Greg Oden made a great comeback with the Trailblazers last night as he helped his team to defeat Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat by 104-96 at the American Airlines Arena.
And surely a $5 million dollar contract is forcing Oden to play as best as he can.
Oden missed most of last season due to a sprained foot, and had missed the six games this one as he got hurt again on the Blazers opening loss to the Lakers, but the 2007 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick seems ready to prove that is a valuable asset for the team and the league in general. Oden just played 16 minutes and finished with three points and 2 rebounds, while teammate Brandon Roy ended with 22 and rookie Rudy Fernandez of Spain with 25 for Portland’s fifth victory of the current season. Oden did not scored on the game against Los Angeles but finished with five rebounds in 13 minutes.
On the other side of the fence, Wade ended the game with 36 points (this meant the fourth straight game where he scores 30 or more points), six rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, while 2008 NBA draft second overall pick Michael Beasley finished with 11 points, same as Daequan Cook.
With nine minutes on the clock at the fourth, the score was tied at 79, but a couple of three pointers open an 11-2 run and the Trailblazers got ahead for good.
This match meant the first loss for Miami in four home games.
The Blazers will probably not give Greg Oden a full time game just yet, they want to work the 19 year old center into their rotation cautiously, but chances are that he will be in shape real soon and most likely will become a basic piece on Portland’s strategic plans, that is… if he can stay injury-free
