BLAZERS: Knee-fights

Yikes. OK, so the sky descended a few feet with today’s news, but not a full-on plunge. A minor drop, really. Oden underwent exploratory surgery turned microfracture surgery this morning. Let me say that again: MICROFRACTURE surgery. (yup, that thud was the sound of my stomach dropping to the floor) This entire NBA season is out for the big fella. I reiterate my previous entry: the sky is not falling. I figure this sets his development back at least 2 years. If we’re blessed enough to have him out on the court again next year, it won’t be like it 'would' have been this year. Or should I say ‘should’ have been? I don’t know. As a fan, this is like getting the wind knocked out of me. But it really only took 30 minutes or so for me to get over the shock, commence cognition, gain perspective and move on. It is what it is. Unfortunately, it’s more frustrating for G.O. than anyone else. What a tough blow. Previous to today’s surgery, Oden blogged the following: “I would like for me to be playing and not seem like I’m a high maintenance player but things just keep popping up." He can bounce back, but it’s going to take tremendous will.

Durant v. Oden again? Given what we know now, I still take Oden. The actual outcome of all this is at least 5 years (and further) down the line. Then we can start making outrageous statements.

A strange twist to this is that, setting back his introduction 1 year, then another year to get him back to rookie form, he’ll be ‘actual’ NBA rookie age in my book. Don’t get me wrong, this is not good, just an observation. I got much love for Oden and simply hope this doesn’t kill his basketball drive. Like Irvin said at his HOF induction this summer: “Look up… Get up… but don’t ever Give up.” We got your back, Mister Oden. All this Bowie talk is garbage. Small brains only see the small picture. Sam Bowie still lives in Kentucky. We’re not witnessing his ghost or any form of offspring. Disappointing? Yes. Devastating? Temporarily. Recoverable? Absolutely. Adequate time to do so? It’s on our side, baby.

Let us not forget, this team still has a great core to work with this year. I believe they’ll still be over 35 wins. More? I hope so. I’ve already heard the “another lottery year, what can we get?” talk out there. We’ve had enough of that around here. 4 or 5 lottery years in a row? I’m good. Get that out of the mentality. Move on. Again, I believe the next two years are going to be LaMarcus’ rise to star-dom. My biggest question this year is whether Joel ‘the Thrilla’ will be able to bounce back from his dismal season last year. I think he will. That still gives us a question mark. Joel offers zero offense, but is an excellent 2nd line of defense. That’s no small asset. Overall, without any games under their belt together, I believe I still prefer Frye and Aldridge as the primary 4 & 5. Raef might even have something more to show us this year. My point: even without Oden, we are still able to be versatile. A fast, offensively minded squad when appropriate, and Joel is around when we’re playing a team that requires some banging in the middle.

Amazing, I look up and the sky is still there.

(PS: For those who don’t get it, that’s subliminal LDS humor in the subject line.)