Oden, Roy Updates
posted: 11/11/2008 at 1:35 PM
The Trail Blazers are officially listing Brandon Roy and Greg Oden as "questionable" for Wednesday night's game against the Heat in Miami. But, following practice on Tuesday afternoon, the feeling is that they'll both probably play.
Oden had an outstanding practice on Tuesday, and was explosive and, at times, dominant. He had several backboard-shaking slam dunks, and several came following quick offensive moves in the paint. It was easily the best he's looked since training camp.
Oden's teammates were tossing around praise when talking about the big guy's condition, and potential, if he looks like he did in practice on Tuesday. They just saw what Dwight Howard is capable of in Orlando, and comparisons were being drawn after what Oden showed in practice.
Roy woke up Tuesday very sore, after he came down awkwardly late in the win over the Magic. He was suffering back spasms, and was a little disappointed that he didn't feel a lot better today. He sat out of practice, along with Joel Przybilla, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Roy is optimistic that following treatment Tuesday evening, and Wednesday morning, he'll be able to go against the Heat.
One interesting note, as far as what Nate McMillan is thinking, is that he plans on keeping the starting lineup in tact, even if Oden does play. Przybilla will continue to be the starting center, at least for now, and Oden will be brought off the bench. I like this move, even though everyone has their opinions on it. This takes a little of the pressure off Oden, keeps the starters together, and Przybilla frankly has earned the starting nod with the way he's played in the first two weeks of the season. There's no hurry to get Oden into the starting lineup, and now he'll have a chance to get his feet wet, again, against other bench units.
One other note conerning Oden. He's continued to work out very hard during the time he's been out, and in fact has lost about 8 pounds since his injury in the season opener against the Lakers. He looks very lean, and Tuesday was very mobile, and powerful.
The Blazers, who are 15-5 all time in Miami, will look to make it four-straight wins when they take on the Heat. Tip off is set for 8pm Eastern, which is 5 pm Pacific on Wednesday night. I'll have more updates later.
RSS FEED
I think McMillan's idea of keeping Pryzbilla in the starting lineup is great. Pryzbilla worked very hard last year for the team and continues to do so. He deserves the starting position, until Oden demonstrates what he can do for the team. Oden has a lot of pressure on him for what he is expected to do for the team this season, and having him play off the bench will be a great asset for us.
MB,
Again, thank you for your more-often-than-not instant updates and reporting.
This is exciting to hear. Tell B-Roy to take it easy and take care of his back, get well. Can't wait to see a healthy group together...
I would have to agree, Oden is so much under pressure, if he does play that would be awesome along with B-roy... I wont watch tommorows game so no bad luck happen :P.
Mike, Great to hear about Oden. I agree it is best for him to come off the bench, at least for now. I am also glad he is losing weight. That should help his quickness and reduce potential injuries.
Loved the game last night. Unklike the bandwagon jumpers, the Blazers have already exceeded my expectations regardless of Oden's minor injury. I thought they could very likely lose the first five and be 1-6 or 2-5 by now. So I will take a winning record at this point no problem. I didn't expect anything great until December/January when they had time to get in sync. In my opinion they are way ahead of schedule. Hope all the bandwagon jumpers will just be patient and enjoy the team that is on the floor, whoever that is.
Rudy is the MAN!!!
Mike,
You guys always talk about Oden being dominate in practice but I have yet to see it in a game. I like Oden a lot and think that he will be a great player, but I'll reserve my judgement on him being dominate until I see him do it in a game. And of course Oden is going to look good in a practice when Pryzbila and Aldridge sit out, if he wasn't I would be concerned. You and Rice are the 2 best commentators in the game! Keep up the good work!
As for the game tomorrow I'll be watching it on ESPN just for the fact that it will be in HD. I have season tickets so I miss all home games in HD and need to take advantage of this opportunity. It would be great if Comcast started shooting away games in HD. I have a 47" TV and the picture on the regular broadcast causes my eyes to hurt. You can't see any of the players faces when the camera is shooting from mid-court. Mike, do you know if Comcast has any plans in the near future for broadcasting away games in HD?
