Kerry Eggers: The Latest on Greg Oden

http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=128435740812447600

Good times.

 

What the hell? He broke is kneecap last winter. The article says he had microfracture surgery?

Go Blazers

 

In other words, pure speculation on Egger's part.

 

Yeah, I sure hope that was a misprint or mishap on the quote!

MK

 

If they have some scientific evidence that "the longer you wait for the bone to heal, the better", then I am fine with waiting for a couple months beyond the start of the season.

 

Wonderful. Oden was injured 10 months ago but he's still not ready to scrimmage.

Is there some kind of statute of limitations on how long Blazer fans should be allowed to suffer? I think we reached our limit a long time ago . . .

 

usually a bone break is a lot better than a tendon tear or rupture as it heals faster and the bone is often stronger than before, buy then again this is oden we are talking about, incredibly frustrating

 

Definitely a Misprint. That being said I'm glad their not rushing him back, it should relieve some of the pressure. With Camby around I'm not worried.

Life's not fair my friend, and I feel more sorry for G.O. than Blazer fans. He's the one carrying all the weight.

 

I think Oden should be held out for the entire season. It will (A) lower the price of his contract next summer, and (B) make his bones extraextra strong for 2011-12.

 

I don't understand this. When I broke my arm it was good enough to rip the cast off in 4 weeks. Yes Oden had a more extensive break which would require a longer time to heal, yet still any bone breaks should be fully healed in a few months. The bone just will not be getting any stronger after that point. Other parts of Odens legs could still be weak, his muscles had to be stationary while the bone healed, which causes atrophy, and that can take many months to return to form. Plus we are talking about returning to the form of a fit NBA athlete. If he was extra slow and cautious with recovery or a bit lazy at times, it could add extensive time to his rehab.

As with the articles micro-fracture error, I believe there is a misrepresentation of the situation with this quote, it is probably an informal general response meaning the team is being cautious and taking their time with Oden’s injury in general. I doubt there is a doctor telling the team Oden’s bone is still healing.

Basketball is a brutal sport, people are bashing Oden for his injury troubles but a major portion of the players in the league have had major extensive injury problems or permanent athletic limitations as the result of injuries. Blake Griffin hasn’t played a game. McGrady is a shell of his former self. McDyess was one of the top PF’s in the game before injuries. Kevin Garnett is a diminished player from his final years in Minnesota and first year in Boston. Andrew Bynum, Elton Brand, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Grant Hill, Manu Ginobili……..

 

Choo choo

 

They edited the Tribune article - now it reads:

"General Manager Rich Cho said Sunday that the 7-foot center is running and coming along well in rehab from December knee surgery, but not yet playing basketball."

I actually went right to the article when I read the first post, thinking the OP had posted an article from last year, and it was already edited. (Of course, it wouldn't be Cho in last years' article, but I haven't had my coffee.)

 

Here is the way I look at it folks. When you haven't played ball for almost a year, is it really smart to start 5 on 5 against NBA level players right off the bat? That sounds like a great way to pull or tear a ligament to me. Ease him into playing, let his muscles get back into game shape before throwing him into 5 on 5. The biggest chance for injury when returning to the gymn comes from pushing his muscles too hard, too fast. It could have nothing to do with his knee cap. It could have everything to do with getting in game shape first so he doesn't hurt himself in 5 on 5.

 

Oden needs to be living off calcium supplements and a gallon of milk per day.

 

Don't forget the vitamin D!

 

No Doubt, sounds like what they are planning on doing. I hope he eases into the regular season as well. No need to make him start.

 

I could just imagine how happy everybody on this board would be if they pushed him too hard and he didn't even play a minute of the season before tearing a ligament. The Blazers staff is doing the right thing. Phoenix had to really ease Stoudmire back into things after his second knee injury. Players always want to come back too fast. It's up to the staff to hold them back and make sure they don't push it too hard.

 

I agree with your take on the situation, but I'm in the die hard camp so of course I do.

 

Should I know what you mean with that? I have noticed you posting that a few times.

 

So I'm sort-of changing my tune on this now.

I was talking with a medical specialist and she said that the patella is the connecting "bridge" so to speak between the massive muscles in the thigh and the lower leg, along with the tendons to the knee and leg. So she was saying that if you're big (like 7'0 meaning you aren't 300lb and have stout legs) and you're carrying a lot of weight like 250+lbs, then factor in being very athletic in the way of running down court and planting your foot and turning that large amount of forward inertia into a vertical leap to block a shot, and you're going to be dealing with unimaginable amounts of stress to a patella bone.

So given her description, I can see where guys like a younger Shaq and a modern day Oden who have incredible true 7'0 size along with unreal quickness and athleticism, you would run into a case where guys like that put huge amounts of stress on their patella in the course of normal scrimmage and 5-on-5 full court games. So I can see being overly protective of the break and making absolutely sure that a break like that has gone the absolute maximum amount of time you can before you have him going full-speed on that again and putting all of that pressure back on that bone.

So I'm happy that Cho is going the conservative route here and just waiting until either pre-season or even game one until they put him out there at full-speed on that knee to run down the court and plant on the leg.