Reality check: Greg Oden will not play a single game this season for the Portland Trailblazers. His contract was not extended, and ESPN’s J.J. Adande wrote about about the magnitude of his loss. The sad news reinforces the theory that Oden might be the next Sam Bowie. No longer can the Bowie theory be considered a hasty, jump-to-conclusions theory: Oden now faces his second microfracture surgery in 3 years.

The Portland organization and fans must actualize the cold and sobering thought that Oden might not ever play another game as a Blazer.

This news makes way into the public eye before the dust could settle from the announcement that Brandon Roy no longer has any cartilage remaining in either knee. Brandon Roy, All Star, max contract, heart and soul of the team.

Oden and Blazer have both had at least two knee surgeries apiece as Blazers. Hmm. Am I sensing a trend here?

What's up with my medical staff????

The more I think about this, the more I have to ask: What the hell is wrong with the Blazers medical staff? Seriously, how do you invest $80-something-million on a player without performing your due medical diligence? How could you not know that Roy’s knees might never hold up through a max deal?

I guess Portland dodged a similar fiscal bullet with Oden.

Oden is the former #1 overall draft pick of the 2007 NBA draft. How could you not know, until now, that he would need another microfracture surgery? This is unforgivable and horrible mistake by the Blazers medical staff is as dodgy as the staff that was involved with Grant Hill during his Orlando Magic days.

Note to Paul Allen: if you can fire Kevin Pritchard, you can definitely fire your medical staff and hire a new one.

In Greg Oden’s case, perhaps the medical staff was just crossing their fingers, eyes closed, whispering to themselves repeatedly, in a panicked tone, pleading with the injury gods “Please, please, please let this all go away…..” Or maybe they were shaking a Magic Eight Ball and asking it for the answers.

The doctors knew he had one successful microfracture procedure, so why waste all this time? Why not just get it over with it? How much time did the Blazers and Oden lose by pushing this off until now?

I hope for his sake Oden makes a comeback and flourishes with the next team willing to gamble on a 7-foot center with massive upside. Oden is still young enough to bounce back from this devastating start to his career, but hopefully he will do so with a team equipped with a stellar medical staff along with a fan base patient enough to allow Oden the time to grow and dust off the cobwebs to his game.

I hope that Oden ends up with the Golden State Warriors. New ownership, new look, same old bay area, and some of the most loyal and understanding fans in the all the world. Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and David Lee coudl benefit with someone like Oden patrolling the paint.

Disclaimer: I am a die hard Warriors fan, and we could use someone like Greg Oden to restore the winning ways in the bay.

Nude photographs of Trailblazers center Greg Oden have surfaced on the internet. Oden admitted to sending the images, via his mobile device, to an ex-college squeeze he was romantically involved with. He also made a public apology:

“I would like to apologize to everybody: Portland, the fans, the organization. It was very embarrassing.”

Kids these days call it “sexting,” the sending of sultry images accompanied by flirtatious text messages to try and steam things up in young couples’ relationship.

Who would of thought Oden to be such a young Casanova?

Anyone seen my cellphone? (Credit: picapp.com)

Naturally this is a inflated story since Oden, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, has experienced his second season-ending knee injury of his career this year. Since media currently can’t cover his on court accomplishments, they are going to focus on his off court lifestyle.

Oden seems to forget at times that he is a celebrity. Starting from his Ohio State career and moving onto his #1 overall draft pick status, Oden will, without a doubt, be in the spotlight for years. He is only 22, and people forget this fact from time to time. I mean, the guy looks old, so old in fact we did a Benjamin Button Greg Oden lookalike piece. That is how old we think he looks over here at Protect the Paint.

Is this really such a big deal?

It is not like Oden was pulled over on a motorcycle as if his name were Mad Max. That is Delonte West’s dilemna, remember?

Oden never brought illegal handguns into the locker room, and threatened Brandon Roy over a in flight gambling debt. He did not hand one to Roy and attempt some sort of idiotic joke with weapons. That is all Gilbert Arenas’ department.

He has not violated the league drug policy. Oden does not have wings tattooed on his arms, that was Chris “Birdman” Andersen.

My point is Oden did something over a 1.5 years ago, and it was done privately. The girl leaked it, and so it goes. Does his actions have any impact on anyone else other than himself? Not really.

Is nudity something worth getting bent out of shape over?

Oden is no Kim Kardashian, and we probably (hopefully) won’t see Oden on a bed taking provocatively slow bites from a large Carl’s Junior hamburger anytime soon. It’s  because Oden is a celebrity and people (unfortunately) love it when bad things happen to celebrities that this becomes big news.

