"I don't know if he's convinced himself, mentally, that he can do it,"

Ouch. That must've been really, really hard. I can only imagine.

I'll be intrigued to hear your thoughts as reports trickle out about Oden's recovery.

 

Typical Fez thread.

 

Don't kill the messenger. I just merely posted the link to the article.

 

You need more MB over-the-top homerism in your posts, or you're being "negative"

 

Unlike any of us...Greg has 8.6 million reasons to aggressively rehab! And that is the minimum amount of reasons!

I think that he'll come around.

 

LINK​

 

the spine is largely held in place by ligaments pulling in opposite directions. My initial injury was caused by a car that hit mine on the passenger side. The impact caused the spine to go to the left stretching out the ligaments on the right side of my body. The muscles continued to spasm around the spine locking it out of place. I could move albeit painfully, but the initial rehab goal was to move as little as possible so that my core muscles would lose their strength and release the spine to go back to it's normal slot. 95%+ of each day was spent on my back, but I could go to the bathroom/cook a meal etc...

Once stretched out ligaments never regain their initial elasticity, so my spine is not supported/held in place like it used to be. I compensate by doing exercises that strengthen the core muscles. I still have the occasional bad day when I've sat or slept too long in a bad posture position and I'm so stiff/broken it's like I'm 90, but overall I'm doing well and am more athletic then all but a couple of my friends. I played 4 games of pick up hoops Friday night and am off to play some Frizbee Golf this morning after this posting. Without question the light at the end of my tunnel when faced with these grueling lonely rehabs was to goal of getting back on the court and playing hoops.

STOMP

 

I mostly have a lot of empathy for Greg... I'm sure he's dying inside and that vicariously hurts me as I can relate. One of the worst things for me was when I got visitors. They'd nervously be asking me questions and sharing their lives while I'd become completely aware of my sad shut in state and that I had nothing positive to share back. Then I'd start feeling bad about making them feel bad for me... avoiding depression was tough to do. When I'd catch myself feeling a downward spiral of self pity coming on I'd say "I'm so lucky..." and then try to list all of the good things in my life. I'm so lucky that medical science has figured out how to deal with this situation... if I'd had the same injury 50 years ago I'd be fucked for life. I'm so lucky to be able to have my bills largely taken care of by workman's comp. I'd do this all the way down to being so lucky that my teeth were good because of fluoride.

hopefully Greg has similarly figured out how to protect his mental health as he deals with his physical health

STOMP

 

its amazing so many here are still obsessed with this guy. we are sinking to the bottom of the west and we are worried about where odens head is at 2 days after surgery. that about sums up the blazers fan base.

 

Oden will be back. He's a tough kid. Hell I'd feel the same way if I were in his shoes.

 

sometimes you post stupid stuff and sometimes (like here) you post really stupid stuff. that about sums up your contributions to the board

STOMP

 

Obviously, you weren't around in the Walton days. There's nothing unusual about the focus of this forum.

 

Durant comes across as a very nice person. Much better than most of the cocky creeps in the NBA. Too bad he's not a trailblazer right now instead of Oden.

The thing with Oden is, let's say he goes through this rehab, but what is the point if his knees can't take it? He's just going to get injured again anyway.

 

Much better, there is actually some substance in that article. Thx

 

Well, only those of us with compassion for a fellow traveler in life. But to each his own I guess.

 

Ben from B-Edge with some good points. However, with no Oden and a hobbled Roy there is no salvaging.

 

Maybe "salvaging" is the wrong choice of words. A more honest term would be "reinventing." I'm sure most people know my position on Oden and I won't rehash it here, but suffice it to say I think Ben is dead-on in his assessment; it is time to move on and it is time to consider all options instead of seeing the team paint itself into a box in terms of cap inflexibility and slim prospects of big time success moving forward. The hard reality is that with a diminished Roy, a completely unreliable Oden, Joel's uncertain status and aging guys like Camby and Miller, the specter of those players absorbing (potentially) around 50 million per year in salary, seems like a pretty high risk, low reward proposition, when it comes to getting this team close to true contention.

I don't know what can be done, but if Cho were somehow able to parlay Joel, Andre' and Greg's expiring deals this year into a real player or two with an eye towards the composition of the team post-lockout I'd be all for it. I think expiring contracts tend to get over-valued at times in the media and amongst fans, but Joel, Oden and Miller represent 21 million dollars that could be pretty attractive to a team looking to shed salary before the next CBA; it's impossible to know what's out there, but there could be a real opportunity to reshape this team's future only if the powers that be are willing to turn the page and stop dwelling on what might have been.

 

After Walton left the Blazers, he went through this during the Clipper years. Jabbar would say that Walton was calling him, depressed. Walton is still in pain and broadcasts Kings games only when they come to Southern California, I think. His most recent operation is one of many that Oden will undergo all his life, ripples from the more famous operations he's gotten lately. Oden should phone Walton. He might learn something. Can't hurt.