It's the guys who are playing in pick-up games who AREN'T good basketball players that make you nervous. There are guys out there who are not the most graceful of athletes. We grew up playing in the parks of N.E. Portland. I played high-school ball with Terrell Brandon, and whenever he would show up to the park, guys would naturally try to step there game up. Trying to prove that they could hang with him. The problem was not the real hoopers, but the scrubs out there hoping they could go home and tell their friends a story. Not that they would do something intentionally, but accidents happen. No joke, I remember summer of '89, Terry Porter shows up to our court ( Irving park). Everybody wanted to guard him or take him 1 on 1. Just to show everybody they had game. Guys were tripping over each other trying to get to him. The game was out of control. Nothing happened, but it was weird. ANd these guys were real good basketball players. You have to admit, that him playing pick-up game with some random guys doesn't sound good. My man better be careful!
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In Greg's recovery video blog he said he was past the point of even thinking about his knee. From experience I think he must be pretty well recovered to get to this point. I really don't see the big deal if he wants to play a pickup game. He can get hurt stepping off a curb. Take a kid like him who has played basketball all his life and try to keep him off the court when he is feeling fine... good luck. I can remember twisting my ankle... going to the Dr thinking it was broken... the being put on crutches and told no activity for a month, only to ditch the crutches and be back out there the next day. The drive was just that strong then. If anything... it shows Greg Oden has a fire that only basketball can quench... and that my friends... is a very good sign. I can't say the same for some of the other Yahoo's we've had in the past.
As far as the worrying about him getting injured... certainly understandable... but we can't control it... just let it go... it is wasted energy.
Those are the two key questions. Two sides of the same thing - 1) did the other team score and 2) did anyone score on him - with his defensive prowess, I'd hope he totally intimidated anyone who came near.
Gramps... [wishing I could've been there to watch ]
Well not saying that I care if G.O. plays in pickup games, but I am pretty sure it is against NBA contracts to go and play in pickup games anyways. I am pretty sure there are a bunch of things they make players avoid to reduce injuries and non regulated pickup games I believe are on the list. Plus it doesn't make sense to me that Oden would do this. I really need to hear more, or maybe see a pic to actually believe this.
Well not saying that I care if G.O. plays in pickup games, but I am pretty sure it is against NBA contracts to go and play in pickup games anyways. I am pretty sure there are a bunch of things they make players avoid to reduce injuries and non regulated pickup games I believe are on the list. Plus it doesn't make sense to me that Oden would do this. I really need to hear more, or maybe see a pic to actually believe this.
I doubt that. I believe NBA players are allowed to play pick-up bball games.
I barely got to sniff the ball in that game. Everyone was so jacked up that Greg was out there that they either wanted to show him they could play, or they would just pass him the ball. So most of the time I was just boxing out and setting screens. I got a couple of nice putbacks, but that was about it.
I definitely wasn't running point, so I didn't get to throw any lobs, but he wanted them. The funny thing was that nobody was throwing them high enough for him. Obviously, most people aren't used to playing with a 7' superstar big man.
It was funny to see how he effected the game though. The guys on both teams were trying to prove that they could score, so they were constantly jacking up threes. Guys who are usually pretty good were clanking off iron the whole game. A brave few tried to take it to the rim and you could tell that Greg could pretty much block anything around the hoop. He let a couple go, but at least two times he launched it back into the stratosphere.
The best parts were when Greg would get the rebound and then race coast to coast and throw it down. One time he pushed the ball and pretty much picked up his dribble from the three point line and within two steps he was at the rim jamming it. He also had a sick one handed putback dunk, which brought some oo's and aww's.
Trust me though, he wasn't even going at 1/2 speed. He wasn't trying especially hard on defense, he was just intimidating people down low, and occasionally he would block a shot. On offense he was passing more than anything in the first game. People weren't going at him or trying to guard him. I wasn't terribly worried about that. If he caught it in the post, his man would get the hell out of the way because I think he didn't want to get dunked on. In the second game he took over and I think he had like six dunks.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that he doesn't look like he's favoring that knee at all, and he is definitely looking like the Greg of old. It was very exciting. I wish I would have had a camera with me.
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Well not saying that I care if G.O. plays in pickup games, but I am pretty sure it is against NBA contracts to go and play in pickup games anyways. I am pretty sure there are a bunch of things they make players avoid to reduce injuries and non regulated pickup games I believe are on the list. Plus it doesn't make sense to me that Oden would do this. I really need to hear more, or maybe see a pic to actually believe this.
Since you only have 68 posts, you probably have no idea of my history on these boards. I used to cover the team until about two years ago. I started back at the tail end of the sheed era and I left before Roy's rookie season. I've posted countless articles and breaking news on this site, so there's really no reason for me to make this up. It was just a total coincidence that I was even there when Greg showed up.
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That is some pretty cool story you got there Nate, something you'll be able to tell your kids down the road dude.
Man, I am really looking forward to seeing him play in the NBA next year, take your camera with you next time Nate, or better yet, get a helmet cam. Name the video, playing ball with Greg Oden.
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