the portland trailblazers
- Thread starter phil
- Start date
Bulkier Oden puts in the work
On the NBA
By kerry eggers
The Portland Tribune, Dec 18, 2007 (10 Reader comments)
This and that about the NBA’s hottest team this side of Boston:
• Remember Greg Oden? The guy’s not just sitting around during his redshirt season. More than three months out from his Sept. 13 microfracture knee surgery, the 7-foot center says his weight is up to 290 – about 40 pounds more than he carried when he arrived in Portland last summer.
But don’t despair. It’s all good, says Bobby Medina, the Trail Blazers’ savvy strength and conditioning coach, who has overseen Oden’s rehabilitation work. Medina, in his 11th year in Portland after five years with Seattle, says Oden reminds him of a young Shawn Kemp or Jermaine O’Neal in terms of work ethic.
“Greg’s a monster in the weight room,” Medina says. “I’m not at all worried about his (weight). Once he gets into his cardio, running up and down, he’ll be fine – he’s an active guy.
“Right now is a tough time, because all he can do is ride a bike and do a little work in the water. But when he gets to the point where he can run, he’ll lose some weight and keep all the muscle and his tone.
“We don’t want him to be a football player. We want him to keep his athleticism, but he needs to be strong at that position.”
Oden gets that sheepish grin when asked how he’s doing.
“Right now, I’m just enjoying being big,” he says. (Don’t you just love this guy?)
“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been,” he adds. “I hope I can stay that way, but that I’ll be able to get my weight down after I’m able to start running again. Jay (Jensen, the Blazer trainer) says I can do that at four months, so I’m a few weeks away.”
• It’s not surprising that the Utah Jazz – twice victims of the Blazers over a four-day span – came away impressed with the league’s youngest team.
The first thing veteran Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson mentioned was “good young talent.” The second thing was “character.”
“They’ve weeded out the riffraff that was holding them back before,” Johnson says. “When you have good people who are good players, who really want to do what it takes to win, your chance for success is pretty good.”
• Utah point guard Deron Williams mentions the unselfishness of Brandon Roy: “He knows how and when to pass the ball. He does it all for that team. He’s their go-to guy, a very explosive scorer, and he brings a lot of energy.”
• Does anything sound funny about Williams’ next statement?
“(The Blazers) are an up-and-coming team,” he says. “It’s going to be scary to see where they’re at in a couple of years, especially when they get Oden and D-Miles back.”
There’s a level of respect around the NBA for Darius Miles, at 26 still on the young side of a normal pro career. Still rehabbing from November 2006 microfracture surgery, the 6-9 small forward is unlikely to ever again be the player who poured in 47 points against Denver at the end of the 2004-05 season or collected 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots to kick off the Nate McMillan era at the start of 2005-06.
But will he ever contribute to the Blazers again? Miles – making $8.25 million this season to go with $9 million in each of the next two years – is working slowly back to game shape. It will be fascinating to see if he returns to the court in a Portland uniform.
• If healthy, Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are shoo-ins for the rookie-sophomore game at this year’s All-Star game. It’s hard to believe that Aldridge was passed over a year ago.
“I wanted to be in that game,” Aldridge admits. “I used it as motivation the rest of last season, to go out and get better and have the type of year that meant I should have been there.”
• Travis Outlaw isn’t usually available immediately for interviews after home games. He normally lifts weights for about a half-hour before showering.
“I’m playing a lot of power forward, and I need to get stronger,” says the 6-9 Outlaw, who weighs 210 sopping wet. “I guess it’s a mind thing.”
Outlaw has scored 20 or more points in five of the last seven and six of the last 10 games after not hitting the mark once in the first 14 games of the season.
Let teammate Joel Przybilla make the first nomination: “Travis is definitely up there among candidates for sixth man of the year. My first year in Portland was his second year here. To see him grow and mature since then – he’s become a heck of a player in this league.”
• Last season, Przybilla was among the worst free-throw shooters in the NBA, making 10 of 27 attempts (.370). This season, he is a new man at the line, shooting .683 on 28 of 41.
That has changed the way the Blazers play when he’s on the floor. Last season, the 7-1 center shied away from even touching the ball for fear of being fouled. This season, teammates can look for him more on rolls after picks. More often than not, he’ll either finish with a dunk or get fouled – the latter, no longer a bad thing.
Przybilla – who leads Portland with 36 blocked shots – also must be among the league leaders in taking charges. He had three in the first half of Friday’s win over Utah.
“Coach (Bill) Bayno has been working with me on it,” Przybilla says. “He always says if I can’t block a shot, get in a position where I can take a charge.”
[email protected]
good shit bout travis outlaw STILL puttin in work after games... i had no idea but daaamn that sure is paying off for him!! outlaw is having a great year so far!
