Opening Night...RELAX Portland
Blazer fans need to clam down.
The season is not lost.
In fact, far from it.
Yes, Greg Bowie…err…Oden hurt his right foot after only 13 minutes of play. But let’s break it down (Oh, bad choice of words there) before we all throw in the towel.
If he broke/fractured a bone in his foot he’s likely lost for a couple of months. Putting him back at or around the All-Star break. The other option is he tore/stretched a ligament somewhere in his foot. That injury likely has him back around mid to late December.
Now, foot injuries on guys Oden’s size are never a walk in the park in terms of 100% recovery, but the bottom line is he will play again this season.
In the meantime Portland’s backcourt rotation and coach are exactly the same. Granted the Blazers are already without starting SF Martell Webster (fractured left foot), but all that means is more playing time for Rudy Fernandez (a good thing).
The loss of Oden obviously does affect the frontcourt rotation, but not as much as the doom-and-gloomers would have you think. Joel Przybilla is a very capable center. Where it gets dicey now is that Channing Frye moves to backup center and Ike Diogu slides into Frye’s vacated backup PF role. A downgrade? Yes, but not catastrophic either.
What Portland really has working against them is a murderous opening schedule that sees them on the road for 15 of their first 22 games. Realistically they were going to struggle with or without Oden during this stretch anyway. The task undoubtedly just got tougher, but if this squad is really as good as most think (me included) they should be able hang around .500 until Greg and Martell return.
> Barring multiple serious injuries the Lakers are going to run away with the best record overall. Hate all you want, but this club is totally STACKED. I’m already sick of the “Can they win 70 games?” questions that haven’t even started yet.
> The only other thing worth noting from night one was how good Chicago looked. I know it’s only one game against Milwaukee, but I still liked what I saw.
Derrick Rose is the real deal cut out of the same mold as Chris Paul. Thabo Sefolosha, Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas give them some serious athletes in the starting lineup to run with Rose.
What’s really intriguing though is their bench unit of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni and Joakim Noah. Not bad at all on paper. (Larry Hughes injuring his right shoulder was a blessing in disguise BTW.)
The only question I still have, and it’s the main reason I didn’t pick them to make the playoffs, is rookie coach Vinny Del Negro. I have a hard time seeing a guy with no coaching experience on ANY level leading a young team to the post season. But hey, if Vinny’s not a total liability the Bulls are certainly in the mix for the 7th or 8th seed in the East.
> Yet again the NBA is leading the way with an idea that’s so simple it’s a wonder why it took so long to become reality.
From NBA.com…
“For the first time ever, NBA TV will give fans the unique opportunity to vote for the games they want to see televised nationally on NBA TV each Tuesday night. Fans can let their voice be heard by logging onto NBA.com and selecting which match-up taking place around the league should be aired nationally on NBA TV. The top vote getting game will air on the network the following Tuesday night. Voting will begin Tuesday Oct 28 for the first Fan Night match-up which will air on Tuesday Nov 4.”
This is BRILLIANT and I expect all other sports, including college conferences, to be following suit in the very near future. Of course the NBA itself will get no credit whatsoever for starting this…as usual.
The season is not lost.
In fact, far from it.
Yes, Greg Bowie…err…Oden hurt his right foot after only 13 minutes of play. But let’s break it down (Oh, bad choice of words there) before we all throw in the towel.
If he broke/fractured a bone in his foot he’s likely lost for a couple of months. Putting him back at or around the All-Star break. The other option is he tore/stretched a ligament somewhere in his foot. That injury likely has him back around mid to late December.
Now, foot injuries on guys Oden’s size are never a walk in the park in terms of 100% recovery, but the bottom line is he will play again this season.
In the meantime Portland’s backcourt rotation and coach are exactly the same. Granted the Blazers are already without starting SF Martell Webster (fractured left foot), but all that means is more playing time for Rudy Fernandez (a good thing).
The loss of Oden obviously does affect the frontcourt rotation, but not as much as the doom-and-gloomers would have you think. Joel Przybilla is a very capable center. Where it gets dicey now is that Channing Frye moves to backup center and Ike Diogu slides into Frye’s vacated backup PF role. A downgrade? Yes, but not catastrophic either.
What Portland really has working against them is a murderous opening schedule that sees them on the road for 15 of their first 22 games. Realistically they were going to struggle with or without Oden during this stretch anyway. The task undoubtedly just got tougher, but if this squad is really as good as most think (me included) they should be able hang around .500 until Greg and Martell return.
> Barring multiple serious injuries the Lakers are going to run away with the best record overall. Hate all you want, but this club is totally STACKED. I’m already sick of the “Can they win 70 games?” questions that haven’t even started yet.
> The only other thing worth noting from night one was how good Chicago looked. I know it’s only one game against Milwaukee, but I still liked what I saw.
Derrick Rose is the real deal cut out of the same mold as Chris Paul. Thabo Sefolosha, Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas give them some serious athletes in the starting lineup to run with Rose.
What’s really intriguing though is their bench unit of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni and Joakim Noah. Not bad at all on paper. (Larry Hughes injuring his right shoulder was a blessing in disguise BTW.)
The only question I still have, and it’s the main reason I didn’t pick them to make the playoffs, is rookie coach Vinny Del Negro. I have a hard time seeing a guy with no coaching experience on ANY level leading a young team to the post season. But hey, if Vinny’s not a total liability the Bulls are certainly in the mix for the 7th or 8th seed in the East.
> Yet again the NBA is leading the way with an idea that’s so simple it’s a wonder why it took so long to become reality.
From NBA.com…
“For the first time ever, NBA TV will give fans the unique opportunity to vote for the games they want to see televised nationally on NBA TV each Tuesday night. Fans can let their voice be heard by logging onto NBA.com and selecting which match-up taking place around the league should be aired nationally on NBA TV. The top vote getting game will air on the network the following Tuesday night. Voting will begin Tuesday Oct 28 for the first Fan Night match-up which will air on Tuesday Nov 4.”
This is BRILLIANT and I expect all other sports, including college conferences, to be following suit in the very near future. Of course the NBA itself will get no credit whatsoever for starting this…as usual.
posted by D$ at 9:31 AM
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