Update on Oden's rehab

[MrSelfDestruct]

In a video interview posted on Blazers.com that was conducted on Monday, Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, who has been rehabilitating since undergoing microfracture knee surgery in November, was asked whether he has been able to resume work on the basketball court.

"I'm nowhere near there," Oden admitted. "I mean I just started doing two-leg squats like two weeks ago. I've got like a month and a half of just doing that. Putting weight on one leg, that's all I can really do right now."

http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/27910101

I have no clue if this is behind/right on/ahead of schedule, but I recall someone here mentioning that there had been no updates on his progress. Thought I'd pass this along.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Thanks!

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I watched the interview with him and I was just pissed. He seems uninterested and pissy.

 

[Natebishop3]

I just don't think the guy is going to pan out. He doesn't have the drive. I don't think he ever did. He's incredibly gifted, but it seems more and more apparent that he's going to be a bust. It's sad.

 

[illmatic99]

It's been 4 months since his surgery. WTF do you expect him to be able to do?

 

[illmatic99]

I was just pissed.

 

[RoyToy]

You people will criticize anything.

 

[The Professional Fan]

I just don't think the guy is going to pan out. He doesn't have the drive. I don't think he ever did. He's incredibly gifted, but it seems more and more apparent that he's going to be a bust. It's sad.

I truly hope for the best, but this is the exact vibe I get from the guy. I desperately hope I'm wrong.

 

[STOMP]

I watched the interview with him and I was just pissed. He seems uninterested and pissy.

imagine answering these same "when are you going to be back" type questions for the last 4 years. Trust me as someone who has been through a couple long rehabs, it's very tough on you mentally even if you don't have a bunch of pissy fans and press pestering you about things outside your control asking the same stupid questions again and again. All he can do is work at the things the medical staff puts out and take it one day at a time, and by every report he's been anything but a dog about it.

STOMP

 

[Minstrel]

Pop-psychologist moms.

I don't care if he hates basketball...as long as he works hard at rehab (as everyone has always said he does) and plays as well on the court as he has when healthy, he can care as little as he wants.

Not that I really credit posters here with knowing whether Oden cares or not. But even if he doesn't, all I care about is what he does...not what he feels.

 

[KevinJBonn]

These weren't the standard questions. I really got a bad vibe from watching it and I hope it was just a bad mood kind of thing, but honestly from what I've read and heard it isn't. It's too bad.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

imagine answering these same "when are you going to be back" type questions for the last 4 years. Trust me as someone who has been through a couple long rehabs, it's very tough on you mentally even if you don't have a bunch of pissy fans and press pestering you about things outside your control asking the same stupid questions again and again. All he can do is work at the things the medical staff puts out and take it one day at a time, and by every report he's been anything but a dog about it.

STOMP

Did you watch the interview? Only one question was like that and it was in a very nice way. All the other questions that had nothing to do with that he just seemed like a dick with how he answered.

 

[STOMP]

Did you watch the interview? Only one question was like that and it was in a very nice way. All the other questions that had nothing to do with that he just seemed like a dick with how he answered.

I don't think he was being a dick at all and think you're being pretty ridiculous reading into things like that.

Did you read my post? Having gone through a couple of long rehabs, I truly know what a "bummer" it can be... it's hard not to go crazy with the frustration & waiting. Two more months of leg squats, swimming and the fucking elliptical machine before he gets to finally hit the court. I'd guess at that point his attitude will ramp up. I know the promise of hitting the court kept me motivated throughout my rehabs but it wasn't until it became eminent that I really wanted to talk to others about things. You just want to get it over and get back to living your life.

STOMP

 

[oldmangrouch]

Oden may be the only player in the league who is rooting for a long lock-out next season.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Since we seemed to have some difference of opinion from people who watched the video, I thought i would watch it myself.

In my opinion Oden is a lot like Andre Miller, doesn't really like talking with the media and is definitely not an enthusiastic rah, rah type guy. (that certainly hasn't affected Miller's game).
Greg seemed like he is keeping up on the team and the rest of the league, so he seems like a guy who is still interested in basketball.

Talking about his rehab, he seems realistic and just taking it one day at a time (his answer to what is his goal for the next two years: "to stay healthy").

