When center Greg Oden, the number one pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, went down with injury for the season, it was supposed to mean another trip to the lottery for the young Portland Trail Blazers. The team had just traded its top player, forward Zach Randolph, to the New York Knicks for young, unproven Channing Frye and washed up Steve Francis, whom they soon after bought out. Yet, after a less-than-desirable 5-12 start, the Blazers started winning.
Guard Brandon Roy might have been the biggest cause. After two disappointing games where he scored just eight points against the Dallas Mavericks on November 30th and just four points against the San Antonio Spurs on December 2nd, Roy caught fire in his next game against the Memphis Grizzlies, where he scored 26 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 7 assists to start a ten-game win streak, which has propelled this team to second place in the division. With a 15-12 record, the Blazers are just behind the Denver Nuggets (16-11) for the lead. Roy has averaged 23.6 ppg, 5.5 rbpg and 8.2 apg in the ten-game stretch. Though seven of the ten games were at home, they did defeat Denver, 116-105, and the Utah Jazz, 99-91, on the road.
What's even more impressive is that the Blazers won those ten games missing its second leading scorer, LaMarcus Aldridge for five of them. He was dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Forward Travis Outlaw helped pick up the slack by averaging 17.3 ppg in that stretch.
Meanwhile, Greg Oden seems to be recovering faster than anticipated. Yet, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard has made it clear that he won't make a comeback this year. Any success the Blazers have this season would make next season that much more highly anticipated for this team. With the potential for a strong draft class in 2008, Portland could add Oden and another high-quality player to a roster that already includes young talent like Roy, Aldridge and others.
