Portland Trail Blazers, Greg Oden, and the career that should have been
It was announced yesterday that Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers, had his third microfracture surgery in 4 years. That’s unbelievable! Three microfracture surgeries in 4 years, that has to be some kind of record (I’m about to get Ripley on line 1). At this point I question if there are any original parts in his knees. I image that he knees are full of Silly Putty and Fix-a-Flat. Also who are these doctors and what University of Phoenix campus did they go to? When you think about somebody being lousy at their job, you have to put these doctors in the conversation….unless Oden’s body is that bad. Then it’s just an unavoidable problem.
Occasionally there’s a glitch in The Matrix, and oddities come into existence. In basketball those oddities are represented by seven-foot giants that dominate the paint for 10+ years. However, at times it doesn’t pan out that way. There are scenarios where basketball giants pay for their glitch in the Matrix, with an injury riddled career. Some players like Bill Walton, are able to deal with those injuries and have great careers. On the other end you have Sam Bowie. Who was a highly touted big man yet was robbed of his career by injuries.
The question now is how will Greg Oden’s career will pan out?
In retrospect it’s easy to see the red flags in regard to Oden’s health. He did have one leg that was shorter than the other as a result of hip surgery in the sixth grade and he also had wrist surgery at the end of his high school season. However Oden was seen as a can’t miss guy, and for the Portland Trail Blazers he was going to be the final piece for a championship team. You have to remember that the Trail Blazers had LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy1. Both guys were NBA All-Stars. If Greg Oden ends up being serviceable and Roy stays healthy. The Blazers would have been perennial title contenders. However that’s not the way it went, and now it’s time to abort mission.
It could have been great, but now the experiment should be over in Portland. It’s not fair to the Trail Blazer’s fans anymore. The way the organization stuck by Greg Oden was admirable, and I think the fans supported that move at the time. However at this point both sides should move on and start a new legacy.
“You all should have had a nice career but it didn’t work. So Greg, you to try to revive your career somewhere else, and Portland scourer the draft for another can’t miss guy.”
1. Brandon Roy retired prior to the 2011 – 2012 season because of knee problems.
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