I didn't get any kind of negative vibes from watching the interview, nothing that would make me think Greg doesn't care about basketball or that he isn't interested in his rehab.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Another observation from these interviews, specifically with LMA. He said that that was OK that they finished that road trip 2-2, and how difficult road trips are and especially when you need to stay 2 days in one city and how they were tired, etc. In my experience winners do not make excuses. I cannot imagine Kobe Bryant talking that way. I would like to see just one player on the team who was really angry and disappointed about the way they finished that trip. And I don't think this team can even think about ever being a championship team until somebody on this team develops that attitude or until they acquire somebody with that kind of attitude.

 

[Rhal]

Another observation from these interviews, specifically with LMA. He said that that was OK that they finished that road trip 2-2, and how difficult road trips are and especially when you need to stay 2 days in one city and how they were tired, etc. In my experience winners do not make excuses. I cannot imagine Kobe Bryant talking that way. I would like to see just one player on the team who was really angry and disappointed about the way they finished that trip. And I don't think this team can even think about ever being a championship team until somebody on this team develops that attitude or until they acquire somebody with that kind of attitude.

I would love to see that but I think a lot of what our players say are canned and fed to them by the couch's. The way the public sees the Blazers is still on the front of the front office minds and probably will be for years to come. If we get a player who is perceived to have attitude problems it would reflect on the team badly because of the jail blazers era.
I on the otherhand would love to have that player who is outspoken about losing and playing bad to the media.

 

[mgb]

Couches do advise our players way to much.

 

[tlongII]

He seems fine to me. Pretty much right where I would expect him to be at this point.

 

[Natebishop3]

Since we seemed to have some difference of opinion from people who watched the video, I thought i would watch it myself.

In my opinion Oden is a lot like Andre Miller, doesn't really like talking with the media and is definitely not an enthusiastic rah, rah type guy. (that certainly hasn't affected Miller's game).
Greg seemed like he is keeping up on the team and the rest of the league, so he seems like a guy who is still interested in basketball.

Talking about his rehab, he seems realistic and just taking it one day at a time (his answer to what is his goal for the next two years: "to stay healthy").

I didn't get any kind of negative vibes from watching the interview, nothing that would make me think Greg doesn't care about basketball or that he isn't interested in his rehab.

If you go back and watch the Greg that was a media darling before we drafted him, you can see a clear difference.

 

[mgb]

If you go back and watch the Greg that was a media darling before we drafted him, you can see a clear difference.

Hmmm,,,why do you think that is?

No offense, but of course there is going to be some difference. That doesn't mean he doesn't care. If he's to happy he'd be nailed for not caring too. He's in a no win situation.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Another observation from these interviews, specifically with LMA. He said that that was OK that they finished that road trip 2-2, and how difficult road trips are and especially when you need to stay 2 days in one city and how they were tired, etc. In my experience winners do not make excuses. I cannot imagine Kobe Bryant talking that way. I would like to see just one player on the team who was really angry and disappointed about the way they finished that trip. And I don't think this team can even think about ever being a championship team until somebody on this team develops that attitude or until they acquire somebody with that kind of attitude.

Agreed 100%.

 

[Kaydow]

Another observation from these interviews, specifically with LMA. He said that that was OK that they finished that road trip 2-2, and how difficult road trips are and especially when you need to stay 2 days in one city and how they were tired, etc. In my experience winners do not make excuses. I cannot imagine Kobe Bryant talking that way. I would like to see just one player on the team who was really angry and disappointed about the way they finished that trip. And I don't think this team can even think about ever being a championship team until somebody on this team develops that attitude or until they acquire somebody with that kind of attitude.

That used to be Roy. I remember two years ago (54 win season) the Blazers could not win a game against the top teams in the Western Conference on the road. They were something like 1-13 at one point against the teams in the West that would make the playoffs. Harlow interviewed him after a tough road loss and he looked devastated, near teary eyed. His point was how bad he wants to win a championship, but that championship teams HAVE to win on the road. He said he didn't know what he else he could do, and that he had tried everything as a team leader to jumpstart the team on the road. I thought to myself, this guy will eventually figure it out - he's got that Kobe/MJ "Can't stand to lose" mentality. I think with everything that has happened to Brandon since the surgery last season, he's just happy to be playing right now. He wondered if his career was over, and now he's satisfied with being on the floor whatever the outcome is.

