1. How did it happen?
Oden's agent, Bill Duffy, described this week how Oden himself was unsure when and how he injured his knee, which came out of nowhere without any surface signs. Today's episode may be reminiscent of the Oden health report that broke before the draft, where a certain team had concerns about Oden's health.
"Our doctors were checking out some early signs of arthritis in his knee," one team executive said after news broke that Oden had undergone surgery, "and they were also concerned about his hip and back. The doctors' explanation was that these areas are all connected and that the knee injury could be due to the back, which in turn is due to the hip."
But different doctors will have different opinions on such medical issues, and if team doctors from 30 NBA teams were given the same MRI*** vibratory imaging exam, those doctors would give multiple diagnoses.
According to Duffy, Oden didn't have any problems with his knee at the time of the draft, Duffy said, "
The Trail Blazers did more tests than any other team, and their doctors saw nothing wrong with Oden's knee."
You can't blame one doctor for Oden's current situation, but the incident is a good way to get people to think about the fact that in today's world of increasingly sophisticated medical equipment, test results don't always tell the whole story.
2. What happens next for Alden?
What awaits Oden is sure to be a long recovery period, best exemplified by Phoenix Suns
center Stoudemire, who played just three games in 2005-06 after undergoing surgery to repair a microfracture in his knee, and then played a full season last season and stabilized, finding his old form in April. If all goes well, it may take two years for Oden to regain his old athleticism and confidence.
But the examples of Martin, Webber and Miles are reminders of how difficult it is for Oden to recover from the knee injuries he's suffered, and since undergoing surgery to repair a microfracture in his knee, all three of those players have not returned to their pre-operative levels either. Oden's recovery required lots and lots of work, as was the case with Stoudemire. During his recovery, the Suns' doctors and trainers helped him to compensate for certain defects in his body through training in order to prevent those defects from leading to re-injury of the knee, and their approach allowed Stoudemire to successfully find his way back to form. And before Jrue, only Kidd had ever recovered and returned to form from such a procedure, meaning Oden still has a long road ahead of him after surgery.
3. What are the Blazers going to do without Oden?
It's going to be a long, grueling year for the Blazers, who have already sent away Randolph to give Oden and second-year forward Aldridge more room to work. The Blazers will be the youngest team in the league, and while Aldridge, Webster, and Frye will help the team considerably, they will still need Oden to lead the way. Now they have to delay their rise for two years.