Pioneer10
Come home Sideshow Bob
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Although Greg never took my bait and blamed the Blazers for his premature return, it's impossible not to wonder if Portland's medical staff contributed to any of the problems Greg endured during his injury-plagued career. This isn't to say Greg never would've gotten hurt had he played somewhere else, but Portland's medical staff has long been rumored to be less than stellar.4 At any rate, nobody can deny that Greg genuinely felt pressured — either by the Blazers, their doctors, his own guilt, or all three — to return to the court before his body was ready. That's why he claims he wasn't surprised that he needed a second microfracture surgery. That's why he responded to the news by shrugging his shoulders and saying "OK" as if he had just been told by a McDonald's employee that the McFlurry machine wasn't working.
This second microfracture operation led to another missed season, which meant that in Greg's first four years in Portland, he played in only 82 games. Somewhat thankfully, the NBA lockout forced him away from the Blazers' facilities last summer, and he moved to Los Angeles to continue rehabilitating at a private clinic. Even if the change of scenery served him well, that clinic was juggling too many athletes to give him the personal attention Greg thought he needed, so he found a different clinic that was more hands-on. Greg's new physical therapist informed him that, while his left knee was healing well, it wasn't nearly as strong as it should've been. He referred Greg to a New York colleague who specialized in things like "making someone's knee better after it endures two devastating injuries in less than a year." Before Greg shifted operations to New York, however, the lockout ended and forced him back to Portland. Again, he felt rushed to return to the court before he was ready. And wouldn't you know it — he ended up needing another microfracture surgery in the same knee he was already rehabbing.
I thought Greg might retire from basketball after Portland released him. That's not happening. Right now, his plan is to take off the entire 2012-13 season, move back to Columbus, take all the time he needs to rehab his knee back to full strength, and continue working toward the degree that he abandoned after one year at Ohio State. Once he feels ready, he plans to sign with an NBA team in 2013 and (hopefully) string together a few years of injury-free basketball. No NBA player has ever returned from three microfracture surgeries, so there's no denying that the odds are against him. But here's the good news: Even though his appearance would lead you to believe otherwise, he's only 24 years old. There's still enough time to salvage a decent NBA career and maybe even reach some of the potential that once seemed so limitless. Not that he's thinking about it that way, of course.
"I don't care about what all of these injuries mean for any legacy I might have," he said. "I just want to play basketball. I could've signed with a team after Portland cut me and just sat on the bench and collected paychecks, but that's not my style. That just seems really unethical. Besides, money doesn't matter to me. I've got enough money. All I want is to get 100 percent healthy and get back on the court."
Always liked Oden as a person. Too bad his body hasn't help up. Looks like Portland has some real issues up there (Roy and Oden may not be coincidence)
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...-overall-pick-greg-oden-injury-plagued-career