Brandon Jennings pulled off his first career triple-double last night, putting up 20 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. We are without question entering a PG-dominated era, after big guys like Shaq, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett dominated the face of the league the last decade. Now, it seems like the smaller guys are getting more acclaim, like Derrick Rose (who put up 31 last night), Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, CP3, Russell Westbrook, and Jennings. Jennings is proving to naysayers at the 2009 NBA Draft that he deserved to be a lottery pick, after many questioned his maturity after a stay in Italy. Do you think Memphis wants the Hasheem Thabeet pick back?
John Wall turned heads once again with his speed and scoring ability, putting up 28 points, in another losing effort. Right now, Wall is in a losing situation; the team that picked him didn't win the Draft Lottery for no reason. They were pretty bad last year, and are, much to no one's surprise, pretty bad this year. Wall isn't Superman, so his team will have to pick up the slack if they want to avoid the lottery again.
OJ Mayo, of the lowly Memphis Grizzlies, put up 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in a win vs. the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. I'm surprised ESPN didn't call this the "Lowly Bowl." Oh wait, if you're not Brett Favre, the Miami Heat, Tiger Woods, or the NFL, ESPN doesn't care.
Which brings me to my next rant. My NBA Recaps will be a "Heat-Free Zone, " besides this tangent. Unless something absolutely incredible happens, or they face the Celtics, they won't be mentioned here. Go to ESPN or ESPN.com if you want Heat news, because there's no lack of Heat news there. ESPN fails to realize that there are 29 other teams in the NBA, so that's what my recaps are for; to report, comment, and make light of the other players and teams in the NBA that are not named Lebron James or Miami Heat.
My "Bad Omen" of the week goes to Greg Oden. Oden is the first overall number one pick rookie since (gulp), prepare for this, Kwame Brown (breathe, breathe), to not to get a contract extension on the rookie contract. Is there a worse omen than that? Now, Oden is a bust due to injuries (yes, he's a bust. Let it go.) Kwame Brown was a bust because he had small hands and, quite frankly, he sucked. So Oden is in the Sam Bowie/Danny Manning/Pervis Ellison boat of "injuries hampered any potential they might of had." This will lead to mondless years of Oden over Kevin Durant articles. But the Oden pick, unlike the Sam Bowie pick in 1984 (over, um, Michael Jordan) is defensible form Portland's standpoint (the team that also selcted Bowie over Jordan.) Oden was almost EVERYBODY'S number 1 overall pick, and many projected great things for him. Bowie, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as vaunted as Oden when he went number 2 overall in 1984 (after Hakeen Olajuwon), over Michael Jordan. Regardless, Oden will forever be appearing on "Biggest Bust" lists and Kevin Durant will be racking up MVP awards and NBA Championships for years to come. It's a shame, but that's the NBA, "Where Multiple Knee Surgeries Happen!"
MVP of the Night: Brandon Jennings (20 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds.)
Thoughts? Anything I should have included? Let us know.
The Grizz aren't lowly, they finished last season 40-42, and they have great young talent in Mayo, Gay, Conley, and Gasol. A team on the rise dude.
ReplyDeleteBut more importantly...
It's so incredibly short sighted to say Greg Oden is a bust. Was He worthy of the #1 overall pick? No, but that doesn't mean he'll never be good. He's only 22 years old. He could play for 15 more years as the best center in the league. And yes he is capable of that. In the short amount of time he played last season (21 games) he was a top ten player in PER. (Player Efficiency Rating is the overall rating of a player's per-minute statistical production.)You know who accompanied him in that top-10? James, Wade, Durant, Bosh, Duncan, Howard, Paul, Nowitzki, and Gasol. Would you take any of those players on your team? Ya me too. He averaged 8.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 11 points in only 23 minutes a game. The dude has clearly shown he can ball.
And you can't really compare him to Bowie, Manning, or Ellison because they all had like 15 year careers that were plauged with injury. This guy has been in the league 3 years. And Kwame Brown never showed he could play. Oden has.
You're right if you say he's a bust in the sense he wasn't the best pick at that #1 spot. But even given the knowlege we have now look at the 2007 draft and tell me where you would take Oden.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_Draft
I'd still take him in the top 5 (Def behind Durant, Noah, Horford, and Gasol)But who else would you want in that draft class? Big baby? Thaddeus Young? Al Thornton? Rodney Stucky? Keep them, they'll all be role player their whole career. Give me the guy who has proven he has the skills to be a top 3 center in the league.
I hope you're calling him a bust based on draft position, because you're crazy to say that a 22 year old with those skills doesn't have the chance to be great.
And by the way I realize that the reality of the situation is that he's been injury prone, and there is a decent chance he never plays 82. But to call a player you know is good, a bust at 22 is irrational.
Lets reserve the "Bust" label for these guys. They were all drafted in the top 3 of drafts
ReplyDeletesince 2002, and have proven (on the court) that they weren't worth top 3 picks. Adam Morrison, Marvin Williams, Emeka Okefor, Ben Gordon, Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic, Mike Dunlevey.
Maybe Bargnani and Bogut if they don't step it up soon.
Thabeet you'll have to give a few years before passing judgement, they knew he was a project when they took him at 2.
And idk wtf happened to Jay Williams. He crashed a motorcycle, i'm not really sure how he was on the court, but he def fucked his career up by being insane, not neccesarily by being injury prone.
Maybe bust was hasty, but he's well on his way. His PER numbers are no doubt impressive, Shane, but he's also played 82 games in 3 seasons (and now counting.) Plus, all three of the times he's been injured in the NBA have been due to knee problems, and knee injuries generally have a high risk of coming back, especially for an NBA center. If he's only 22 and has had 2 major knee surgeries already, there's little hope of an NBA career beyond being a role player. Thus, the "bust" rating.
ReplyDelete