Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Although the Miami Heat dominated their opponents in almost every category last season, there is still one facet of their game of which could use a boost: rebounding. In the 2012-13 NBA season, the Heat were the very last in the league in rebounding.
With Miami recently waiving Mike Miller, they have a little more cap room to bring in a center who can help them on the boards. Coming in at 7-foot, 285 pounds out of the Ohio State University, Greg Oden has averaged 7.3 rebounds per game and nearly 10 points a game. There’s a lot of speculation surrounding Oden considering he has not played since the 2009-10 NBA season and has been plagued by injuries. However, this first overall pick showed some real promise both in college and the few games he played early on in his career.
In his final season with the Buckeyes, Oden averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. He also led the Buckeyes all the way to the 2007 NCAA Championship game, only to fall to the Florida Gators.
Oden has continued to improve his free-throw percentage averaging 66.6 percent from the line in his two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. This would create a huge advantage for the Heat considering defensive opponents would be weary to pull the “hack-a-Shaq” card on the tall center from Buffalo, N.Y. because of his ability to make free throws.
If the Heat are interested in bringing Oden to their roster, they better do so quickly. In the coming weeks he is scheduled to meet with the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, just to name a few. Where will he end up? Only time will tell.
