The NBA season is starting up soon and some good, bad, and well, interesting events are occurring already.
San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili recently had arthroscopic ankle surgery to mend a ligament in his left ankle. The Spurs said that the surgery in Los Angeles was a success and Ginobili will go in for re-evaluation after his three-week rehabilitation.
This is why most NBA teams are sometimes reluctant to let their players participate in the Olympics fearing that they may injure themselves and possibly not being able to play in the upcoming season. Ginobili originally sustained the injury during the first round of the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns during this past post-season. He hurt it again in the Western Conference finals against The Los Angeles Lakers. He was cleared to participate in the Olympics and play for Argentina, but then he re-aggravated it during the semi-finals against Team USA.
If Ginobili, the reigning 6th Man of the Year, is able to come back in time and play with the Spurs at the start of the season, he better be fully recovered. During the 2008 Western Conference finals, the hobbling Ginobili did not perform up to par and only averaged 12.6 points per game and only shot 36 percent from the floor.
Even without Ginobili, the Spurs are still pretty well off with plenty of firepower, including Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley creating an intimidating force that can catch anyone off guard. As good as the Spurs are and as much as I admire Duncan's work ethic, I'm kind tired of seeing the same old same old, from them. It was nice to see the Boston Celtics win in the finals last season, not only because they beat the Lakers, but just to see another team win that have so many overdue star players who previously did not have any championship rings that they rightfully deserved. Nowadays, the only reason why I would watch a Spurs games is to see Tony Parker's gorgeous wife Eva Longoria Parker - oh, yea!
While Ginobili is rehabilitating from his injury, Portland Trail Blazer Center Greg Oden is fully recuperated and ready to prove to everyone why he was the top pick in the 2007 NBA draft.
Oden was sidelined throughout last season from a knee surgery that was disheartening to everyone. He started taking part in 5-on-5 drills and played twice with his teammates and was pleased with his improvement.
In a Sept. 4 article from Yahoo Sports, Oden says that he shook off nerves about how he would perform because of his passion for the game.
"I was nervous about how I was going to play, but the more I got to playing, it's just about going out there and playing the game I love, so it's not really anything to be nervous about," said Oden.
I still remember a saddened Oden constantly apologizing to the Trail Blazers for letting them down because he knew that the team depended on him as a new prospect. That's true responsibility right there and I will be pulling for Oden during this upcoming season.
Unlike the typical top draft pick in any major sports that turns out to be a bust, I still envision a bright future for this young 20-year-old prospect. He looked promising during the few NBA exhibition games that he played last season, and of course, he guided the Ohio State Buckeyes to the NCAA finals in 2007. Best of luck to him, go Oden.
The forecast in Oklahoma City predicts thunderstorms that may last for years. Reason being is that the NBA recently announced that the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics will become the Oklahoma City Thunder. I think "Thunder" would have been a better name for the team if they were still in Seattle since it actually rains there often.
Team chairman Clay Bennett announced on July 2 that the SuperSonics were moving to Oklahoma City after a lawsuit was settled in which the team agreed to pay Seattle $75 million.
The new team jerseys and mascot will not be unveiled until weeks later, but judging by the new name and mediocre logo, I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to seeing how their players will look. If the Thunder creates an unoriginal giant lightning bolt for their mascot, then that can create an infringement lawsuit opportunity for Gatorade. Once the new NBA season gets underway, let's hope that Oklahoma City can create a jolt of excitement for their new fans.
Nick Hunte can be reached at [email protected]
