Canzano: Oden down and out... the big guy deserves better
By John Canzano, The Oregonian
December 05, 2009
Greg Oden left the Rose Garden floor on a stretcher after going down with an apparent knee injury.
Greg Oden went down with a left knee injury during the Blazers game on Saturday night at the Rose Garden Arena. Coach Nate McMillan (ruptured achilles), Nic Batum (shoulder), Rudy Fernandez (back), Travis Outlaw (foot)... this is getting ridiculous.
Oden suffered the injury, was on the floor for seven minutes, left on a stretcher and was taken to the ortho clinic in the Rose Quarter, where an MRI confirmed a fractured left patella.
Oden will undergo surgery. He's likely gone for the season, and right now I'm less worried about the broken patella than I am about Oden's will being fractured.
Oden came so far in the last few months, and then he went up to block Aaron Brooks, landed, and immediately crumpled to the floor. He didn?t appear to twist or turn it. It just went. He was taken off the court in a stretcher, after writhing in pain for several minutes.
Anyone remember how Bill Murray got himself out of that Groundhog Day thing?
I don't know where this stops for this guy... or this team... it's tough all over. But what doesn't kill you... oh nevermind. Just hope the guy takes the good progress he made in the early part of this season and finds it in himself to push through the injury, the surgery and rehabilitation --- yet again.
I was encouraged with what Oden done and where this was all headed. I still believe he was the right pick for the Blazers when they drafted him all those injuries ago. He still needed to develop his left hand, and the confidence was growing, but his offseason work with assistant Bill Bayno and the double-doubles Oden posted made you believe this was going somewhere very encouraging.
Oden, who was averaging 11.7 points and 8.8 rebounds, missed his entire rookie season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee. Last season, he sat out 20 total games with two different injuries (right foot and a bone chip in his left knee).
Now, this.
Said Oden on Saturday post-injury: "I'm obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get where I was. This is a setback, but I'll be back."