And I guess I might as well share mine—LEAVE HIM ALONE!
Seriously, I don’t understand the media. Greg Oden is a kid, a 20-year-old coming off a very serious operation on his knee, an injury which is hard to recover from, I might add.
Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Zach Randolph, Chris Webber—recognize any of these names? No, how about Amare Stoudemire? You know what these guys have in common they all had micro-fracture surgery, and basically none of them recovered AT ALL.
Think about this—Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was the point guard for the Orlando Magic team that went to the 1995 NBA Finals. Remember that team, with Shaq in his youth and Penny playing out of body the whole season, giving us glimpses of one hell of a bright future?
21 points, seven assists, five rebounds, a game—that was his line that season. Then in 1997, he had a serious knee injury—one very similar to Oden’s—and he was never the same.
His last season was with the Miami Heat in ’07-08. You know what his stats were that year? 3.8 points, 2.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game. Penny Hardaway is only 6’7” and 215 lbs. Greg Oden is seven feet tall and 285 lbs.—slightly bigger, wouldn’t you say?
Same situation with the rest of those guys. Did Mashburn ever take off? No. How about Webber? Not really, no. Recovering from micro-fracture surgery is not an easy thing. It takes time, effort, and unbelievable patience.
Now most will use Stoudemire as an example and say “He did it,” he was able to recover from the surgery, which is true—sort of.
Stoudemire had his surgery in October 2005. We just passed October 2008. That is three years! Anyone who actually watches basketball will tell you the following year he was not even close to the same player.
You could make the claim he STILL isn’t what people thought he would be, but he has definitely gotten some of his explosiveness back. Obviously, the medical world has made strides since the days of Penny, so one would hope Oden can recover just as quickly as Amare, if not quicker.
And the “experts” are saying he is going to do what again? NOTHING is more like it. Be realistic, with his frame and that injury I would say we have no right to judge him one way or the other for a minimum of two years.
Give him time to develop. First off, he needs to get in shape, basketball shape—something anyone who watched a Portland game recently could easily say he is definitely NOT in. Then he needs to develop his offensive skills, and hone a post move or two so he is at least somewhat threatening on the block.
Finally, perhaps a year or so from now when begins to get his legs and confidence back, he can use his size and explosiveness (relatively speaking, of course) to get his wonderful defensive timing down.
Then—and only then—will we be able to claim he is or isn’t anything.
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about 1 month ago
The key point is the one you touched on. This surgery is nothing at all like it was five years ago. His knee is 100% and even Oden said that it is now stronger than his non-injured knee. The knee won't be a factor. His conditioning is still very much a factor.
Here's the other thing. I agree that just about everyone has an opinion on Greg. But when a player is selected #1 overall, and signs a multi-million dollar contract, you're not going to let him just go hide under a rock. When he accepted that contract, he also accepted public scrutiny. That's just how it is.
I really do appreciate your defense of Greg, but it's not necessary. The guys a beast and he's only going to get better. Like it or not, he's now a very visible (and noticeable) public figure. That's just how it is.
about 1 month ago
You forgot about Kenyon Martin and I believe he had the microfracture surgery.
It's going to take Oden some time to get developed in the league especially since he missed his first season in the NBA. He has looked strong for the Blazers so far. Yet, he still has to work on his footwork because he got bailed out at least twice in the Golden State game when he traveled before he was fouled, yet the officials called a foul instead.
Oden will also have to work on not fouling as well. The good news for Oden is that there are very few true centers in today's NBA game.
The bad news for the Blazers though since Oden has been playing LaMarcus Aldridge has struggled mightily. The Blazers are 4-3 with Oden and 3-2 without Oden. So, the season for the Blazers will be up and down. The Blazers will be a .500 team if they can remain healthy.
from about 1 month ago
.500 team? Really?
How many teams could face 5 54 win teams in their first 6 trips out and be .500? I actually would wager there are a few...the ones that are playoff bound at minumum and probable championship contenders.
Now...how many teams that will be .500 for the season can do that?
none. zero. zip. nada.
Portland's bench could go .500 and that is without taking into account guys like Aldridge and Roy or the soon to be returning Webster.
Your analysis looked good early; Oden does have footwork and foul issues and has a ways to go. But calling Portland a .500 team...that is almost Dave of Blazers Edge-like in its pessimism. And at least 12 games off.
about 1 month ago
I meant to say Kenyon Martin has had microfrature surgeries on both knees.
The Blazers have beaten some good teams this year as in San Antonio, Houston, and Orlando. They've lost to Golden State, New Orleans, and Utah. That's why I believe they'll be hovering around .500
Also Drew what do you think of Aldridge struggles?
about 1 month ago
First of all, I totally agree...Oden DID have microfracture surgery and that IS a difficult thing to recover from. So, give the guy a break. Completely. As in, get rid of him.
Maybe that is a bit harsh, but come on. The kid has played a TOTAL of 124 minutes in the NBA and is supposed to be the savior of the Blazers. I don't really think that getting rid of him is the way to go, but you gotta start being nervous when a kid his age is already having injury problems...especially the kind that few return from and even fewer return full from.
But for now, everyone needs to take a step back, stop making predictions based on the 6 (as far as I know the Blazers are actually 3-3 with him) games he played, and just realize that the Blazers might have gotten screwed with this one. He could have been great, but whether or not he will be is a bit shaky at present.
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