O Boy...

We all wonder. We all think. We all hope.

The forbidden fruit must be tasted, again. Somebody had to say it, right? Don't act like these statements are anything new to you by now. I mean I, along with everyone else, have had all of these thoughts in my head going into the Portland Trailblazers' upcoming '10-'11 season. It's time we put it all out on the table, and call this upcoming season what it really is: Greg Oden's "make or break" year.

For those of you who were lucky enough to watch Greg before he came here, and before he was even being talked about in Portland, there's an even bigger reason for you to grind your teeth this year. The man is unbelievably talented. I got to be one of those people who watched him at Ohio State, and I'll never forget the first time I watched him. I didn't even know who this big kid was when I turned the game on, but as it progressed I kept seeing his name running down the court after every play. Dunks, blocks, aggressive, hooks, free throws, athleticism...in other words, he was the whole damn show. From that point on, I started seeing his name pop up everywhere in sports. I started thinking, what if he came to Portland?!?! Later that year the Trailblazers earned the rights to the 2007 #1 draft pick with a 5.3% chance. I was giggly. After a long and "hard" thought process deciding between Oden and Texas' Kevin Durant, Greg was drafted to Portland on June 28th, 2007. All eyes were on Portland, and the stage was set. Greg was going to be our last ingredient to becoming a championship contender. But as life would have it, that's not exactly what happened.

It was determined that Greg needed microfracture surgery on his right knee. The surgery put him out of work for his entire first season in the NBA. He returned for the '08-'09 season, only to sit back out again a couple games into the season from a foot injury. After returning 2 weeks later, Greg started looking like the Oden of old. Averaging a double-double, people started talking again. But a month later, he collided knees with Corey Maggette and he his kneecap was chipped, taking him out for another three weeks. Relentlessly returning again, He came back even stronger. Points in the twenties on a regular basis, and even setting a career-high of 20 rebounds in a game. On December 5th of '09, the axe came down again. Going up for a block, Greg's patella tendon in his left knee split in half. Again, he was forced to have season-ending surgery. As you can tell, injuries follow Mr. Oden like a shadow.

After reading that, you understand that any logical person would unload Oden right now. In fact, most logical people would have probably done it awhile ago. It's no secret that a lot of people around the country, in the NBA, and even in Portland, have given up on Greg Oden. By now, everyone who lives in Portland has heard "should of picked Durant!" or "should of seen that one coming!". But no we really shouldn't of. Nor should we continue to.

The Trailblazers' '10-'11 season begins on October 26. Going into this season, when you look at the current roster, you'll see that there is a 7'-0'', 285 pound center who is itching to prove all doubters wrong. I can guarantee you right now, that while you're reading this, Oden is in the gym drenched in his own sweat, thriving in pain, making his body and his knees even stronger than yours. In this last offseason, we all waited for the Blazer's front office to make one more blockbuster move. Everyday a new name was being thrown around, but always seemed to fade in a day or so. In an interview with Blazer great Clyde Drexler, he said that the Trailblazers were "one move away" from being an NBA title contender. I agree. But maybe we've been looking in all of the wrong places.

...Maybe all we need to do is peak our head into the gym.