It’s apparent to me that he’ll never develop into the superstar he was sure to become because he’ll never be healthy enough long enough for that to happen. That’s horrible for Greg, Blazer fans, and for basketball fans to swallow, but it seems accurate to me.

Apparently Thorpe is a licensed physic and soothsayer. It’s over Blazer fans, Oden will never be healthy again, ever. Could he be more reactionary and dramatic than this? One game into Oden’s NBA season and Thorpe apparently thinks Oden is done. I’m pretty sure if he posted that comment on Bedge it would be flagged for trolling. Not because it’s negative, but his whole prediction and absolutism is utterly inflammatory. He and Cazano can stroke each other for all I care.

The only redeeming part of the article is the weight issue. Oden needs to be closer to 260 than 270. Oden’s game is his athleticism, footwork, power, and speed. Not this Shaq-like lumbering style of play. Shaq was closer to 300 pounds. The next 4 weeks, Oden should be eating like John the Baptist and doing laps like Michael Phelps.

In this case, I value the opinion of this “physical therapist who is a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist” higher than Thorpe’s.

While injury is never a welcome thing, this is about as good a result as Oden and the Blazers could have hoped for. The “avulsions” mentioned are basically chip fractures that occur when ligaments tear and pull a little piece of bone (to which they attach) away. In the big scheme of things they are not serious.

Thorpe is not a medical doctor, much less an orthopedic surgeon or related specialist. He also isn’t a trainer to my knowledge. He is a very well respected developmental coach who can teach his clients a lot about the finer aspects how to play basketball and behave like a pro in your training. And he touts his own clients a bit too much for my liking. He might still tell you Tyrus Thomas is a lot better than LaMarcus.

Also, the Blazers’ front office doesn’t intend to win a championship this year like this article seems to suggest a bit. They want to reach the playoffs. No need to already look for replacements at the trade deadline in order to “win it all”. Though of course KP will have some plan in place for February to get better, I highly doubt it revolves around getting a new #1 (Oden) or #2 (Joel) center.

If you have never known anyone who has had this experience, not one, then you have zero empirical data on which to base an opinion. You’ve probably known guys who have started two seasons injured and have come back (or not, it could go either way). Plus notice how he said “started” a season. What does the timing have to do with it, other than it’s October? He’s probably known guys who have been injured in three seasons straight.

I’m not denying Oden could have injury problems his whole career. I am saying it’s way too early to make that judgment.

—Dave

Of course as a Blazer fan my opinion about this is going to be bias but hopefully not too bias. I agree that it is too early to label Greg Oden as injury prone. Broken wrist in college and unfortunate Micro-Fracture as a Blazer aside this latest setback just seems like horrible bad luck more than anything else. 2 seasons ago Pryzbilla missed significant time due to being hit in a very sensitive area, it was a tough season for Pryzbilla but I didn’t hear a lot of people calling him injury prone. So in my opinion Greg get’s the same benefit of the doubt as any player. He get’s to try to get healthy and try and come back and show us what he can or can’t do. 2 injuries, albeit one very serious with the micro-fracture, are not enough for me to say Oden can’t be healthy. So as a Blazer fan I wish Greg the best, as well as hope for the best.

Now as a realist and pretending I’m not a Blazer fan I would say I lived through the Sam Bowie era, and I remember players like Kenny Carr. I think this statement is true: “Some people have skeletons, or soft tissues, or tendons and ligaments, that are just not meant to take a physical pounding on a daily basis.” I remember as a much younger fan, similar hopes and hype pinned to a Sam Bowie, although admittedly not as severe as those tied to Oden. I remember being at a game and watching a supposedly rehabbed and healthy Bowie simply warming up for the game, taking my eyes of the court for a second, looking back and watching them carry Bowie off. It was at that point when I realized that as much as we might of wanted it, dreamed it, hoped it, Bowie was never going to be reliable because of his frail physicality. I also remember the constant up’s and downs of Kenny Carr who was an excellent player but struggled to remain healthy. My point really isn’t to bring up old wounds or even to compare Oden to Bowie or anyone else because as I said above I think Oden deserves the chance to get a sprain or injury and come back without attachment. My point is, I do think there could come a point ****IF**** BIg, big IF ….Oden continues to suffer one injury after another, when the healthiest thing for the franchise would become admitting to itself that Oden is injury prone. The worst thing you can do is not admit to the reality if it becomes evident.

Ultimately it’s going to come down to a genetic and cellular reality. If Oden is simply an individual whose body can’t withstand the rigors of Pro-Basketball then that reality will become evident. I don’t think we’ve reached that point or definition yet. I’m hoping we never ever reach that point as a Blazer fan. But also as a long time Blazer fan AND a realist I know we could unfortunately someday reach that point. We cannot see the future so how do we know? In 3 years will we be talking about how rough Odens start in the league was but how well he’s done? Or in 3 years will we simply know due to continued injury that Oden won’t ever be a big minute dominant Center? I hope, pray and dream for the former while all the time realizing there is a possibility it could become the latter.

The notion that Oden has to drop 50 lbs – which would put him at what? 220- 230? Roy’s weight?! 25lbs lighter than LaMarcus?! – is just so abundantly absurd that I don’t even…

But that Truehoop entry is disgusting. Give the kid a break……if he would have broken a bone and been out 4-6 months, then you have something to talk about. He might, then, be injury prone. He sustained the same injury anyone would have, a sprained ankle. If that incident had caused him further injury than that, then maybe he’s brittle, but as everyone knows, ankle sprains happen.

Thorpe writing off a 20 year old because of a simple ankle sprain is sensationalism at it’s finest.

So we have three injuries:

1. Broken wrist/ligament damage, caused by someone intentionally hammering Oden in high school – no worries about long term effects there unless the front office wants him to head up a new Blazer gymnastics team.

2. Pre-emptive microfracture – concerning, sure, but more and more young players have had this procedure done and recovered 100%.

3. Mid-ankle sprain – as I mentioned in another thread, I was concerned that he kept tweaking his ankle(s) throughout training camp, and in the replay of the injury it was clear to me that simply didn’t land properly. But again, he is extremely gifted athletically and should be able to figure this out upon recovery.

Good news – none of the three injuries are directly related. This is not a situation like Bill Walton’s foot (which was not positioned correctly and was never meant for the rigors of the NBA) or Sam Bowie’s tibias (frail and not meant for the NBA).

Bad news – maybe he is just mildly frail all over, and something else will pop up.

I lean towards the good news/good outcome scenario, but even if the bad news scenario comes true, I don’t think that would be a doomsday scenario either… more like a 60-70 games per year situation where you monitor his minutes and try to keep him fresh for the playoff run. That can easily be accomodated with this supporting cast.