Portland officially on suicide watch :(

[Phoenix Dark]

ORTLAND, Ore. -- Celebrated Trail Blazers rookie center Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, will likely miss the 2007-08 season after undergoing knee surgery Thursday, the team said.

Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure, and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery to repair the damage.

"There are things about this that are positive for Greg," Roberts said in a statement posted on the Trail Blazers' Web site. "First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery."

Seven-footer Greg Oden will spend pretty much all of his first season in the NBA on the Trail Blazers' bench.

The 7-foot center is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. A full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3017538

 :'(

[FatalT]

That sucks.

[etiolate]

oh man

[Smooth Groove]

Might be good for his career.  Oden looked like the type of player that might never reach his potential because he can't stand the intense media attention.  This might be a blessing in disguise. 

[Mandark]

Worst case scenario, he's hobbled throughout his career by this.

On the other hand, if he comes back strong like Randolph and Stoudemire, and they wind up with another very high pick this year...

[Phoenix Dark]

Worst case scenario, he's hobbled throughout his career by this.

On the other hand, if he comes back strong like Randolph and Stoudemire, and they wind up with another very high pick this year...

Well his youth is an advantage here, like the cases you mentioned. And also, Oden's game is not as explosive as a Randolph or Webber - he's a back to the basket guy who's going to get rebounds and be a defensive force. I really thought Stoudemire was screwed because his game is based on speed and athleticism but he's recovered quite well. I'd say that Oden having this surgery is far less of a problem than if say Durant had it. What do you think?

[Smooth Groove]

PD, what the hell are you talking about?  The main reason why Oden was drafted #1 is because his athleticism is off the charts.  Physically, he's superior to Durant in every way.  Leaping, running, benching,etc, you name it. 

Randolph is one of the least athletic big men.  You're the first person that's ever called him explosive.  Weber was a good athlete but still not quite as good as Oden. 

Oden would definitely have to adjust his game if he lost some of his athletic ability.  Most great athletes have to adjust their games when they lose some of their physical abilities.   I think Oden will make a close to 100% recovery though because of his age and the medical knowledge today.