# Greg Oden - some things to think about



## Amandalyn (Aug 3, 2008)

Introduction:

Has this question been answered? Not even sure how is this significant but I'm just curious.

What really caused Greg Oden's knee problem? I've read Oden denied the rumors that Dance Dance Revolution is responsible. By the way how stupid is whoever said it's DDR? I know ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages play DDR sunrise to sunset every single day. they all have fun & got tired but not damage their knee/s. I mean, if all it takes to break Oden's knee is a video game, how is he even a basketball player? In short, it's something else.

During the heat of the "Honk once, Honk twice" campaign, I already had a feeling that there's no way the choice was done close to draft night. It was more close to when the pingpong ball miracle occurred. Why? Because Oden was examined by Blazers team doctors & OKC boy wasn't. Durant's workout was excellent while Oden's was just good. It didn't matter. 

Before the 07 lottery, Aldridge is our future center, agree? If KP truthfully considered number 35 against number 52, he would have drafted 35 because we didn't know that an Outlaw will emerge, giving the team good young core of SG, SF, C in Roy, Durant, & Aldridge, respectively. 

Reports were that 2 valued blazers disagree with each other's choice of whom to draft when management let their voice be heard. likely Roy for Oden & Randolph wants Durant....ooops! Aldridge I mean. Texas connection?

The Oden-Durant debate got hot nationally not only because Durant is really good but also because there were concerns about Oden's health/leg/knee or something even before the findings that Oden needed MFS. Yet Oden was cleared by team doctors as number-one-draftable. Did they (or KP) see anything or not see anything? who knows?

5-Star General Pritchard mentioned before the draft he isn't choosing the Rookie of the Year that season, claiming success isn't measured that early, or something along those lines.

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Speculation: 

In contrast to what was told the public, team doctors & KP knew Oden's knee is questionable but does/may not require surgery, which is why he was able to play Summer League. KP drafted Oden anyway! You say that's a GIANT gamble, especially with the Sam Bowie thing, to knowingly draft a player with less than 100% health. Well, KP is a gambler. Listen to this audio (just imagine) "I am not afraid to take risks"...now you say "why gamble"? KD is a sureball. Apparently, KP believes with Oden that the juice is worth the squeeze. I mean he sees Oden is that player that will be a Shaq/Duncan hybrid. he believes in the guy so much that as risky as it is, he chose him still. you say, "come on now, KP is courageous but he can't draft Oden knowingly unhealthy. who in his right mind would do that?" Well, it's for you to judge about KP's mental state but after Oden's surgery, Oden said "sorry sorry sorry... boss." KP told the press "When I saw him right after the surgery, he apologized multiple times & that gesture reassured us that Greg WAS our man, & he is still our man." To me, even if Oden said 20 less sorrys, KP would still say the same thing because Oden was indeed his man. I mean, while Oden is injured, here is KP saying Oden will be a Blazer for some 15 years. That's a HUGE statement to make.

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Optimism:

Many have heard Brandon's recent interview. The team have not been in the playoffs for some while. Roy speaking of this team as "we're no longer coming, we're here now". Would he say that if he knows Oden's status is as bad as Canzano's doubts? 

Just this week, Joel Pryzbilla was on The Game 95.5 FM talking about Greg enthusiastically. I heard him guarantee Oden will be back strong. "There's not a lot of people there to stop this kid...sky is the limit for him". Will he say that if what he's seeing in practice/training is otherwise?

While some of our beloved local radio hosts run out of topics to talk about and come up with "Greg Oden overhyped" & "Greg Oden health %age" crap, here we have the mastermind Pritchard saying "Everything points he will be ready September" & teammates Roy & Joel excited.

Coach McMillan refused talks of extension this summer stating he wants to earn it. He wouldn't take the financial gamble if he saw Oden crawling, unable to run, can't jump...pretty much hopeless. Instead he saw himself run his stamina out while Oden kept jugging on Hawaii's mountains.

