Greg Oden vs Kevin Durant article from 2007 “Basements & Ceilings”

 I can recall reading this article when it originally came out and I always remember the Mutombo and Lewis downsides.

 I can recall reading this article when it originally came out and I always remember the Mutombo and Lewis downsides.

 What you are doing here is very unfair….Greg Oden has failed due to several devastating injuries…NOT due to poor play !!! Oden the very few times that he did play early in his career was as advertised…10 to 12 points…10 to 12 rebounds…and 2 blocks a game and a rim protector…DON’T CRITICIZE THE GUY BECAUSE HIS BODY DID NOT HOLD UP…SHAME ON YOU FOR CITING THIS STUPID ARTICLE..

If you want to reference true BUSTS then mention Benoit Benjamin or Michael Olawakandi…they failed not due to INJURIES but because they SUCKED…

Do you have any idea the mental and physical pain this young man has had to endure ?? The fact that he has fought and i mean fought his way back to the NBA is a great testament to his will and character…

Greg Oden had the great unfortune of not BEING HEALTHY….nobody should be ridiculed for that !!!!!

 What you are doing here is very unfair….Greg Oden has failed due to several devastating injuries…NOT due to poor play !!! Oden the very few times that he did play early in his career was as advertised…10 to 12 points…10 to 12 rebounds…and 2 blocks a game and a rim protector…DON’T CRITICIZE THE GUY BECAUSE HIS BODY DID NOT HOLD UP…SHAME ON YOU FOR CITING THIS STUPID ARTICLE..

If you want to reference true BUSTS then mention Benoit Benjamin or Michael Olawakandi…they failed not due to INJURIES but because they SUCKED…

Do you have any idea the mental and physical pain this young man has had to endure ?? The fact that he has fought and i mean fought his way back to the NBA is a great testament to his will and character…

Greg Oden had the great unfortune of not BEING HEALTHY….nobody should be ridiculed for that !!!!!

Yeah, but is 12, 12, and 2 better than even Kevin Durant’s BASELINE? 

I can’t really remember the upside projections for him.  Was it Patrick Ewing?  The next Ewing would have been worth the top pick, but a 12, 12, and 2 guy would perhaps not have been, even if he had been healthy.

Yeah, but is 12, 12, and 2 better than even Kevin Durant’s BASELINE? 

I can’t really remember the upside projections for him.  Was it Patrick Ewing?  The next Ewing would have been worth the top pick, but a 12, 12, and 2 guy would perhaps not have been, even if he had been healthy.

 He wasn’t wrong about either. I think Oden maybe probably wouldn’t have been that good but I still think he would’ve been a great rebounder and a defensive anchor. Maybe he would’ve been more like a Larry Sanders, DeAndre Jordan type of player. I always thought that Kevin Durant the Dirk Nowitzki/T-Mac comparisons were spot on. He has the body of Dirk with the perimeter game of T-Mac. 

 He wasn’t wrong about either. I think Oden maybe probably wouldn’t have been that good but I still think he would’ve been a great rebounder and a defensive anchor. Maybe he would’ve been more like a Larry Sanders, DeAndre Jordan type of player. I always thought that Kevin Durant the Dirk Nowitzki/T-Mac comparisons were spot on. He has the body of Dirk with the perimeter game of T-Mac. 

youtube the games oden played in the nba he wasn’t a slouch at all.

youtube the games oden played in the nba he wasn’t a slouch at all.

Article is interesting but not wrong at all. It clearly states multiple times, "barring injuries" these are the floors of these players. I would like to also point out, that despite Durant being the MVP this season and being the second best player in the NBA, he has only made 1 finals appearance and lost decisively despite having home court advantage. So given the projections and the fact that the article was done in February before NCAA tournament time makes it even more impressive. 

Article is interesting but not wrong at all. It clearly states multiple times, "barring injuries" these are the floors of these players. I would like to also point out, that despite Durant being the MVP this season and being the second best player in the NBA, he has only made 1 finals appearance and lost decisively despite having home court advantage. So given the projections and the fact that the article was done in February before NCAA tournament time makes it even more impressive. 

I can’t believe this guy compared the total # of championships based on what players their ceiling was projected to be. That’s the least relevant thing you could possibly talk about.

I can’t believe this guy compared the total # of championships based on what players their ceiling was projected to be. That’s the least relevant thing you could possibly talk about.

 I always thought that Oden’s greatest value would have been as a dominant defender and his offensive game would have been a bonus. That’s not to say he’d have just been a defensive specialist like say Ben Wallace, he’d have been a walking double double, I just didn’t see him as a Tim Duncan, KG type scorer but maybe a 15ppg career type guy who had a few good seasons reaching a peak near to 20ppg.

Greg’s injury issues have been one of the saddest things in recent NBA times and if there were warning signs there then Portland’s medical staff should have picked them up.

 I always thought that Oden’s greatest value would have been as a dominant defender and his offensive game would have been a bonus. That’s not to say he’d have just been a defensive specialist like say Ben Wallace, he’d have been a walking double double, I just didn’t see him as a Tim Duncan, KG type scorer but maybe a 15ppg career type guy who had a few good seasons reaching a peak near to 20ppg.

Greg’s injury issues have been one of the saddest things in recent NBA times and if there were warning signs there then Portland’s medical staff should have picked them up.