Anderson: "That cracking sound you just heard was the left patella breaking in my heart."
The seriously-talented Sam Anderson from New York Magazine takes up Greg Oden, Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball and more in a panel discussion that also includes long-time friend of Blazersedge Bethlehem Shoals. Anderson writes...
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I want to apologize if this is totally incoherent. I’m writing in a semiconscious trauma-fog, with various foreign substances in my bloodstream, and should probably be seeing a grief counselor instead of talking to you guys. I’m from Oregon, and am a pretty intense Blazers fan, and let’s just say that this decade has not been kind to me, basketball-wise: It started with the famous Game 7 fourth-quarter collapse in 2000, then the whole JailBlazers era — and now, after a couple of magical years of hope and joy, it’s all ending with Greg Oden (just as he was beginning to snowball into some reasonable facsimile of potential awesomeness) blowing out his kneecap. That cracking sound you just heard was the left patella breaking in my heart.
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-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter
about 2 years ago
Ben Golliver
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I am feeling like the decade is ending, yes.
In about two weeks.
Hopefully next decade will be better for the boys in black and red.
But the decade doesn't end for another year!!!!!!!!
Who wants to start THAT flamewar? :)
(For the record, I’m a geek so I start counting at zero…)
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Dec 9, 2009 2:32 PM PST up reply actions
That article is composed of 3 different authors. Pg 2 of 3 happens to be Sam Anderson’s contribution.
There's now 3 of 4...
Bethlehem Shoals has added a review, and if the lead section is to be believed, there are two more reviews yet to be posted in the article.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Dec 9, 2009 2:33 PM PST up reply actions
Reports of Greg Oden’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
I should not sarcastically mock someone I don’t completely agree with.
by pxilpooshr on Dec 9, 2009 9:58 AM PST reply actions 4 recs
Well said.
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Dec 9, 2009 11:30 AM PST up reply actions
not really.... I mean
we’re the following and we’re feeling pretty bummed right now.
it’s an epic turn of events.
We were awsome or just clinging to awsomeness with him, but without….. we’re boarderline lottery again.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
if we are borderline lottery... (which is possible)
it is not just because of Greg… it is the aggregate of injuries, and emotional letdown (and possibly leadership)…
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
i dunno man.. I mean...
I here and I’m still all gooo portland and what not, but darn it… back when everyone else was “tempering expectations” and all that, I was the idiot screaming he was still comming,…. n now I feel like an idiot and that the gods are hating me and oden equal.
it’s just a terrible thing to happen to anyone… not to mention like 4 times in the past 4 years (wrist, knee, ankle, knee) it’s alot to …. disregard and not see a …. pattern.
I’m still getting over it. give me somemore time but still… :)
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
Have some faith
"Rudy is not everyday a shooter," Fernandez said. "He's defense. He's passes. He's assists."
Hmm.... lottery you say?
Who else besides John Wall is worth getting as a high lottery pick? (I can dream…)
by Visionary2 on Dec 9, 2009 3:55 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
agreed
Actually, the no ligament damage is a biggie… those muscles are STRONG… don’t want to have to heal the ropes that hold them…
When we get all out guys back…., we’ll get through this.
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
Again... why is everyone saying Greg is done? GREG IS NOT DEAD!!!
Didn’t ANYONE from the National Media Elite (or even this guy) read Norktroll’s fine post regarding similar injuries?
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
lol.. did you see any "superstars" or #1 picks on Norsks list?
(blushing if it’s littered with em, I just don’t remember seeing any)
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
A good friend of me is inconsolable
All he’ll say is, “It’s over.” So far, my arguments to the contrary haven’t made a dent. I’m trying to keep him away from bridges and razor blades.
I was born in '52, and I believe in #52. Hang in there, GO.
He's referring to the end of the decade
not the end of Greg Oden’s career.
by DefenderOfPants on Dec 9, 2009 12:16 PM PST reply actions
It is a bummer
Gregs strength broke his patella
by doomsdaymachine on Dec 9, 2009 1:14 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Every Blazer fans heart cracked with Greg knee...
but listening to KP on courtside made me feel a lot better last night.