On the NBA
By kerry eggers
The Portland Tribune, Dec 18, 2007 (10 Reader comments)
This and that about the NBA’s hottest team this side of Boston:
• Remember Greg Oden? The guy’s not just sitting around during his redshirt season. More than three months out from his Sept. 13 microfracture knee surgery, the 7-foot center says his weight is up to 290 – about 40 pounds more than he carried when he arrived in Portland last summer.
But don’t despair. It’s all good, says Bobby Medina, the Trail Blazers’ savvy strength and conditioning coach, who has overseen Oden’s rehabilitation work. Medina, in his 11th year in Portland after five years with Seattle, says Oden reminds him of a young Shawn Kemp or Jermaine O’Neal in terms of work ethic.
“Greg’s a monster in the weight room,” Medina says. “I’m not at all worried about his (weight). Once he gets into his cardio, running up and down, he’ll be fine – he’s an active guy.
“Right now is a tough time, because all he can do is ride a bike and do a little work in the water. But when he gets to the point where he can run, he’ll lose some weight and keep all the muscle and his tone.
“We don’t want him to be a football player. We want him to keep his athleticism, but he needs to be strong at that position.”
Oden gets that sheepish grin when asked how he’s doing.
“Right now, I’m just enjoying being big,” he says. (Don’t you just love this guy?)
“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been,” he adds. “I hope I can stay that way, but that I’ll be able to get my weight down after I’m able to start running again. Jay (Jensen, the Blazer trainer) says I can do that at four months, so I’m a few weeks away.”
• It’s not surprising that the Utah Jazz – twice victims of the Blazers over a four-day span – came away impressed with the league’s youngest team.
The first thing veteran Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson mentioned was “good young talent.” The second thing was “character.”
“They’ve weeded out the riffraff that was holding them back before,” Johnson says. “When you have good people who are good players, who really want to do what it takes to win, your chance for success is pretty good.”
• Utah point guard Deron Williams mentions the unselfishness of Brandon Roy: “He knows how and when to pass the ball. He does it all for that team. He’s their go-to guy, a very explosive scorer, and he brings a lot of energy.”
• Does anything sound funny about Williams’ next statement?
“(The Blazers) are an up-and-coming team,” he says. “It’s going to be scary to see where they’re at in a couple of years, especially when they get Oden and D-Miles back.”
There’s a level of respect around the NBA for Darius Miles, at 26 still on the young side of a normal pro career. Still rehabbing from November 2006 microfracture surgery, the 6-9 small forward is unlikely to ever again be the player who poured in 47 points against Denver at the end of the 2004-05 season or collected 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots to kick off the Nate McMillan era at the start of 2005-06.
But will he ever contribute to the Blazers again? Miles – making $8.25 million this season to go with $9 million in each of the next two years – is working slowly back to game shape. It will be fascinating to see if he returns to the court in a Portland uniform.
• If healthy, Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are shoo-ins for the rookie-sophomore game at this year’s All-Star game. It’s hard to believe that Aldridge was passed over a year ago.
“I wanted to be in that game,” Aldridge admits. “I used it as motivation the rest of last season, to go out and get better and have the type of year that meant I should have been there.”
• Travis Outlaw isn’t usually available immediately for interviews after home games. He normally lifts weights for about a half-hour before showering.
“I’m playing a lot of power forward, and I need to get stronger,” says the 6-9 Outlaw, who weighs 210 sopping wet. “I guess it’s a mind thing.”
Outlaw has scored 20 or more points in five of the last seven and six of the last 10 games after not hitting the mark once in the first 14 games of the season.
Let teammate Joel Przybilla make the first nomination: “Travis is definitely up there among candidates for sixth man of the year. My first year in Portland was his second year here. To see him grow and mature since then – he’s become a heck of a player in this league.”
• Last season, Przybilla was among the worst free-throw shooters in the NBA, making 10 of 27 attempts (.370). This season, he is a new man at the line, shooting .683 on 28 of 41.
That has changed the way the Blazers play when he’s on the floor. Last season, the 7-1 center shied away from even touching the ball for fear of being fouled. This season, teammates can look for him more on rolls after picks. More often than not, he’ll either finish with a dunk or get fouled – the latter, no longer a bad thing.
Przybilla – who leads Portland with 36 blocked shots – also must be among the league leaders in taking charges. He had three in the first half of Friday’s win over Utah.
“Coach (Bill) Bayno has been working with me on it,” Przybilla says. “He always says if I can’t block a shot, get in a position where I can take a charge.”
[email protected]
good shit bout travis outlaw STILL puttin in work after games... i had no idea but daaamn that sure is paying off for him!! outlaw is having a great year so far!
^^Prob. no more than he already is, which is little to no playing time. he gets in if the warriors are up huge or are down huge. id personally like to see more of im because he is tall and can get more rebounds and has played decent every time he's been in. prob wont know till next year what he can really do
