I'm not trying to be Donnie Downer, really I'm not. But Darius Miles has also been practicing with and NBA team; and Miles is not "back." I am crazy impressed with Joel and his ability to come this far this fast after those knee injuries. As a Blazers fan I'm praying he can come back as the stud center we remember. Or close to it. Joel you are a man!
I'm all for Pryzbilla recovering as fast as he is able and wish him luck. The employment situation for him and Oden are not the same and may be influencing the attitudes a bit. If Joel doesn't recover QUICKLY, he may not get another "good" contract at his age. If Greg doesn't recover FULLY, he may not get another good contract because of his injury reputation. The objectives for each are similar in some ways but different in others. Edit: I forgot to add that the employment opportunities for coordinated 7 footers will always be pretty damn good -- even if they can't play every game.
I agree! I believe had he NOT got injured last year he was going to opt out. Just my opinion. Hope he comes back full strength and we resign him next summer!
Q: Why is everyone impressed that Joel is returning after 9 months? That's a long time. A: Because you're comparing to Oden, the record holder. Q: Why all the posts here about Oden's physical injury? That healed long ago. What's the real problem? A: What's keeping him out is that he has pain some days, and not on other days. He is abnormal not for the length of his physical recoveries, but for the length of his pain recoveries.