LOS ANGELES -- With a thunderous two-handed dunk that violently shook the entire hoop, Greg Oden delivered an emphatic message Wednesday night at the Staples Center: He's ready to G.O.
Oden had his second consecutive standout performance and the Trail Blazers ensured they would finish with a winning exhibition record during a sloppy 87-75 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
And the Blazers' rookie center provided the punctuation mark in the win, when he gathered a pass from Travis Outlaw and finished that impressive dunk with less than four minutes remaining in the game, completing what has to be his most awe-inspiring play with the Blazers to date.
Oden finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds and made six of eight field goals, including a couple of jump hooks. After a mediocre start to the exhibition season, Oden has revealed flashes of his sky-high potential in the past two games, registering 25 points and 22 rebounds. And, perhaps most important, he played at least 29 minutes in each game, showing he's fully recovered from last season's microfracture knee surgery and ready for the regular season, which begins next week in this very building against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The other exhibition curiosity -- who will start at small forward for the injured Martell Webster -- was not resolved Wednesday. Nicolas Batum, the 19-year-old rookie from France, started for the second game in a row and flashed his strengths: sturdy, in-your-face defense and solid, if unspectacular, play. But his shot was off for the second time in as many games, as he made just two of seven field goals and finished with five points.
Still, McMillan isn't necessarily looking for scoring from his starting small forward, and the three assists, one blocked shot and zero turnovers Batum registered in 18 minutes surely didn't hurt his case.
Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw, the other contenders, had so-so performances versus the Clippers. Fernandez, who started the second half, had three steals and four assists in 30 minutes, but made three of eight shots, including one of five three-pointers, and committed four turnovers.
Outlaw, meanwhile, made four of 11 field goals and labored for most of the game. He finished with nine points, but scored all of them in the fourth quarter, when he made four of six shots.
It was a solid fourth quarter impression -- but was it enough to sway McMillan.
"I have until Tuesday to decide that," McMillan said.
The Blazers, who conclude their exhibition schedule Thursday at Utah, improved to 4-2.
Note:Oden suffered a cut above his right eye and received four stitches.