If I knew my knee hurts & it's worth millions, I wouldn't expose it in a 24-Hour fitness exhibition. You would do the same right? But my knee is OK so I'll obey my itch to play. Greg is not stupid. Just being stupid as most of us sometimes. That's not the point. The fact that he's got the feeling he can is. I mean, it's his own body, he gotta know. So why he's saying he won't be 100% by tipoff? That would be the most ill-advised thing to come out of Greg's mouth. He will only skyrocket the pressure for himself by making statements such as "I absolutely guarantee certainly that i will be 110% for sure definitely..."

Conclusion:

So there goes my story. I did not know who Brandon Roy & Lamarcus Aldridge were before last Summer. Yes I missed Roy's ROY season. I used to only watch the NBA during the Finals. Lebron James’ historic performance against Detroit on last year’s ECF got me interested to the NBA again. Portland winning the lottery got me hooked! Aldridge’s play & Roy’s All-Star season made the time I spent watching the NBA worth it. Rudy, Bayless, Oden this season excites me. 

“If you’re important, people will wait”

Was there even a Dilemma? Honk Once? Honk Twice? Honk Once!

PS. Oden Starts 3 on 3 this week. Rudy in the Olympics later this week. Should be fun


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## Nate4Prez (Jun 3, 2007)

Welcome To The Bored (Board)! It's pretty slow around here, that's way the "TOP TRIOS" and "KOBE A BLAZER" threads got so long, so we everything gets over examined right now. Nice first post, and welcome back into the NBA!


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## Miksaid (Mar 21, 2005)

Greg Oden's injury is a conspiracy. It was manufactured by KP and Greg Oden himself so that his Beyond the Glory episode (2 hours special) had some type of conflict that Greg overcame before winning 15 championships as a Portland Trail Blazer and becoming the greatest basketball player that ever walked the Earth.


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## Nate4Prez (Jun 3, 2007)

Miksaid said:


> Greg Oden's injury is a conspiracy. It was manufactured by KP and Greg Oden himself so that his Beyond the Glory episode (2 hours special) had some type of conflict that Greg overcame before winning 15 championships as a Portland Trail Blazer and becoming the greatest basketball player that ever walked the Earth.


What makes you think Oden wont win titles on other planets?


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## Miksaid (Mar 21, 2005)

After winning his 8th consecutive NBA championship, Greg's greatest fears were realized when KP accidentally forgot to TiVo Greg's favorite episode of Mythbusters. How would Greg react to this incredible ordeal? Would Pritchard's incompetence be forgiven? Stay tuned... Beyond the Glory: Greg Oden.


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## Miksaid (Mar 21, 2005)

Nate4Prez said:


> What makes you think Oden wont win titles on other planets?


Surely the Europans from Jupiter's moon, Europa, will find an answer to Greg. On average, the Europan fhe-male can grow to be 11'4". In addition to being able to "see" in 12 dimensions, they have roughly eight more limbs then a normal human being. I really do like their chances against Greg... but we've seen what Greg can do.


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## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

Welcome aboard!

barfo


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## Hector (Nov 15, 2004)

Your first 10 posts went by me in a blur, Amandalyn! They were interesting!

Oops, that was one post. How about posting a summary of that post? I'll try (please correct this): Pritchard is a gambler, so he pretended to consider Durant, but had already chosen Oden despite knowing he would need surgery. Now, Oden is healthy, but continues the charade that he's still recovering in order to amp up the suspense for the fans.


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## MrJayremmie (Dec 29, 2007)

really good and interesting points man. WElcome to the board. And Welcome to the BLAZERS! WOOHOO!


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## GrandpaBlaze (Jul 11, 2004)

Very nice post and welcome to the board. Insightful posts are always appreciated.

Gramps...


