Fantasy Spin: Oden's Surgery Impact

Discussion in 'Fantasy Basketball' started by Hunter, Sep 14, 2007.

  1. Hunter

    Hunter Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    Exert:</p>

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p>

    If not for bad luck, Greg Oden would have no luck at all. At least when it comes to staying healthy, that is. </p>

    The worst-case scenario for Oden and the Portland Trail Blazers became reality when exploratory surgery for the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft turned into microfracture surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee. Oden missed the beginning of his only season at Ohio State with a fractured wrist, and while he demonstrated great toughness and work ethic by playing through the injury and improving his all-around game despite being less than 100 percent, we are still left to wonder what kind of player he can be at full strength. </p>

    Will we ever know? </p>

    While recently we've seen players like Amare Stoudemire, Jason Kidd and former Blazer Zach Randolph successfully return from such a procedure, it could take anywhere from a year to even two years before Oden returns to form. Even Stoudemire wasn't completely back to his old self by the end of last season, despite the impressive numbers he was able to put up. </p>

    And those are some of the more positive cases in recent memory. Other players, like Kenyon Martin and Chris Webber, didn't find the road back after surgery to be so smooth. The biggest positive in Oden's hopes for a complete -- and hopefully quick -- recovery has to be his age, since he's still a teenager. </p>

    That's what Oden is up against before his NBA career officially starts. What fantasy owners are up against is figuring out what Oden's subtraction from the lineup means to his Trail Blazers teammates for the upcoming season. </p>

    The players most greatly affected are LaMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye, who were expected to see most of their time at power forward this season, only being asked to play the center position when Oden or veteran Joel Przybilla wasn't on the floor. Since Przybilla has yet to average 25 minutes per game in any of his seven seasons in the league, and he's had plenty of injury issues of his own, we can assume he can't be counted on for more than half a game in the middle even when he is healthy.</div></p>

    Couresy of ESPN. Click here to read the full article. </p>
     

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