OK, the great 3-guard controversy is behind us.  The guys are playing pretty well, considering Batum and Outlaw are out.  Martell finally relaxed and found his game--at least for the moment.  So before the next wave of negativity hits Blazersedge, how about taking a moment to celebrate GREG FREAKING ODEN!!!

Remember?  The guy they named the "Greg Oden Draft" after?  The guy who the Blazers won the right to draft with a miraculous bounce of the ping pong balls?  The guy who was expected to make the paint a fearsome place for Blazers opponents to tread for the next decade or more?  News flash: in case you haven't been paying attention, that guy is HERE!

Forget about the stats.  You can't measure Greg Oden's impact by counting up his points, rebounds, and blocked shots--though those are starting to be impressive enough.  Just look at how opponents react to GO.  Already they've basically capitulated to him at both ends of the court.  Their one and only hope is to get him on the bench with fouls.  How pathetic is that?  And that strategy is already showing signs of losing its effectiveness--kinda like how antibiotics lose their efficacy as invaders become drug-resistant.  (E.g., last night's Timberwolves game, in which GO let Jefferson get his, realizing that all he had to do was stay on the floor and the Wolves couldn't win.)

I realize that some BE'ers are still disappointed in Greg Oden.  Nothing short of the second coming of Shaq or Wilt would satisfy them.  But I'm hoping this thread won't be a debate about GO but a celebration of his arrival.  Personally, I'm LOVING watching this guy.  The fact that his first two seasons were such a nightmare is making his increasingly dominant play THIS season all the more enjoyable to watch.  Now that GO has begun to get a feel for what he can and can't do, and now that his teammates are figuring out how to utilize him, the sky is the limit.

Are you pinching yourself too?  The Blazers drafted GREG FREAKING ODEN, and we're finally getting to watch him do his thing in a Blazers uniform!