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## nikolokolus (Jan 29, 2008)

Amandalyn said:


> Introduction:
> 
> ...
> What really caused Greg Oden's knee problem? I've read Oden denied the rumors that Dance Dance Revolution is responsible. By the way how stupid is whoever said it's DDR? I know ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages play DDR sunrise to sunset every single day. they all have fun & got tired but not damage their knee/s. I mean, if all it takes to break Oden's knee is a video game, how is he even a basketball player? In short, it's something else.


I doubt it was DDR, but My guess is that it happened during Summer League or in August when everyone reported early.



> During the heat of the "Honk once, Honk twice" campaign, I already had a feeling that there's no way the choice was done close to draft night. It was more close to when the pingpong ball miracle occurred. *Why? Because Oden was examined by Blazers team doctors & OKC boy wasn't.* Durant's workout was excellent while Oden's was just good. It didn't matter.


Agreed for the most part. I think Oden was examined by team doctors because there had been some oddities identified in the Orlando pre-draft measurements about Oden having one leg slightly longer than the other and the team wanted to make sure this wasn't going to be a long term health concern and would be something manageable with Orthotics. 



> Before the 07 lottery, Aldridge is our future center, agree? If KP truthfully considered number 35 against number 52, he would have drafted 35 because we didn't know that an Outlaw will emerge, giving the team good young core of SG, SF, C in Roy, Durant, & Aldridge, respectively.


I think it's possible they saw Aldridge as a future Center, but I also think Zach's days with the team were somewhat numbered and KP saw in Aldridge someone who could be groomed to eventually fill his shoes, but at a minimum would be able to back-up both Joel and Zach for a couple of years as he was brought along; remember Aldridge was seen by quite a few as a "project" big. 



> Reports were that 2 valued blazers disagree with each other's choice of whom to draft when management let their voice be heard. likely Roy for Oden & Randolph wants Durant....ooops! Aldridge I mean. Texas connection?


Almost certainly *not* players, more likely to be Tom Penn and KP disagreeing somewhat over who to draft



> The Oden-Durant debate got hot nationally not only because Durant is really good but also because there were concerns about Oden's health/leg/knee or something even before the findings that Oden needed MFS. Yet Oden was cleared by team doctors as number-one-draftable. Did they (or KP) see anything or not see anything? who knows?


If the team had seen something in their pre-draft medical examination that indicated cartilage damage there is no chance in hell Oden would have played a minute in Summer League or training camp before that was remedied. The simple fact of the matter is that the injured cartilage was about the size of a dime, and wasn't discovered until they scoped his knee; there are limits to what medical imaging like MRIs and CTs can find.





> Speculation:
> 
> In contrast to what was told the public, team doctors & KP knew Oden's knee is questionable but does/may not require surgery, which is why he was able to play Summer League. KP drafted Oden anyway! You say that's a GIANT gamble, especially with the Sam Bowie thing, to knowingly draft a player with less than 100% health. Well, KP is a gambler. Listen to this audio (just imagine) "I am not afraid to take risks"...now you say "why gamble"? KD is a sureball. Apparently, KP believes with Oden that the juice is worth the squeeze. I mean he sees Oden is that player that will be a Shaq/Duncan hybrid. he believes in the guy so much that as risky as it is, he chose him still. you say, "come on now, KP is courageous but he can't draft Oden knowingly unhealthy. who in his right mind would do that?" Well, it's for you to judge about KP's mental state but after Oden's surgery, Oden said "sorry sorry sorry... boss." KP told the press "When I saw him right after the surgery, he apologized multiple times & that gesture reassured us that Greg WAS our man, & he is still our man." To me, even if Oden said 20 less sorrys, KP would still say the same thing because Oden was indeed his man. I mean, while Oden is injured, here is KP saying Oden will be a Blazer for some 15 years. That's a HUGE statement to make.


Once again if the team had suspected his knee was bum, there is no way he suits up for summer league or participates in training camp until it is resolved, and to the best of my recollection there were never any concerns directly about his knee, just a concern about the difference in leg lengths. As to whether or not KP would have drafted Oden knowing his knee would require MF surgery, that's an open question, but I suspect he wouldn't have, since there is no guarantee of a favorable recovery. 

