I’m not going to pretend I know what Greg Oden must be feeling right now. But if I had to guess, I’d say he’s somewhere between frustrated and hopeful.
Like many of us that cover the NBA – and specifically the Portland Trail Blazers – I swapped mass amounts of text messages and emails today about Oden’s status, which we all know now is out 2-4 weeks with the gimpy right foot. But it wasn’t until probably the last text I sent to a buddy around 8ish on Wednesday night that something struck me:
Despite being almost 35-years-old, white, 6-2 and 195 pounds and a millionaire (okay, maybe not monetarily speaking…but I know I’ve got at least a million baseball cards stashed in a footlocker in my garage), G.O. and I are the same – we are both trying to make it through life one day at a time. That’s the only way to live.
Tomorrow isn’t promised. Neither are days spent playing a game.
It was a long “24 hours of Greg Oden” in Portland – note the shameless plug via HOOPSWORLD – but today is a new day.
Here’s what I appreciated about this whole Oden ordeal. It puts life in perspective for everyone involved – the fans, the Blazers organization, Kevin Pritchard, Nate McMillan, Greg, the team, the media and even those casual fans sprinkled around the league and throughout Oregon.
Perhaps Pritchard (seen above in his Jayhawk best) put it perfectly talking with the Oregonian’s own John Canzano (who does a bang-up job by the way on the Bald-Face Truth) on 95.5 The Game:
“I talk about this all the time. As important as Greg is, so is Shavlik Randolph. Believe it or not, I believe that. It may sound a little backwards but we have important players. I’m not saying they aren’t important. But we are a team. We can’t put the onus of a winning season or the playoffs on Greg Oden.”
Well said. That’s real talk. If words could heal, maybe Greg will be back sooner than we know.
pic via: k.u. media
