Don't Panic In Portland

The much anticipated debut of Greg Oden in a Blazers uniform didn't go so well, and Portland got blown out by a good Lakers team by 20 points.

It's one game though. The negatives can easily be pointed out from this game—Oden didn't score, got four rebounds, got into early foul trouble, and no one on the whole team could make a field goal to save their lives. 

But let's not forget that there were some positives as well. Rudy Fernandez was great in his Blazers debut, and he could very well be the best rookie on this roster. Travis Outlaw had 18 points, and it seems like he's getting close to being as good as he was expected to be when the Blazers took him in the first round straight from high school.

The Lakers had a field day, and they're looking pretty darn good two games in. Playing at home against the Clippers, the Lakers won by 30, so it could be that they're really good, with a combination of the Blazers having a bad shooting night.

The harsh truth about Oden is that there is a pretty good chance he'll be injured a lot throughout his career. He'll always be in foul trouble too, and we saw that on Tuesday. Oden picked up two fouls in just 13 minutes of play.

People are throwing around the name Ralph Sampson. This is premature. Oden is one of the best centers in college basketball history, and you don't see players like him come to the L all that often.

Patience will be the key. Oden is still a young man, and he has a long career ahead of him. (I know he looks like he's 45, but he's not.) Hopefully, these kind of injuries don't plague him.

Another important thing to remember is that the Blazers won 41 games without Oden last year. I highly doubt his addition will make Portland worse. The team is jam-packed with young talent, and once Oden gets back on the court, he's only going to make them better.