Here is a video montage of the pictures, courtesy of worldstarhiphop.com:

Greg Oden had a career night scoring 24 points last night for the Portland Trail Blazers. He went 7-8 from the floor while dropping in 10-12 from the free throw line. He rounded out his best scoring game yet by grabbing 6 offensive rebounds (12 total) with 2 blocked shots.

Those are all star caliber numbers. After his rugged rookie season last year it is hard to imagine this fast a turnaround.

Oden is emerging into the player people thought he could be when selected with the number one pick in 2007. If he continues at this level the Blazers will expedite their ascension into the Western Conference elite this year.

If Oden becomes a focal point of the opposition’s defensive strategy,  life becomes easier for Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Creating points by corralling the offensive glass and making a high amount of free throws has been a productive formula for Oden.

Don't these guys know I am 80% from the line this year?

His spike from 63.7% to 79.1% from the line is a monstrous improvement.

This means a team cannot commit hard fouls strategically expecting Oden will not convert. The result? More easy buckets for the big man and less wear and tear for the player dubbed “injury prone”.

Oden needs to reduce his foul rate, but it appears Nate McMillan is committed to let him play through them.  Based on how he has already improved multiple facets of his game, it’s safe to envision he will reduce his foul rate over time.

Greg Oden is overcoming the whispers that he is a bust. He is proving people wrong one game at a time with remarkable strides in his play.

He might never be an elite center the hype surrounding him out of college suggested, but last nights performance proves he is capable of big things, and he has been averaging 18 PPG, 8 RPG, and 2 BPG over his last 3 games.

Not bad for a 21-year-old playing his second season at the hardest position for a young player to be good at.

The match up of the Spurs vs. Trail Blazers will represent a slug-fest in the west.

Portland will test themselves against the retooled Spurs lineup, as the Spurs will also see how well they can perform against a deep yet young team  who is coming off of 54 wins last year.

KEY MATCH UPS

Tim Duncan vs. Greg Oden Duncan has been opting to shoot more outside jumpers, a strategy derived by Greg Popovich, in order to spare Duncan’s knees from the constant grind of pounding points down low in the paint. Greg Oden has shown signs of life rebounding and defending this season, and Duncan will provide him another tough guard to add another clink in his armor. Brandon Roy vs. Manu Ginobili

Brandon Roy will put Ginobili’s surgically repaired ankles to the test tonight. Both Roy and Ginobili are crafty, smart players. It will be fun to watch who will out-craft who with their similar style of game.

Ginobili will to be looking forward to a post game icing.

SYNAPSIS

Both teams are reputable for their long range shooting. This game should be a well-balanced long range bombing fiasco. Look for Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake and Roy to balance out bombers Matt Bonner, Richard Jefferson, and Ginobili.

For the Blazers it will be interesting to see if free agent signing Andre Miler will help slow down Tony Parker. Steve Blake has been a major liability playing against the leagues best point guards, so tonight will indicate how dividends Miller will pay for the Blazers.

With the Spurs reeling off loss in Utah last night, they should come to play. Only thing is, playing in Rose Garden Arena might be just as tough as playing in Energy Solutions Arena, making this the game of the week worth catching!

This morphing is accredited to the infamous mouth of Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.

Barkley has experienced more than his share of being made fun of, so he never holds back when dishing it out.

Sir Charles nicknamed Oden Benjamin Button, the main character from the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, during while hosting TNT’s Inside the NBA.

Oden and Button in their early 20s.

The film stars Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button: a baby boy born as an old man who slowly grows younger as he ages.

Barkley applied the film’s concept onto Oden, nicknaming him Benjamin Button,  because he and many others have commented that Oden looks far older than his 21 years should suggest.

The Benjamin Button namesake has stuck, and many internet posts have surfaced, coming up with funny one liners, this one being my absolute favorite:

Does that look like the face of a 20-year-old? He looks like he could be LeBron’s father

We now bring you NBA Look-Alike Morphing #11: Greg Oden vs Benjamin Button.

Enjoy!

Oden and Button in their late 70s.

Click here to see all of Protect the Paints NBA Look-ALike Morphings

Have a NBA look alike comparison that you would like to see us morph? Please submit the form below or mail morphing@protectthepaint.com to submit!

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Brandon Roy and the Blazers agreed to a 5-year deal worth $82 million. The 2006-07 rookie of the year is cashing in as the leader/face of the franchise of the youthful Portland Trailblazers.

The two-time All-Star is exceedingly underrated, but this new contract should ease the burden of his unjustly low popularity level.

$52 million tastes better with a ring. (Credit: picapp.com)

Roy puts up great overall numbers, but is rarely mentioned amongst the NBA’s elite members. Maybe that is because he’s self-effacing, hard working, and most importantly, never speaking in the third person. P

laying in Portland likely doesn’t help either. He is the prototype of what inspiration ought to be in the NBA.

