Greg Oden’s comeback, still a big question mark for the Portland Trail Blazers: NBA Update
On Friday night, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 93-86, for the first time in this NBA season. Although it was a big feat to gun down the mighty Lakers, what made the win special was the fact that the game was a dry
run in the first round of the Western Conference clash in the upcoming play-offs.
Amidst all the hype of the high-stake game, Greg Oden, the seven-foot Portland Trail Blazers’ centre joined the live telecast team and discussed about his recovery from knee surgery.
Talking about his slow rehabilitation process he said, “Still doing two-leg strength, body weight stuff and that any type of on-court basketball activities are very far down the road. I can say, over five months away. I won't start running until then.”
Oden’s recent injury has side-lined him from the real competition since December 2009. During that stretch he has seen his team-mates including Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Juwan Howard, and Martell Webster leave Portland.
Oden has already missed a year and half and if he fails to return by the start of the next season, his free agency issues will certainly go into limelight. Desperate to make a comeback in the Trail Blazers’ outfit, he said, “I wish I was out there,
every game, not just [against] the Lakers. Thinking about every play I watch, what I could have done out there and what I could have brought to the team if I was out there.”
He especially mentioned Gerald Wallace who has breathed a new life in the Trail Blazers, “Yeah, you know, I talk to everybody about it, just the hustle he brings out there, He just plays harder than everybody else. It's definitely great to have somebody
like that on your team, diving for loose balls, going out of bounds and making hustle plays.”
Greg Oden was selected first in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers but could not play in his first season due to micro-fracture knee surgery. He played 61 games in the 2008-09 season for the Portland Trail Blazers and averaged 8.9 points
per game. The next season he only played 21 games for the Blazers where he averaged 11.1 points per game. At present, Oden is only 23 years old and if he remained determined enough to defeat his injuries, he certainly can progress ahead and outshine many who
doubt his abilities.
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