| 18 November 2010
Portland Trail Blazers (7-5) vs. Denver Nuggets (6-5) - 7:30pm PST
It doesn’t feel like the Blazers should have to play a game today. After all, the team just found out last night that Greg Oden is having another season-ending surgery – his third in only four years. Oden was expected to be the x-factor this year. Now, he might not even play another game as a Portland Trail Blazer.
But as Nate McMillan stated at last night’s press conference: "We have to pull together, stay together. We have a game tomorrow."
Easier said than done. Emotions will be running high tonight and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a letdown at the Rose Garden. The willpower to continue fighting adversity can only last so long and after watching yet another season of heart wrenching injuries unfold before our eyes, the Blazers have to be nearing a breaking point.
The season-ending microfracture surgery for Greg Oden is already the third season-ending injury for Portland this year. Jeff Pendergraph and Elliot Williams were the other two unlucky Blazers to catch the injury bug this year. Considering the Blazers have only played in 12 games so far, that averages out to 1 season ending surgery every 4 games. I won’t even count Fabricio Oberto, although he too played his last game in the NBA after just a short stint with Portland.
Looking at this situation from another viewpoint, this unfortunate news about Oden could also encourage the team to push themselves to the next level without waiting any longer for reinforcements. Until this point, it’s possible that Portland has been trying to slide by on marginal play with the hopes that Oden would return soon and be the missing link the Blazers have been needing in order to reach contender status.
With this possibility now out the window, the Blazers know there will no longer be a magical rescue from Oden. Joel Przybilla will certainly help bring strong interior defense and rebounding, but he doesn’t have the same potential and ceiling that enabled Greg Oden to become the #1 draft pick in 2007.
The Blazers will have to figure something out, and soon, as the Denver Nuggets are in town and are in a prime position to steal a game away from Portland at home. Unfortunately, Denver has also had to deal with significant injuries, including offseason knee surgeries for Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson. Both players are expected to make a return to basketball by January 1st, however.
In the meantime, the Nuggets are still a deadly team with a high-powered offense, led by All-Star Carmelo Anthony and veteran Chauncey Billups. Anthony has repeatedly dismantled the Blazers over the past four years, averaging 30 points per game against them during that time. Last year, the Nuggets won three of the four matchups against the Blazers, including a 1-1 split at the Rose Garden.
Wesley Matthews is going to need to put up impressive numbers again in order to stop Denver. He performed admirably against a sub-par Grizzlies defense -- now let’s see how he does against a much more aggressive defensive team. He’ll get the start at shooting guard for a second straight game as the Blazers will once again be without Brandon Roy. The official statement from the Blazers:
"Brandon Roy's MRI showed no significant change and no surgery is contemplated. He will miss the next two games vs. Denver and Utah and will be reevaluated in a week."
Although the barrage of injuries has stolen away some of the excitement for this year, it doesn’t mean the Blazers can’t still put together a solid season. One of Portland's main strengths coming into the year was incredible roster depth. When one player goes down, another is there to step up. The only question now is who will that be?
photo: getty images
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