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We will rebuild him!
Oden hopes to return this season
By Ian Thomsen, SI.com
Greg Oden hasn't given up on returning this season, the injured Trail Blazers center told SI.com Thursday.
I just want to get back,'' said Oden in his first public comments since he suffered a fractured left kneecap Dec. 5, resulting in recent surgery. "They say I'm out for the whole year, but my plan is to work really hard and you never know. Hopefully I don't have to [be sidelined all season]. I'm hoping things are way ahead of schedule and I can come back at the end of the year.''
While Oden is trying to return to the court as quickly as possible, agents Bill Duffy and Mike Conley are promising to oversee a thorough investigation to understand why the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft has suffered two major knee injuries in three NBA seasons. Oden missed his entire rookie season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee. Last year he sat out 14 games after suffering a bone chip in his left knee.
"Mike and I are going to do a thorough analysis of every aspect of Greg's physiology,'' Duffy told SI.com Thursday. "That means there will be no stone unturned in terms of really understanding his body -- the balance of his body, the symmetry of his body, the strength of his bones. Every aspect as relates to nutrition, DNA, muscle mass, everything we can study, we're going to dig into at this point.''
Duffy said he and Conley will seek out the best medical and training advice "around the world.''
"He's working hard and doing everything that he's asked,'' said Duffy of Oden. "But we're going to take it to the next level.''
Oden, who was averaging 11.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 23.9 minutes this season, said he was in favor of a full physical review. "It's something I'm aware of,'' he said. "We have some really good people here with nutrition and other [forms of support] in Portland. But it never hurts to look at another way of looking at things.''
Oden has been uplifted by the support of fellow players as well as the Portland fans who stood and chanted his name while he was being treated on the court after suffering his latest injury. "I got a lot of people hitting me up and just saying, 'Get well, big fella, it happens to the best of us,''' said Oden. "It was nothing that anybody could foresee coming along. It was a freak accident so you have to keep your head up. It's one of those things I can't really control.
"I was hoping more than anything that I was going to have an injury-free season. I was starting to play well. But it happens.''
Oden emphasized that his injuries haven't deterred his hopes of fulfilling his potential as a player. For perspective he sees Blazers owner Paul Allen and assistant coach Maurice Lucas -- both dealing with cancer -- and he said their fight gives him strength. Coach Nate McMillan has also been dealing with a recently ruptured Achilles tendon.
"I'm not really thinking about it,'' said Oden of his long-term future. "My head has definitely been positive. Everything going on with me has been positive, and being around my teammates has helped me a lot. Knowing that a couple of my coaches and Mr. Allen are going through something a lot worse than what I'm going through definitely helps me get in check.''
We will rebuild him!
Spears version.
Oden still has hopes of playing this season
By Marc J. Spears
Greg Oden felt his left knee buckle and before he could collapse to the court, the Portland Trail Blazers’ star-crossed center was already thinking the same horrible thought everyone at the Rose Garden would soon be wondering.
Not again.
Oden’s worst fears were soon realized. He had fractured his left kneecap – an injury that threatens to sideline him for what appeared to be a promising season. Nearly three weeks after the Dec. 5 incident, Oden said Thursday he hasn’t given up hope of playing again, even if the Blazers aren’t planning for him to return until next season.
“I’m keeping positive,” Oden told Yahoo! Sports. “I’ve gotten started on my rehab and it’s definitely making me feel good that I’m already getting started on coming back. I’m always staying positive and looking forward to a speedy recovery. I’m praying that the thing heals a lot faster than it was already projected to.
“They say that I’m out for the year, but I’m hoping that the rehab goes good and things are looking better. I want to come back at the end of the [season]. That’s just me wishful thinking, but you never know.”
Oden also knows history isn’t on his side. He missed his entire first NBA season after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. Last season, he was sidelined for another 20 games, including 14 for a bone chip in his left knee.
Oden hadn’t even fallen to the floor in the Blazers’ Dec. 5 game against the Houston Rockets when he knew he was seriously hurt again.
“On my way down I could see my kneecap,” he said. “I saw one part of it, then I saw a little hole and I saw the other part of it. So I knew it was broke by the time I hit the ground.
“It’s frustrating going through this. But I got to deal with it and it’s kind of a freak accident. That means that God meant for it to happen.
“I was just [playing well], we were winning this game so far … let’s get it going and then it happened out of nowhere.”
After struggling with expectations that came from being the No. 1 overall pick in 2007, Oden told Yahoo! Sports during the summer that he had begun meeting with a sports psychologist to rebuild his confidence. He also lost weight during the offseason and worked on his game with Blazers assistant Dean Demopoulos in Columbus, Ohio. He had begun to play up to some of his potential before his latest injury, averaging 11.1 points, 8.5 points and 2.3 blocks.
Oden said he began bending his right knee Wednesday and is now walking with crutches. He hasn’t been told when he’ll be allowed to resume physical activity, but despite yet another significant setback, he remains upbeat.
“I can rehab whenever I need to and when I need to say off of it, stay off of it,” Oden said. “I’m definitely not forcing anything. I’m not doing anything I’m not supposed to. … I told them whenever I get better they need to let me use a cane.
“Somebody told me when this happened that God does this to people who can get through it. When they told me that, I felt like this is really something I can control. I’m definitely going to be strong and come back from this hopefully better than ever.”
lol Oden's delusional
lol Oden missing yet another whole season. Everytime Durant just plays he nuts all over the Blazers FO.
i can see it now. Blazers sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed vs the #1 seed Lakers. Oden comes back for the playoffs and is superhuman whilst dominating Bynum. The Blazers beat the Lakers in 7 and tlong gets Oden's face tattooed on his heart.
remove the ACLs before return might increases the guy's chance to stay on the court
he might get back into good enough shape to grind with white girls again but not much else
He should really just sit out. He needs to work on his body and probably his nutrition too.
Yeah but he'd suck then.
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