---



> Justification:
> 
> Many have heard Brandon's recent interview. The team have not been in the playoffs for some while. Roy speaking of this team as "we're not coming, we're here now". Would he say that if he knows Oden's status is as bad as Canzano's doubts?
> 
> ...


I agree with most of those assessments. I think the team is pretty confident that Oden will be healthy enough to be a fully contributing member of the team and ready to jump into the rotation, but it's possible he could still experience setbacks, so keeping the bar somewhat low in their public messages makes a lot of sense. I guess we'll just have to wait and see ... In particular I think we'll get little tidbits next week on the Blazers podcast or on "Courtside" since Greg will have been cleared for 3 on 3 for a full week and the Courtside guys mentioned that this is something they were going to want to talk about in the following broadcast. 

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By the way nice first post, and welcome to the asylum.


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## moldorf (Jun 29, 2007)

If the blazers "knew" Oden was going to need surgery, they wouldn't have risked him by allowing him to play in summer league, the pre-training camp workouts, or the first part of training camp.

Doing that on an injury could turn minor into serious, and serious into career-ending.

as far as the choice between durant & oden, portland may have had some concerns about Oden's health, but decided his talent and potential easily justified the risk. After all, Durant isn't guaranteed to be an iron-man considering he has a body type very similar to Shaun Livingston.


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## NateBishop3 (Jul 22, 2003)

Here's the problem, I've played with Greg Oden. He looks 100% healthy. He wasn't wincing. He wasn't favoring his knee. The guy was doing one handed putback dunks. He was going coast to coast and jamming. He was taking people off the dribble at the three point line and throwing it down. Does this sound like a guy who isn't ready to play next season?


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## CrGiants (Dec 4, 2003)

C'mon, Nate. Let's keep it all in perspective and consider the competition!

Couldn't resist. It's interesting that people are so stressed about his condition. I've heard nothing but positives from those who have seen Greg working out after the surgery. The only reason I see people can question him is his himming and hawwing about being 85% or 95%. The kid will be ready. I mean, if Z-Bo can come back after sitting a year, I have little doubt that Oden can too.


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## chairman (Jul 2, 2006)

Is it the one comment by Oden that he is still not 100% the only cause for concern? Because if that is it....nothing has changed. No he probably can't reach 12'2" like he did before the draft. There is no way for him to be as explosive right now as he was before the surgery. It is just too soon. Like a year too soon. Did anyone really think he could be 95% 10 months after his surgery. (I am using the date of his statement)

He was being honest. Sounds like he is right on schedule. He still probably a year away from being 100%. We knew that based on Amare. So far so good. Of course we will all continue to be nervous over his progress and rightly so, but again it is not like he has regressed.


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## HispanicCausinPanic (Jul 2, 2005)

Damn man! That was about as long as my first 25 posts!


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## World B. Free (Mar 28, 2008)

Miksaid said:


> Greg Oden's injury is a conspiracy. It was manufactured by KP and Greg Oden himself so that his Beyond the Glory episode (2 hours special) had some type of conflict that Greg overcame before winning 15 championships as a Portland Trail Blazer and becoming the greatest basketball player that ever walked the Earth.





Nate4Prez said:


> What makes you think Oden wont win titles on other planets?





HispanicCausinPanic said:


> Damn man! That was about as long as my first 25 posts!


LMFAO nice post man. Crazy thoughts. Glad to see another passionate Blazer fan tho.


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## Dan (Dec 30, 2002)

HispanicCausinPanic said:


> Damn man! That was about as long as my first 25 posts!


and about 10 times as intelligent as your next 2500 posts.


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## Amandalyn (Aug 3, 2008)

"The thing that scares me is he is a 20-year-old kid, but we don't know how he did this,'' Jensen said. "I wish we knew how he injured his knee so we could protect against it in the future.''


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