I am thrilled that Oden will be coming off the bench. I have been waiting to hear this!!
Great game last night way to close it out! Hope Roy is doing well ,looking forward to Odens return!
This is great news... ESPN's Thorpe mentioned that Greg looked thinner and better proportioned during the shoot-around yesterday. With you confirming it, I'm excited to see what happens tomorrow night!
G.O. Blazers!
I'm pretty sure I sent you guys emails on courtside about Oden coming off the bench, and maybe a comment or two on this blog. It is the best idea.
Oden came off the bench in his first game at Ohio State. He hasn't earned the starting role yet. This is a great decision and I agree with it 100%.
Lost 8lbs? that is phenomenal news MB. Love to hear that Oden is getting Lean AND explosive.
If Oden is looking dominant, and in the best shape hes been since training camp. Why wouldnt you start him?
Unless his confidence is shook ,and you want him to regain it playing against second string players.
MB Thanks for the update....Great News!!!!! It's very early in the season and no reason to rush anyone back.
To the honorable Mike Barrett:
I hereby nominate Gregraham Lincoln to the position of Secretary of Defense. Having shown the ability to grow a fine beard during his rehab, and in light of his perceived willingness to anchor the second unit coming off the bench, or whenever needed, I so make this nomination. He is in a unique position to further the spread of BLAZERMANIA, and further our two-pronged attack alongside El Magico on the first ever teammates as co-rookies of the year.
Yours Truly,
Travis
Thanks for the update mike! Greg looks very lean in this picture. Greg will be fine, he will dominate the NBA! (with a beard like)
Thanks for the update, MB. I recently watched Oden on comcast sports net where they showed his championship game in 2007 against Florida. He looked really lean and ridiculously dominant then. I understand after going through knee surgery and not being able to do much physically you'd gain some weight, but do you think he will eventually get back into that kind of shape?
You can tell he's not used to being a little heavier like he is right now, which is what kind of led to his foot sprain, I think. Very great idea bringing him off of the bench for a while. No need to stir up the starting lineup, I mean we've won three in a row.
Glad to see that roy's back isnt as serious as it looked and i like the fact that oden is going to come off the bench.
This team has interested this Portland resident in basketball again.
This is off topic, but why is the team honoring Terry Porter during a Kings game? Will Porter be here for it? If not, then why the heck are we doing it during a game when he can't even be here? How is it honoring Porter if Porter isn't there? Weird.
why are we not playing bayless? sergio has had all the opportunity in the world to prove himself and has been, in my mind, terrible. It seems that we got rid of an inconsistent guard in Jack to get a potentially great guard in bayless only to play a guard who doesn't even hold a candle to the traded Jack. It is perplexing that the MVP of the summer league gets no playing time when sergio turns the ball over, misses shots, plays no defense, and throws risky ally-op passes to a thankfully skilled rudy.
It's about time someone came to their senses about our starting center. It was, and should have been since opening night, the Vanilla Gorrilla.
Oden will take his slot in due time. It's nice to know that for once he will have to EARN IT.
Furthermore, with Oden off the bench our second unit just got even more explosive, and we'll get to see what happens when Greg is the regular beneficiary of Sergio's penetration (can you say "alley-oops galore"?).
Unless Roy sits out, The Heat are T-O-A-S-T on national TV.
BOOOM-SHAKA-LAKA!!!
Mike:
Thank you for the info on both players.
I also think it would be good to bring G.O. off the bench. In fact, I wouldn't care if he just went out there and stood for a game or two to get his feet wet.
I did a blog last night implying that our streak is three and go for four. but my typo's reall screwed up the blog.
G.O. Blazers.
hg
Just curious if there is any news on Martell? I am really looking forward to watching him play again!
Good news on the injuries if Oden and BRoy are able to play against Miami.
