Besides the timing of shoot around, the other news out of Orlando yesterday was Greg Oden's return to the practice court. Oden had been rehabbing with a variety of off-court exercise coupled with some light on-court shooting, but yesterday Oden ran, jumped and (lightly) bumped with the team at the Magic's practice facility.
And he looked good. I didn't get a chance to talk to him after shoot around, but it didn't look like he was experiencing any pain. Granted, it was a hour long shoot around that basically amounts to a walk-through of Orlando's bread and butter plays, but it was great to see the big man getting up and down the court again, especially considering there was some concern that he wouldn't even make the trip.
Important to note though that just because Oden participated in yesterday's shoot around doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to get out and play in game situations. The team is scheduled to have a full practice tomorrow in Miami, so it's possible we'll know more about Oden's status after that. It's possible we'll get an update pre-game tonight, but my gut tells me that, at the very least, they'd want to run Oden through a whole practice before coming to any conclusions about his status for the rest of the trip.
Oden played with the second unit, so if nothing else, I think we can assume Joel Przybilla will continue to start at center, at least in the near term. Oden hasn't played since sustaining a mid-foot sprain 13 days ago in the opener against the Lakers.
Also worth mentioning that Nate McMillan and the rest of the coaching staff are in the process of installing some new sets, so it's possible that they wanted Oden out there simply to help his understanding of those new plays. In fact, McMillan said prior to the Minnesota game that Oden would be going on the road trip if for no other reason than to be around when those new sets were being run though.
So basically, don't jump to any conclusions.
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6 comments:
He's going to need a couple of games to get back into the groove of things. Going up against Dwight Howard in Orlando as a first game back from injury is probably nerve racking. He needs a couple games where he can overpower his opponents that lead him into a tough matchup.
He needs to play against Sacramento again.
heck yeah!
can't wait to see him on the court again...adds such a good dynamic to the squad.
baby eloise says hi casey. ;)
-jesse (elementluck)
Let Greg ease himself into the lineup. joel is doing a great job!
Now wouldn't that be a smart move... have greg come off the bench. Takes some of the pressure off, and give him a chance to work his way into the NBA game.
Perhaps the coach will recognize the value of that move. Imagine Oden, Rudy, Outlaw, et al coming into the game near the end of the first quarter. Pick up the pace, give the opponent a different look. A nine or ten man rotation is a terrific way to run your opponent right out of the Garden. This team has that potential.
The question is, will McMillan continue this boring, controlled pace that puts the fans to sleep and keeps the opponents on their toes.
Rudy, Sergio, Outlaw, Martell and Bayliss were born to run and gun. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship, especially if Oden is making the block or outlet to get the boys on the move. Next step in the evolution of this team? I think so.
It's official!!!
Oden's going to be MVP!!!
Wait, don't jump to conclusions. Ah shucks
I think the Blazers need to bring Oden off the bench for a couple weeks just so it takes sum of the pressure off of him. Not only pressure but he needs to get into NBA shape which I havn't seen that out of him. I mean its not like Miami has a very physical post on or off the bench...
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