Blazer fans went from Playoff aspirations to hoping they can exceed their 32 wins a season ago. This is a crushing blow to Blazer fans who felt like 16 year old kids getting a Ferrari as mentioned over at Blazer's edge a blog for the team.
Oden had Microfracture Knee surgery. The same injury that Amare Stoudamire had; who has now fully recovered and just as good as he was before the injury.
The loss of Oden really doesn't hurt the offense of the Blazers but definitely the defensive side of the ball. Along with his overall presence and impact he would of had on ticket sales for the franchise that was once known for selling out every game and now struggle to put people in the seats.
Now here is my projected starting lineup for the Blazers in '07-'08:
Point Guard: Jarret Jack
Shooting Guard: Brandon Roy
The backcourt is going to be in good hands. Jack and Roy are two up-and-coming stars in this league; particularly Roy who was outstanding as a Rookie last season out of Washington.
Small Forward: Darius Miles (tentative projection)
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge is a budding star. Only average nine points last season along with six rebounds. But now with the loss of Oden, Aldridge takes a lot bigger role on this team. Expect Aldridge to be a consistent double-double guy this season. A sleeper for all you Fantasy players out there.
Now Miles, the guy is on his last-leg. His career has been labeled as a "cancer" in the locker room. He will see minutes though this season with a lack of talent and experience at the 3. The loss of Zach Randolph is really hurting this team right now.
Center: Joel Przybilla/Raef LaFrentz
You go from a projected future Hall of Famer to Joel Przybilla. That's the story of NBA Center's these days. That's why a guy like Oden is so valuable. You don't see a Center like him come around these days. Raef LaFrentz who is the oldest player on this team, was expected to be the seasoned veteran to show Oden the ropes of the NBA-lifestyle and be a nice practice player for Oden. Now LaFrentz might be the starter at Center at some point this season.
Things are looking bleak for the Blazers this season. But I believe Oden could recover, but he honestly may never be the same player that he once was in High School and at Ohio State. The man has proven he is injury-prone. The Blazers got 17 nationally televised games this season. I bet the ratings for those games now will be as low as a WNBA game now, without Oden in the mix. The Blazers even got a Christmas Day game against the Sonics to get the Durrant-Oden rivalry underway but that will have to wait for another year.
- Mitch Harper (mitchburgundy@hotmail.com)
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