Greg Oden

[slower]

Oden is hurt already. Tweaked his foot somehow, although they're still not sure of the exact extent of his injury. Played less than a half, scored zero points.

This is potentially tragic on a Shakespearean scale. Oden is one of the most endearing, high-quality guys in recent memory and, when healthy, a monster talent. To watch him limping up and down the court last night was gut-wrenching.

I hope you heal completely and have a great career, big guy. Because you most definitely deserve better than what you're getting so far.

[Richard Berg]

Shades of Bowie all over again...

[roywhite]

Sorry to hear about Oden's latest problem. The first thing that comes to mind is that his bones and joints are "old"...he certainly has the appearance of a 40+ year-old guy facially. That's hardly a scientific diagnosis, but he definitely has had a slew of injuries.

[dukelifer]

Oden is hurt already. Tweaked his foot somehow, although they're still not sure of the exact extent of his injury. Played less than a half, scored zero points.

This is potentially tragic on a Shakespearean scale. Oden is one of the most endearing, high-quality guys in recent memory and, when healthy, a monster talent. To watch him limping up and down the court last night was gut-wrenching.

I hope you heal completely and have a great career, big guy. Because you most definitely deserve better than what you're getting so far.

As much as I would like to see Oden do well, it looks like he is not likely to play bball for very long. Some bodies can endure the rigors of the sport and some cannot. Oden's long string of injuries since before his Freshman days at Ohio State do not bode well for a long run in the game. He may need to leave the sport for several years to completely heal- but even then- his body may not let him play the game at a high level for any extended period of time. If he is having these problems at 21- imagine what 5-7 years of an NBA schedule will do to him.

[Jaymf7]

I watched the very beginning of the game last night and Oden looked terrible. Granted, his matchup against the very large Bynum is one that takles away some of his physical advantages, but I was certainly underwhelmed even before he appeared to get injured. His posture was terrible. I recall being taught to make yourself large in the post. Oden, by contrast, was slouched over with his shoulders narrowed and had no presence. He did not seem to hustle and looked completely out of it. I understand that he may not be in game shape, but this was the first few minutes of his NBA debut. The guy appeared to have no motor (and perhaps I was being a little tough on him after watching a great hustle game by Leon Powe).

Of course, some of this may be affected by Oden's most-recent injury. I do like him, but the start of his career has been disastrous.

[SupaDave]

Big men get hurt. OFTEN. One has to look no further than our Zoubek to realize this.

Just about every big man in the game has suffered major injuries...

Ewing's knees were swiss cheese by the time he stopped playing...

[Diddy]

I simply cannot imagine what growing that tall that fast must mean. The stress on joints, bones, and muscles must be insane. And he was huge even as a Soph in HS. So sorry for what seems like a nice guy.

[moonpie23]

he was limping coming INTO the staples ctr...

[slower]

he was limping coming INTO the staples ctr...

Did not know that - I missed the beginning of the game.

[BlueintheFace]

I feel cheated... all the hype and then that.

[roywhite]

I feel cheated... all the hype and then that.

Imagine if you're the Portland Trail Blazers organization, drafting him #1 and paying him a guaranteed $8Mil over 2 years.

Actually, I'm rooting for Oden---seems like a good guy, but his injury problems may persist.