came down wrong, he was pulled down. Greg needs to spend more time conditioning his leg muscles and I think the team has held him back from doing that too much. As a Blazer fan though I gotta say this game sucked. Basically it was a worst case scenario. BRoy and LA didn’t show up in the first half. Oden going down. The only things I see as positive were Rudy and the unwillingness to give up even though, and god I hate to say this, the blazers were outmatched and outplayed in every aspect of the game. The season is long. This is just one game.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Yuji says:
Man, oden is starting to remind me of sam bowie. Well, that’s what you get for looking like you’re fifty years old. Your body starts to believe that it is, too.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:46 am
boris says:
Yeah, and Kobe and Yao went scoreless in their debuts, complete busts.
Austin – you’ve gotta admit that Oden showed a) great size and rebounding and b) an ability to catch the ball that Kwame could only dream of. Yeah, he’s way out of shape, and was nervous, and has no offense to speak of yet. But it’s his first real game, back from a year off, and the Lakers weren’t letting Bynum defend him one-on-one in the post. That says a lot to me as a Lakers fan.
That said, what we saw tonight was the huge difference between a team that has gone to the finals and a team with the potential to in the future. I actually think it was good for the Blazers to come out and get their asses handed to them by the West champs. Welcome to your conference, kids.
Rudy could have my children.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:53 am
JH says:
Hey nice article on Greg Oden. I am just browsing through people’s blog on Greg Oden as I wrote something about him and my prediction on his NBA career.
See if you agree with me, I made a pretty bold statement.
http://jib-sports-culture.blogspot.com/
October 29th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Timmy D says:
I think Oden will be a solid center but not the legend like people made him out to be and I dont think this b/c of this one game but b/c he has been injury prone his whole life and i think will continue to be. I also think the role that Mike Conley played in Oden’s amazing success in high school and college is very underated. I think Conley made Oden look way better, more than the opposite in which most people think Oden made Conley
October 29th, 2008 at 7:20 am
Kudabeen says:
Charles also Called Yao a bust in his first few games, then an All-Star game later had to kiss an ass…
Oden is not a skill player at this point. Bynum developed skills, but clearly he is not used to executing them all against live contact just yet.
I was disappointed in Odens threshold for pain. He let discomfort dictate his aggressiveness. At 19 that is crazy. I also have never weighed 285 at 7 feet and had a sprained ankle…I’m guess it is harder to move…He is 19 though…right? didn’t look like it…
Roy didn’t really lead the way either. Rudy looked like the most willing player out there and why not give Bayless more tick while your team is struggling to score. Let him get a rhythm…
October 29th, 2008 at 7:28 am
TJ says:
You have to try to put yourself in the Blazers’ shoes. They have a young franchise center with a history of injuries, why would they put him back into a game that is already out of control when he has a tweaked ankle.
I’m sure he could have and would have played int he second half if this was a very important game.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:21 am
that dude says:
He did look bad but the more i think about it i remember Yao stinking it up kobe stinking it up steve francis getting broke off in his first couple of games, let’s see how he adjust to the regular season speed.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:35 am
dapro says:
Oden should transition into the season and find a rhythm around December (if healthy)
I think he should lose a few pounds because he was laboring out there. His body may be too young for the extra weight he’s carrying. Normally he can keep up with athletic bigs but Gasol put him in the hamster wheel last night.
Overall, aside from the injury he did ok. He just has to get used to the NBA grind and game speed
October 29th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Notorious says:
Unbreakable-NO, Mr Glass-Yes
Greg Oden is a walking injury, what a waste of a draft pick, Durant was the sure fire guy so much for Portland being a team on the rise. Paper Champions and Video Game glory, but NBA Titles are nowhere in sight.
October 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Bruce says:
Kobe does not care anymore about total points scores, just about the W now.
October 29th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Kevin K says:
We are talking about a 7 footer that just came off a serious microfracture surgery in his first actual game. give him a break. You also forgot to mention the crazy swat on Bynum’s shot…