We all know that the giant that was hyped almost as much as Lebron coming out of high school was supposed to instill fear in the eyes of any opponent that dared to step foot in or near the Trailblazers key.
Then came his year long injury.
For the most part we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Some of us voted from him to be the rookie of the year last year. Yet can he be in the same sentence as a Derrick Rose or even Brook Lopez? And he had more injuries his second year, really did not have the time to get in his time to improve.
We hear about his melancholic nature? In this sports world, we think, SACK. UP. and be a MAN!
Why might any of this be fair?
The man is 21 years young. Played college ball for one year. Has the pressure to be the next David Robinson and Hakeem the Dream. Remember.
This offseason he had a chance to practice and attain some post moves. He is very much so a work in progress. But do not scratch him off completely. Even his teammate Travis Outlaw took a few years to shine. And at the least Oden can be a defensive force that will pull down rebounds as well as D. Howard.
This year is his year. Yao Ming is gone. Shaq left the west. Duncan has one more year on his legs. Dwight's lack of post moves hurt his finals debut.
He has a psychologist helping him cope with the negative outlook. People are built differently and not everyone can use the media like Kobe to become one of the greatest. Oden just needs someone on his back telling him that he has his whole future.
If you have seen his flashes of greatness you know that he can be a force and has just stumbled a bit of out the gates, but because of his age his still has time to grow and develop into a dominant center.
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