Tough Trail to Blaze Without Oden

Slowly, carefully, the future of the franchise walked from the bench to the free-throw line. When the ovation subsided, Greg Oden grabbed a microphone and helped unveil the 2007-08 edition of the Trail Blazers to the home fans.

The significance was, Oden walked without crutches. The message remained, the future isn't now.

As they entered the Rose Garden Wednesday night, fans got a nifty new ball cap. Inside, there was a new scoreboard, and a new slogan: Rise With Us. The O'Jays sang, “Give the People What They Want,” and then introduced the No. 1 draft pick.

Oden rose and walked. The people roared.

“Hopefully, that will give us all some confidence,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan said before the game.

Maybe it did. The Blazers nipped New Orleans 93-90, notching their first win of the season and avenging last week's 20-point loss to the Hornets. The arena rocked, and that 0-3 start to the season was forgotten.

But sorry, the really meaningful action was pregame.

One by one, his teammates bounced down the stairs, through the stands, slapping hands and tossing out miniature basketballs. One by one, Oden announced them: No. 8, Martell Webster! And No. 12, LaMarcus Aldridge! And No. 7, Brandon Roy! And so on.

And this “kind of bummed me out,” Oden said, “because I wanted to be out there running down those stairs with them.”

And running up and down the floor with them.

Instead, wearing a tan suit, no tie, he walked gingerly, favoring his right leg. Oden is still a week away from giving up the crutches for good. He's still a year away from giving the people what they want.

Although by now this is old news, it was the real theme for the home opener. It's the real theme for the entire season.

Ever since they drafted him, the Blazers' focus has been on building a team around Oden. And excitement has been building around town about this team, and the possibilities — or, as the pregame video put it, a “journey of endless possibility.”

At least, these things were true until September, until someone figured out Oden had those microfractures in his right knee. Surgery. Out for the season. The franchise's future was postponed.

“It's like you win the lottery,” McMillan said, “but they tell you the money doesn't come ‘til next year, and you've made all these plans.”

Forget for a moment that the Blazers started 0-3, with a tough road stretch, before they ever got home. McMillan isn't happy about that, not at all. Because it's clear the NBA wanted to market Oden — the opener against Tim Duncan, and also against Yao Ming. “A world championship schedule,” McMillan said.

How much Oden's healthy presence might have helped isn't clear, either. With the rookie, this would not be a world championship team. Without him, this journey certainly does not include endless possibilities.

While we're talking marketing, if the league knows a good thing, it also understands a bad product. Wednesday's game was originally scheduled for ESPN, but it was bumped. Which means the nation missed the chance to see the Blazers' third-quarter surge, or Oden's suave tan suit.

Afterward, McMillan was saying “we showed scrap and we showed fight for 48 minutes,” and Brandon Roy was calling the atmosphere “electric,” and saying he couldn't wait to get out there again. And Oden was standing in a corner, saying, “I'm glad we won, but I wish I was out there.”

You and everyone else, Greg.

By his reckoning, Robert Lang has been a Blazers fan since 1993, which means he has been with them through thick and very thin. A few minutes before tipoff, Lang was sipping a beer in the concourse. He was wearing Oden's No. 52. Which, by the way, is just about how many wins he expected the Blazers to notch. With Oden, that is.

Without Oden? “Maybe 40,” said Lang, clearly an optimist.

Far more likely, the Blazers are flirting with another trip to the lottery. So, what should we take away from Wednesday? Let's start with another optimistic outlook.

“It feels good,” Oden said, “that I got to walk out there and show everyone that I'm getting better, my knee is feeling good, and next year is gonna come.”

Next year. Those free caps everybody got Wednesday? Friday night, they'll give away Greg Oden bobblehead dolls. These come without crutches.

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