As for Oden, I'm only surprised when he sounds POSITIVE in interviews these days. He's appeared moody, cranky, surly, all year whenever someone shoves a mic in front of him. We can only imagine what's it's like to have to walk in his knee braces. The hype around him was like that of guys like Ewing, David Robinson, Hakeem, Shaq, etc. He did an interview for ESPN The Mag before the '07 Draft and he said he wanted to win like 8 or 9 championships. So much hype. And now he's widely considered the biggest bust of the decade. That's a lot for anyone to stand up to, but Greg is exceptionally bad at it. Not every perennially injured "should have been HOFer" has the grace of Grant Hill I guess.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

If you go back and watch the Greg that was a media darling before we drafted him, you can see a clear difference.

yeah thats my take as well, i hate to say it, but i get the feeling he would rather be somewhere else, i hope we can re-connect him to the portland vibe, and keep him around.

 

[BBert]

imagine answering these same "when are you going to be back" type questions for the last 4 years. Trust me as someone who has been through a couple long rehabs, it's very tough on you mentally even if you don't have a bunch of pissy fans and press pestering you about things outside your control asking the same stupid questions again and again. All he can do is work at the things the medical staff puts out and take it one day at a time, and by every report he's been anything but a dog about it.

STOMP

If everyone on this board were going through the same exact things as Greg over the past four years, there would be that many different variations of reactions to the whole ordeal. Myself, if all I had to do was focus on my own rehab with one or two physical therapists, trainers and doctors, I'd be fine. But put me in the situation Greg has been in with the media and the endless questions and the huge expectations, and I can tell you for certain I would not handle it even as well as Greg has. I'm basically a private person, and I get the feeling Greg is too. I'd be embarrassed, and I think Greg is too. I would be more than pissy by now. I'd probably be pretty rude and dismissive, and I couldn't get away from anyone asking me about it fast enough.

Maybe he doesn't have the drive of a Kobe Bryant. I'm willing to bet he doesn't (few do). Maybe he will be a bust, for either physical or mental reasons. I can only hope not.

Message board posters can sometimes be a bit like drivers in traffic: they feel protected by their isolation and can be pretty rude, harsh and judgemental to others on the road without any consequences. Sometimes I think that's why we have message boards in the first place.

The guy just had micro-fracture surgery. Again. Because of other surgeries, he hasn't been in shape in years. We are not going to know how Greg is doing until training camp. And neither will he. I don't expect any more from Blazers fans than I do from Greg. I hope both will show some patience until then.

 

[PapaG]

He seems fine to me. Pretty much right where I would expect him to be at this point.

Injured and unable to play basketball?

We agree!

He's going to take the Q.O. and get out of PDX as fast as he can, IMO.

 

[magnifier661]

This whole scenario just pisses me off. I remembered watching the lotto that year and getting teary eyed. Saying "Wow Portland finally caught a break!"

We know how that turned out... I am just trying to hope for the best.

 

[Wheels]

yeah thats my take as well, i hate to say it, but i get the feeling he would rather be somewhere else

you mean he would rather be somewhere else, than having to Rehab over and over?? Imagine that!!

 

[HailBlazers]

I just don't think the guy is going to pan out. He doesn't have the drive. I don't think he ever did. He's incredibly gifted, but it seems more and more apparent that he's going to be a bust. It's sad.

Glad you have that opinion. Too me, it's like Mixum saying the Season is over.

 

[e_blazer]

He's going to take the Q.O. and get out of PDX as fast as he can, IMO.

You keep saying that, but to me it makes absolutely no sense. IMO, he's going to get offers from other teams for something like 3 years at $8 to $10 mil per year and the Blazers will match any such offer. Even if no other team makes this kind of an offer (and I think that's highly unlikely), the Blazers would make him an offer like that on their own. He's such a potential game changer that he's worth the risk. He'd really have to hate Portland to turn down a guaranteed salary of $8 mil per year for 3 years to take a risky one year deal at the same price just so he can be a free agent the following season.