Oden's Knee Injury Could Have Been Avoided

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Oden's Knee Injury Could Have Been Avoided

Written by wendell maxey

Sunday, 06 December 2009 01:56

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There was a family of four sitting to the left of the Houston Rockets bench watching the Portland Trail Blazers trying to defend Aaron Brooks on his way to the rim.

When Greg Oden collapsed to the floor writhing in pain after trying to block Brooks' shot, the foursome all turned their heads in horror at first sight of Oden’s concaved left knee. The same went for the majority of fans when the replay flashed on the giant HD jumbotron screen hanging at the Rose Garden.

No one could bear to look or even wanted to fathom what just occurred. The Blazers young center wheeled off on a stretcher with his left knee stationary. A prognosis from the Portland Trail Blazers reached the masses at 8:19 pm: MRI confirms Oden fractured left patella. He’ll undergo surgery to repair the injury and is likely out for the season.

Said to be a “non impact”injury, the loss of Oden has a huge impact on Portland especially since it might have been avoided after what happened this past February.

This is the second-straight season Oden has injured his left knee cap.

Last season before the All-Star Game, Greg bumped his left knee with Cory Maggette at Golden State on February 13, 2009 causing Oden to miss three weeks due to a fractured knee cap. At that time, Portland opted for an MRI over surgery saying the left patella was chipped. They believed then any swelling or stiffness would eventually wane and surgery wasn't needed. Instead, Oden rested and returned to action with no major setbacks – that is until Saturday night against Houston.

Now this is beyond a major setback.

Could this really have been avoided with surgery to the left kneecap last year to simply go in and repair the chip?

Is it possible to have a chronically poor kneecap?

It's up for discussion at this point.

Early last March, Portland essentially admitted they shouldn’t have listed Oden's status as day-to-day. Team doctors and trainers knew then they were dealing with a potential long-term injury. And they were right.

Knowing this is the same knee that Oden suffered a chipped knee cap last February makes his broken kneecap now that much more devastating. It also makes the healing process even longer. Out for this season is one thing. Not knowing when he will return at all is even more concerning for Portland.

It’s not the first we’ve heard of broken kneecaps this season.

Blake Griffin's NBA debut was pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed in late October that their No. 1 overall draft pick suffered a broken left kneecap. He was said to be out six weeks. His return now has been pushed back until mid-January. It could be longer. But even Griffin in this case has an advantage over Oden.

Blake doesn’t have history with his left kneecap and Greg most certainly does.

“I’m obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was,” Oden said in a statement released by the Blazers.

“This is a setback, but I’ll be back. It’s in God’s hands now.”

The franchise is obviously reeling from the loss of Greg Oden (again), but right now that’s the best time table around.

photo: sbnation

Update: Did Portland say goodbye to their playoff promise and hello to the NBA draft lottery by losing Greg Oden again?

Charley Rosen from FOX Sports apparenty believes so.

"The draft pick of a lifetime has essentially been wasted, and Portland must now embark on yet another rebuilding program. Plus, with the not-so-secret disruption of team chemistry resulting from the signing of Andre Miller — who has to start, wants to start, and thought he would be starting — the Blazers are even in worse shape than they were three years ago," Rosen writes.

"It's hard to imagine that Portland will be interested in re-signing Oden when his contract expires in 2011."

Portland knows what life can be like without Greg Oden, but to suggest the Blazers would decline re-signing him at this point is still premature.

The only train of thought right now is to get the kid healthy.

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Comments (7) Add Comment

Charlie Rosen is a tool
written by nikolokolus, December 06, 2009

Worse off than they were pre 2006? Come again? They have Brandon Roy and LaMarcus which means they've still got solid foundational pieces. I'm not completely convinced Miller is the bust that Rosen makes him out to be and while the loss of Oden stings and is a gigantic setback for a team with championship aspirations, and it may very well spell the end of his run in Portland (I'm not totally convinced) but it's not as though this is team fielding Ha, Telfair, Monia, Khryapa, and Z-bo.

It's time for KP to earn some of his money.

Might cost Oden his extension this summer
written by tssbro, December 06, 2009

Or maybe just a couple years of the extension. If that is what Rosen is referring to then maybe he is right. But all that means is they would wait and see what the rest of the NBA would offer and then match it. I doubt that they would let it go that far. They might offer a three year deal instead of five or place benchmarks like reaching 50 games in a season for certain payouts etc. I don't think they will give up on a guy KP is obviously very attached to.

TWolves Trade With Portland?
written by College Wolf, December 07, 2009

I know Oden is apparently massively injury prone, but do we try trading for him? If he get can get a stay healthy, he is exactly the center we need next to KLove. Huge risk though, I know. This could either pan out nicely down the road, or be an epic fail.

What about something like Jefferson for Oden and Rudy Fernandez? I'd do that. Rudy and Rubio would make sweet music in two years assuming Rubio comes over. I think getting Rudy would really help with that. Jefferson is "injury prone" himself, but clearly more healthy than Oden at the moment. I also think Al fits in nicely next to the Vanilla Gorilla and Aldridge.

Would Portland do it?

@ nik
written by wmaxeyjr, December 07, 2009

yeah, i wouldn't put a lot of stake into rosen's take. it was a kneejerk reaction to the oden situation but doesn't give enough credit to the other talent on the team.

as for kevin, i don't think he'll jump the gun and start wheeling and dealing because of this setback. but i do still believe he'll make some sort of move at the deadline. could that be miller? it all depends if andre has made the team adjustment by then.

@ tssbro
written by wmaxeyjr, December 07, 2009

the whole "will they re-sign greg in 2011 with his second bumb knee" is a legit discussion to have. but at this point it is even too far to speculate what management might be inclined to do. the rehab process is the most important thing right now - aside from oden's overall mental and physcial health that is.

@ college wolf
written by wmaxeyjr, December 07, 2009

hey....thanks for the line.

i don't know about that one. gonna just leave that one alone.

Right on
written by CollgeWolf, December 07, 2009

I hear ya. Thanks.

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