The Trailblazers have lost starting center Greg Oden for the rest of the season after he fractured his kneecap last night. He only played 4 minutes last night before injuring himself and he grabbed 3 rebounds while not scoring any points. This is a shame as Oden was really starting to show signs of being a impact player for the Blazers. Oden played in 21 games (all starts) for the Blazers this season and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 11.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. In his three years with the Blazers has now played in 82 games (60 starts) in which he has averaged 22.1 minutes, 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Trailblazers really hold that they don’t have another Sam Bowie on their hands.

The Trailblazers have lost small forward Travis Outlaw for the next 6-8 weeks due to a stress fracture in his left foot. Outlaw has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Blazers so far this season and he is averaging 21.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Rudy Fernandez and Martell Webster will likely pick up the slack while Outlaw is out of action. Rudy Fernandez has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Blazers so far this season and he is averaging 20.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Webster has played in 11 games (5 starts) for the Trailblazers this season and he is averaging 21.4 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Look for Fernandez and Webster to play well while Outlaw is out of action.

The Portland Trailblazers will be without starting small forward Nicolas Batum indefinately due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder which will require surgery this coming up Friday. Lucky for the Blazers that they are loaded at small forward. Martell Webster will take over as the starting small forward but he will be sharing time about 50/50 with Travis Outlaw. The Blazers’ defense might suffer a bit without Batum but the offense will be better with Webster/Outlaw getting the bulk of the minutes.

The Trailblazers suffered a huge blow as rookie center Greg Oden underwent arthroscopic and microfracture surgery and will miss this whole season.  The Trailblazers will need LaMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye to step up this season.  The Blazers were going to have these two guys battle it out for the power forward spot but they will likely both be starters now.  Aldridge (6′10″, 245) will probably be the center because he is the better defender of the two.  As a rookie for the Blazers last season, Aldridge played in 63 games (22 starts) and he averaged 22.1 minutes, 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  The Blazers will need him to double those numbers this season.  Frye (6′11″, 248) will likely be the starter at power forward for the Blazers.  He played in 72 games (59 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  The Blazers will need more than that from Frye if they are going to improve in the win column this season.

Ime Udoka will miss the remainder of the NBA season with a knee injury.  He played in 75 games this season and he averaged 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game.  He also shot 40.6% from three-point range this season.  Udoka looks like a keeper for the Trailblazers who are a team on the rise.