The Seattle Blazer: Nuggets Are For Real, Oden Needs To Start

The Denver Nuggets are officially back in the Northwest division race.

They're more than in it. I think they could have a better shot to win it than the Blazers. The acquisition of Chauncey Billups was huge, and they have been rollin'.

The Blazers tough schedule continued in a loss to the Suns, their only loss of the week. An absolute massacre of the Chicago Bulls, and a generous road win over Sacramento on Friday were the highlights of the week.

However, I have one question for Nate McMillan—why isn't Greg Oden getting more than 20 minutes a night?

Mark my words, Oden will be a 15-10 guy every night when he begins to start regularly. 

In the Phoenix game, Oden only played for 14 minutes, 19 on Friday against Sacramento. He had a double-double off the bench in 17 minutes in the Chicago game last Wednesday too. 

I just don't see how you can justify starting Joel Przybilla over Oden. Sure, he has more experience in the league, but Greg Oden is the future in Portland, so why not give him the bulk of the time at center?

It could be that he's still a little bit hurt and working on rehab for his ankle, and maybe McMillan doesn't want people to know. Whatever the case is, Oden should be starting every game, end of story. 

Oden got his first start in the Rose Garden on Monday night's slim 91-90 victory. However, he still only played 19 minutes, had six boards and three points. Without a doubt, Oden was overshadowed by Przybilla's big night.

Moving on, Portland blew out the Heat last night, 106-68. This is the playing time that I want Oden to get every night. He picked up a double-double in 26 minutes. Still yet to lose at home, I love the way the Blazers are playing.

However, as I mentioned earlier, the Nuggets will present a new problem for Portland. Denver (10-5) actually has a one game lead over the Jazz and Blazers, who are both at 10-6. We could be seeing three teams coming out of the Northwest this year, which wasn't what I originally expected.

If the Nuggets do in fact make the playoffs, there's a good chance a team like the Mavericks or Spurs could get bumped out. As of now, Portland sits in sixth place in the West.

Now that Oden is starting to get into the NBA groove, and Brandon Roy is really tearing it up too, I'd like to think that the Blazers can retain their playoff spot throughout the season.