A little over a year ago I called my good Portland Trail Blazers friend and he answered the phone with the comment – Coach, I’m trying to remember as best I can – “If you say ‘Microfracture knee surgery’ then you’re going to need Microfracture surgery on your face.
Well, a sprained foot for Greg Oden on opening night is not what Coach or any Trail Blazers fan was hoping for this year.
The 2007 No. 1 draft pick overall rolled over his right ankle on a rebound early in the game and left just before halftime. Initial X-rays were inconclusive and an MRI is set for Wednesday on what has been diagnosed as a mid-foot sprain.
Oden got up after the injury and played on and said he wanted to play in the second half. But coach Nate McMillan kept him out the rest of the game and afterwards said: “I hope it’s not serious because he’s worked so hard to get himself back. We’ve tried to do all we could to get him into the season, and here we are — the first game. Hopefully in a couple of days, he can be back.”
This is the worst start to the oh-so-promising season that Portland fans could think up. A returning Oden who said he wanted to average a double-double to make up for missing all of last season was supposed to be the anchor in the middle of McMillan’s defense and help out as much as he could on offense.
Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are both a year older and wiser and Spanish rookie Rudy Fernandez was ready to bring his high-flying act to NBA stadiums throughout the U.S.
But Oden’s first game in the NBA lasted just 13 minutes. Say it ain’t so Greg!
Here’s hoping for a quick recovery.