We do have the management team, scouts and back up center in the nba.
Howard and Miller are still improvements over Frye and Chacho.
Now that I’m over the shock, I can see that again.
Fingers crossed that there is not a delay in Nic’s return.
The season isn’t over.
Let’s Go Blazers !!!
Bring on the Pacers !!!!
"That's just how I get down"........ Andre Miller
Id take frye over howard anyday
Just a minor setback for a major comeback.
#52
Now it's YOUR time.
#7
by GreatOden'sRaven on Dec 9, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions
that 14-7 record last year when Greg was hurt is getting mentioned, a lot
but few make the “umm, Frye isn’t here anymore” connection
it wasn’t that Channing was “all that” it’s just that he wasn’t adequately replaced, much less updated
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I don't connect Frye with replacing Oden
When it wasn’t Joel, they moved LA over last season.
Frye does well now in Phoenix playing outside the paint. Not what the Blazers needed from him.
Cheers to Joel staying healthy this season, and Nic coming back as scheduled !!
"That's just how I get down"........ Andre Miller
When it wasn’t Joel, they moved LA over last season.
This is not correct. Frye was asked to defend centers last year, when he and LMA were on the court together.
I was in favor of trading Channing at the deadline last year, because I thought that he and Travis were “too soft” to be effective playoff backup PF (and Houston’s PFs stole their lunch money in round 1…) Unfortunately KP held onto Frye and Travis too long and chose “fortify” the roster with 2 rookie PFs and Juwan Howard
and so now Portland has no backup center, not even a soft one like Channing
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Dec 9, 2009 8:33 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
no
but neither do I expect Portland to in 66% of their remaining games without Greg
I am saying that Frye+Shav+Diogu/Ruffin >>> Howard+Cunningham+Pendergraph
KP had RLEC and 4 draft choices, plus he could’ve flipped Outlaw for a better backup PF/C who could be tag-teaming with Joel right now. Brandon and Nate both said the team needed to add a banger/beast after the Rocket’s series. KP made a pass at Millsap, then auditioned guys like Ostertag and Collins before settling on Howard. Epic fail.
Earlier today, KP said that contending teams need extra bigs when he was talking to Isaac and Suke. But he left DeJuan Blair on the board (twice) and selected Pendergraph and Cunningham at 31 and 33. A 54 win team doesn’t need 2 rookie “project” PFs, they needed one stud rookie PF and a veteran backup PF/C, even if it had cost them an expiring contract like Outlaw’s
I was saying this all summer. The current “state” of the Blazers brings me no pleasure re: being “right” about the blindspot in KP’s roster building thought-process. I can only hope that KP learns from all of these setbacks and makes better decisions, in the future
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Dec 9, 2009 8:49 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
what future greg died didn't you hear!?
wait… what? only a busted patella…on his OTHER KNEE!? oh.. .well everything is fine then, we’ll just wait ANOTHER year….. /s
I feel ya though :)
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
I expected an injury to Greg, Joel or LMA
Maybe not a season-ending injury, but that at least one of them would likely miss some significant time…it’s just too much to ask for all 3 of those guys to remain perfectly healthy throughout an 82+ game season
but that’s what KP was gambling on when he filled out his bench, apparently
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I was hoping after the season started he'd snap out of it and swap our sr.s for a young mini greg...
kinda like a Z-bo that play’s D…. or a … wait we passed on him 2wice type.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
Much of the "Oden is done" stuff comes from
a) people who note that “oden” and “done” are anagrams of each other, and think that’s significant, or
b) think that recent events prove There Is Something Wrong His Body, and even if the busted patella heals up, it’s only a matter of time before is tibia snaps, or he gets a stress fracture in his foot, or his facial hair falls out in patches.
I have no informed opinion on b, and am pretty sure that a is irrelevant.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
idk, I just don't see how exactly he broke it.....
I mean…. I understand that this is a pro sport but …. I didn’t see him hit anything… I didn’t see him bend it in a livingston fashion… so I’m still sold on “squishy bones”
call me a hater or what have you, I do expect him to play again and well, but darn it… this has been alot over the last 4 years for the “kid” …
it’s adding up quick.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
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