Some bad news though: early returns are showing the Laker defense to be every bit as good as they showed on opening night against the Blazers. This being the case, barring catastrophic injury, every other team in the West is playing for second place.
All the "at home" gm's here crack me up. I think its like the presidency: there's so much stuff that goes on behind closed doors that what we see is tiny. trust the people in charge to do whats best, they know. Pritch and Nate and Jay are the best.
What you've got is great news, thanks man. Mike, you're the best in the business, we'd all rather listen to you than those tnt and espn scrubs anyday.
as far as expectations, yeah the teams got a lot. But i think they're right where they should be. If anyone's saying they're exceeding expectations, they obviously didn't watch this team last year. rise w/ us baby, we comin.
Man im so impressed with the way my teams playing right now. They so have so much confidence and swagger as a team. im almost worried about Oden and Webster coming back i dont want to get the rotations messed up and them to lose there sync. im sure it wont though.
U DA MAN MB
GO PTOWN BABY!!!
Oh and the random comment about sergio... rodgriguez is a GREAT player. I know he's frusterated but he's gotta hang in there. He's far better than bayless cause he's not looking for himself. Don't get me wrong, i like jerryd a lot as well, he brings a lot to the table. But sergio's a pass first player who gets the players on his squad the ball. and with an assist rate per 48 minutes HIGHER than chris paul.... holy S*. Even in the limited minutes he plays he's very close to always logging the highest number of assists on our team at the end of games. Sergio's my dude. Don't mind the haters, they can't ball anyway.
NYC Blazer fan: (on why Oden should not start)
"Unless his confidence is shook, and you want him to regain it playing against second string players."
...Exactly. Let him dunk on some less-than-stellar big men a few times in a meaningful game. His smile will brighten and he will be off to the start that we all want.
NYC Blazer fan: (on why Oden should not start)
"Unless his confidence is shook, and you want him to regain it playing against second string players."
...Exactly. Let him dunk on some less-than-stellar big men a few times in a meaningful game. His smile will brighten and he will be off to the start that we all want.
Oden is going to be just fine people. The Micro fracture surgery set him back but it was also a preventive action. Amare Stoudamire is doing just fine, so is Jason Kidd and Zach Randolph.
He is a young man who still needs to get used to going up against men that are nearly his same size.
I'm glad that Nate is keeping Pryz in the starting lineup. If the non-shooter Sergio continues to play (and Nate seems intent on this continuing) it makes better sense for him to play with guys who can really score the ball (Travis, Rudy, Oden, Frye) rather than with the non-offensive threat Pryz.
Sergio + Pryz = playing 3-on-5 offensively.
Not to mention this: Pryz is a world-class rebounder and a solid defender (providing the refs don't call phantom touch fouls on him like they did to him in the Orlando game).
Anyway, two thumbs up...
Such good news to hear about Oden. I hope Roy gets rid of those spasms. yoga baby, it's a miracle for backs. Bringing Oden off the bench makes a lot more sense. Joel is a seasoned veteran that has worked hard for years. Let the rookie come off the bench and play against the other bench and bring him along gradually. Oden has enough pressure already. I think it's funny that people still get sour and say, " I haven't seen him do anything in a game" Last time I checked, he hasn't played a full game in the NBA. GO BLAZERS! Already it has been such a fun season.
Oden should come off the bench, i thought that was how we were going to start off the season anyway...
Dont get me wrong, I am 100% pumped to see him play but we have a starting center right now: Joel Pryzbilla. Oden was supposed to be our center last season, and when he got injured Joel stepped up selflessly and handled it. He is handling it even better this season so far and I think he deserves it until Oden is 100% ready - let him get his feet wet (and healthy) before throwing him in.
People complain about the fact that Joel doesnt score points - well what he doesn't score in points he makes up in preventing the other team in scoring. Joel is arguably one of the top 3 centers in the league and we should be happy to have him!
And yes, comcast SHOULD broadcast in HD.
Post a Comment
<< Home