2010-11 NBA Predictions: Greg Oden and Nine Other Players with the Most to Prove
NBA fans have this funny thing about expectations meeting results. Unfortunately, for every bonus baby that turns into a perennial All-Star, there is a first round-first pick that turns out to have baby hands and is named Kwame Brown.
The NBA is full of those with diminished skills that have little to offer a team in real production...*cough* Shaq..Ahem. But these players may have something else to prove. Whether it be a question of health or that they are worth all the money and fan fare, here is my list of NBA players with the most to prove.
10: Amar'e Stoudemire
1 of 10
Amare Stoudemire has all the offensive tools to be an NBA legend. What has held him back is his lack of discipline on defense. The fact that he played on a roster filled with talent year in and year out eased some of the burden on him, defensively and otherwise. Now things are different.
The New York Knicks are nowhere near as talented as the Suns team that he rode to the Western Conference Championship last year. Stoudemire will have to play a new role he may not be accustomed to. The Knicks will call upon him to be the cornerstone of the organization, their “go-to” guy. No worries, he may only have to play that role just as long as the Knicks have to wait for a second superstar to show up in Manhattan. Melo?
9: Elton Brand
2 of 10
Do you remember when the 76ers were lauded with praise for stealing Elton Brand from the Clippers? Me neither because the subsequent time has been spent witnessing how awful it has all been. Many in Clipperland abhor Brand for what they consider treason. Now they might be thanking their Clipper god, who by the way hardly ever listens. Now they have a nice young NBAer in Blake Griffin and Philadelphia has some old guy who used to be an All-Star.
This year Elton Brand will have to make more of an effort to lead his young team to the playoffs. They have the talent to do so. It all rests in the capable but underachieving hands of Mr. Elton Brand.
8: Blake Griffin
3 of 10
The weight of an entire organization weighs heavily on a second year rookie. Much has been said in the way of Blake Griffin’s talent. We as observers are still yet to see how Griffin starts out as an NBA player.
He was drafted first overall in the 2009 draft. He immediately fell victim to the Clipper curse and missed the entire season to a stress fracture in his left knee. Going high in the draft is enough to add pressure. Sam Bowie lived with it his entire career, as he was picked ahead of Michael Jordan.
So it will be with Blake Griffin. Will he be more Dwight Howard and LeBron James, both chosen first. Or will he slump to the likes of Kwame Brown. This year will go largely to dictate that answer.
7: Andrew Bynum
4 of 10
Andrew Bynum has received everything he could want to nurture his development. He was placed on a fantastic team that did not demand to much from him too early in his career. He was given a specialty coach that also happened to be an NBA legend in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has even received a bit of a pass for his injuries that seem to be annual occurrences.
What will need to be answered this season and what will determine if he remains the Lakers center of the future is if he can remain healthy for an extended period of time. While the injuries have been largely the work of happenstance, his reaction to them are completely up to him. In the 2010 NBA Finals, Bynum showed heart and moxie by playing hurt. He now comes under fire, however as he chose, to belay his off-season surgery. This will cut into his season and delay his conditioning. If his decision leads to yet another injury, look for the Lakers to consider offers for the young center more seriously.
6: Yao Ming
5 of 10
Yao Ming was supposed to be the arrival of the Chinese player. He would have been the first of many Chinese international players to enrich the NBA landscape. What is now true is Yao is fighting to just stay relevant.
In a league that puts emphasis on the big man, Yao’s battles with injuries have diminished him to a player on the cusp of retirement. It was a real scenario when last year’s toe injury caused the All-Star to considered cutting his NBA career short. He is relatively healthy to start the 2010-2011 campaign. This year could determine if he is a “could have been” player or one that continues to make his mark in the Association.
5: Richard Jefferson
6 of 10
The Spurs sure could have used Richard Jefferson last year. The former Wildcat was pretty much non-existent for San Antonio. He has not been that ineffective since his rookie year in New Jersey. He now has a new deal with the Spurs for four years and $38 million.
Spurs fans are used to high paid veterans. They don’t mind them, just as long as they produce. Jefferson will not get a free pass this year, not when you have players like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan carrying their part of the load.
4: Gilbert Arenas
7 of 10
Gilbert Arenas is good, real good. He is just, um, off. You can make the case that he finally realizes this as he has a made a commitment to “seriousness” this year.
What Arenas does have in droves is the killer instinct that is shared by the elite players in the NBA. In the end, this may be his saving grace. The gun incident just may have sparked a realization in Gilbert Arenas. You cannot be considered one of the best NBA players if you are not actually playing the game due to suspension. He will be on David Stern’s hot seat for some time. Arenas will need to go a long way to prove he has taken his mentality for the game seriously.
3: Darko Milicic
8 of 10
Joe Dumars was lauded as a genius general manager. He put together a bunch of also-rans that eventually defeated the Lakers in the finals. Yet he will always have a little annoying freckle in his dossier, he drafted Darko Milicic . He not only drafted Darko Milicic but he drafted him ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade. I'm guessing those guys could have been somewhat useful in motor city.
Despite what should have been a flame out of a career, he has managed to get a four-year contract for $20 million from the Minnesota Timberwolves. I am guessing this is the going rate for convincing anyone to live in Minnesota during the winter months. Well, now it is time for him to prove something. If not for himself, or for the good people of Minnesota, then please, for me. Because I would like to know how someone who averages eight points and five boards at the center position gets $20 million. You know what? Don’t tell me. I don't think I want to know.
2: LeBron James
9 of 10
When you are at the top of your sport, you usually don’t have to prove a thing. The same goes for LeBron James, arguably the best player in the Association. That was until the marketing debacle that was “LeBron leaving Cleveland.” The departure was handled so poorly that King James now must win the rest of his career to get the bad taste out of sports fan’s mouths.
While there is no doubting his talents, he must prove that he can win a championship before he is hailed as the global icon he so desperately desires to be.
1: Greg Oden
10 of 10
Looking like you're 50 is no reason to be injured all the time. Oden is yet another sad victim of high expectations. With every year that Kevin Durant gets touted as the heir apparent, Portland fans grimace with the knowledge that they instead have consistently injured Greg Oden. Couple the injuries with the fact that Greg Oden has a much less well-rounded skill set than his college numbers may have let on. Oden is a dunk-er with a very inconsistent jump-shot. Playing against the bigger bodies of the NBA turns this fact into some very undesirable results.
Oden has shown flashes of serviceability. He scored 20 and grabbed 10 right before he was injured last season. He must stay healthy if the sanity of the Portland faithful is to be maintained.
