Miami Heat center Greg Oden played Wednesday night for the first time since December 5th, 2009. Oden has had multiple knee surgeries and has been recovering ever since. This past off-season the Heat signed him to a one-year deal just to see what he could do when healthy. He played in one preseason game for Miami with 2 points.
Greg Oden was drafted number one overall in the 2007 draft by the Portland TrailBlazers. In his two years from 2007-2009, he only played in 82 games, as a result of multiple knee injuries. After 2009, he stayed quiet and out of the NBA, slowly trying to gain his strength back. Then, in the 2013 off-season, he suddenly emerged as a free-agent center, with several NBA teams trying to sign him. The Miami Heat eventually were able to get him on a one-year deal.
On Wednesday night, the Miami Heat took on the Washington Wizards in Washington D.C.. Greg Oden was listed as active for this game, and, with Chris “Birdman” Anderson out with an injury, Oden had a good chance to earn his first minutes of the season. As it turns out, Oden DID get to play his first minutes of the season, first eight minutes, that is. Eight minutes is not bad for a guy that hasn’t played in 5 years. Oden scored his first points of the year in the second quarter with this pretty awesome put-back dunk : http://youtu.be/aFthAbEUUb4 . Oden finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds while going 2 for 3 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line in his mere eight minutes of play.
Oden could have a big impact for Miami this year. Not only does he provide a true center down low , but he helps the Heat by moving Chris Bosh back to his natural position of power forward. This will help Bosh to improve his already stellar season thus far. All I'm saying is, watch out for the Heat because they will soon have another consistent post presence to help them try for that 3rd straight title!
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