Things to deliberate when it comes to Brandon Roy

• He’s one of the most deadly closers in the game. Make no oversight, he sneezes clutch shots.

• His maturity and poise on the floor has always been that of a more experienced player. Now he’s coming into his own as one of the league’s elite.

• He is not the variety to unwind simply because of the security of a long-term contract. He is not Tracy McGrady.

• Roy overcame great odds to even be in the NBA, and works hard to make sure he stays.

• He is simply too intelligent a player who has surmounted far too much to take for granted his position in life.

His supporting cast is good: Rudy Fernandez is slated for a breakout year, Greg Oden has labored to improve his game and is healthy for the first time since micro-fracture surgery. He ought to be improved this year. Expect LaMarcus Aldridge to be locked up long-term now that Roy has been signed. Newly acquired Andre Miller is secured for at least two years.

The Lakers fear us. (Credit: picapp.com)

The Blazers are young, and only getting better. GM Kevin Pritchard now has the fundamental essentials to build around.

Blazer basketball is shining bright in the Pacific Northwest, and only poised to shine brighter in the coming years.

Sean May is hefty. He needs to lose weight. The tough, intimidating force whom we witnessed dominate on his way to becoming an NCAA champion is somewhere beneath his exterior.

May has had 3 surgeries on his right knee. His career games played amass to only one full season at 82 over 4 years in the NBA.

He sat out the entire 2007-08 campaign.

Two all beef patties special sauce letuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame bun. (Credit: picapp.com)

He played only 24 games last year.

Greg Oden is the best thing since sliced bread when compared to Sean May.

He discusses the microfracture surgery in his interview with the Sacramento Bee:

“I feel great, the best I have felt in a long time, All of the doctors I have talked to and players that went through microfracture like me, like Amare Stoudemire, told me that the thing I have on my side is youth.”

May is sort of young at 25, 2 years away from what is considered to be entering one’s prime. In today’s NBA, young is considered to be 19-22, not 25.

He needs to lose some weight. Make that a lot of weight. We are not talking about the traditional 5 pounds anyone could afford to lose on any given day. The man lists at 266. He has a troubled, documented past with his weight.

In a world where NBA players lie to add inches to their height, Sean May lies down about his weight.

Standing 6’9” and weighing 266 pounds is a BMI level of 28.5. That places May in the overweight region of BMI, almost flirting with obese.

And we are all scratching our heads as to why this kids knee keeps blowing out? Hmmm?

Ask any professional athlete what is the most important thing to staying fit, and odds are the first thing you will hear is “diet”.

There have been reports he has done so. If he stays on course he could be a contributor for the uber-young Kings.

Sean MAY end up proving his fat detractors wrong, or he could be Robert “Tractor” Traylor 2.0.

Greg Oden was the number one overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft. He was selected before Kevin Durant. He missed his entire first year. His second year in the league, or “rookie” year was injury riddled. In 21.5 minutes per game he ONLY averaged 8.9 points 56% shooting and 7 rebounds.

Everyone is saying he is a bust, Sam Bowie version 2.0. He has already endured a lot for a 21 year old.

"I will get all of you media folks of my back. Bet!" (Credit: picapp.com)

Is there anyone out there who will give this kid a break?

Oden returned to Ohio State University this summer to attend summer classes and get his mind right. He is training rigorously, and hoping this is the year where he turns the corner while improving upon his rookie season.

And how will he do this?

He started seeing a sports psychologist in order to help him put things in perspective. If successful, he will not let pressure caused by media pundits overwhelming his psyche.

Fact: A loose and relaxed Oden could be very dangerous.

"Hope ya'll are ready for more of this!" (Credit: picapp.com)

He is looking and feeling good. He is getting in shape, increasing his cardio and has already dropped down from 300 to 285. His knee is pain free. Less weight equates to faster moves with more explosiveness, and a new lease on an NBA career.

He is finally medically cleared to take his conditioning and strengthening seriously. He is going to be fiercely explosive. Bill Bayno and Brian Grant are also rebuilding Oden’s mind and body. Grant is an emotional leader to Oden, having to battle with Parksinsons. He knows the NBA ropes, and spent his entire career working harder than his opposition. Bayno has a reputation for yielding results and overcoming personal demons.

But what about the next injury?

Weight training and strengthening not only helps one recover from injury, but it also helps prevent them. A newly found confidence, leaner build, and overall stronger Oden will take the league by storm this season.

"Brandon, watch your head!" (Credit: picapp.com)

Now that the mind is right, the body well maintained, Oden can relax, and make his mark in the NBA.