Archive for October, 2009

What do to with Travis Outlaw? Most people have decided that Outlaw — a special kind of specialist — is not a starting-caliber player for the Blazers at the SF spot, where they need defense, shooting and off-the-ball play. He’s gotten votes for the Sixth Man of the Year award in the past, and rightfully so as Outlaw can make shots that even other professional players wouldn’t hit rim on. The moves are limited, but the one or two dribble pull-up jumper is one of few moves in the league that can accurately be described as unstoppable. He’s also got [...]

If you want your daily Greg Oden fix just fast forward to the 1:12 mark. The block is just the cherry on top; watch how Oden shuffles his feet as he stays in front of the driving Kaman.

So, these Andre Miller and Greg Oden fellas are looking pret-ty good, maybe they should start. It’s been said 5,375 times already, even if the national media hasn’t caught on yet (cough…Tim Legler), but Oden just looks like a completely different player with how quickly and confidently he’s moving on the court and making moves with the ball. There’s going to be a lot — A LOT — of people around the country slapping their foreheads this fall and then trying to pretend they were right all along about Greg Oden. Maybe a good nickname for him will be “The [...]

Just fast forward to the 2:03 mark, when Greg Oden faces up just below the left elbow and takes a quick, confident jumper that drops softly through the net. I’ve watched it about 20 times at this point and my thoughts are, well, his shot actually looks pretty decent. Much better arc than he had last season (he did hit one, just one, jumper last season), and none of that wonky, behind the head release you often see from centers. Like his hook shots, Oden’s jumper still starts a little too low for my taste, but he set his feet [...]

Here’s the full list of Atlantic Division Previews. Boston Celtics CelticsBlog | LOY’s Place | Celtics17 | Red’s Army | Hoops Addict | Celtics Central | Celtics Hub | Gino’s Jungle New Jersey Nets Slippery When Nets | Barkley’s Mouth New York Knicks Posting and Toasting | Bandwagon Knick Philadelphia 76ers Liberty Ballers Toronto Raptors RaptorsHQ.com | Hoops Addict Bonus Links See full schedule here | Also see SBNation preview storystream

First off, reading material from the Fan Fest: Ben over at BE drops a monster recap. Sheed from Bust a Bucket with his thoughts. Joe Freeman of the Oregonian with this article on it and observations afterwards. I’m not going to lie, even if I wasn’t there last night, it’s getting more difficult to not get swept up into the hype associated with this season. I think Blazermania might be stronger than the swine flu right now. We’re talking about 16,000+ for a scrimmage!! Color me impressed Rip City. Although is it bad that the cynic in me is wondering [...]