Well it’s been confirmed, the Blazers have told assembled media that Oden is “likely out for the season with a fractured patella.”

This follows Oden’s repeated knee injuries. Oden had finally made it to where he was starting to make an impact, he had everything going. He was finally turning into what everyone had said he would. This is crushing for everyone that loves the NBA. We’ll be updating with takes from sources as the night goes on.

Via Pelton:

I’ve got an e-mail in to Prospectus injury expert Will Carroll for more, but I found one other NBA player who suffered a fractured patella–then-Washington Wizards forward Jarvis Hayes, who was injured in late December 2005. Hayes did not apparently initially undergo surgery, but then had the procedure in mid-February 2006 when the patella failed to respond to non-surgical treatment. He missed the remainder of the season, but returned to play 163 out of a possible 164 games the following two seasons.

Of course, L.A. Clippers rookie Blake Griffin is still sidelined by an injury to his patella, but Griffin suffered a stress fracture. Oddly, L.A. Lakers center Andrew Bynum–another promising 7-footer who has faced injuries early in his career–missed an extended period following an injury to his patella during the 2007-08 season, but that was a subluxation of the kneecap (essentially a partial dislocation).

From the ever popular Canzano:

Now, this.

The Blazers didn’t have enough players to run a full practice last week, which is why McMillan ended up in a drill with an achilles that ultimately wouldn’t cooperate. Oden is gone, too, now and I suppose a lot of teams would fold up right about now.

This will undoubtedly bring back the “Sam Bowie” chorus from around the country. No matter how unfair, until Oden makes a full season — or five — without significant injury, that talk isn’t going to stop.

What will Portland do now?

I’m hoping the Blazers will rally around their bad luck. I see so many teams manufacture “Us vs. The World” scenarios that are designed to give them an emotional lift. I’m wondering if the Blazers don’t have an “Us vs. Fate” issue brewing that could serve as a unifying moment for a team that badly needs one.

We’re not far off from the franchise holding an open tryout, either. The casualties are mounting, maybe everything was coming together too cleanly, too quickly for the organization. General manager Kevin Pritchard, and assistant GM Tom Penn will now have to manufacture a move to bring talent between now and February’s trade deadline if the Blazers want to be a serious postseason player in 2009-2010.

We’ve been told all along that the team’s depth was its best ally. And we’ve watched this team struggle to come together all season, including the addition of guard Andre Miller. They’ve found some cohesion at moments, but never for an extended stretch. And so here they are… with the locker room whittled down to a few determined guys who will have to play additional minutes.

Oden is out, again.

Simmons even feels bad.

By the way, cheap research is useless. Via Wikipedia, THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:

A patella fracture is a fracture of the kneecap. It is usually the result of a hard blow to the front of the knee. Treatment options for patella fracture include nonsurgical and surgical options, depending on the type of fracture.

Via Wikipedia is this article from Duke Orthopaedics, including:

- Complications of Patella Fracture:
- infection (which communicates with the knee joint)
- loss of reduction
- failure of internal fixation
- avascular necrosis:
- patella has two main areas of blood supply (see blood supply)
- one penetrates middle third of anterior surface, & other enters at lower pole behind patellar ligament;
- delayed union
- non union
- delayed union is recognized by failure of trabeculae to bridge between patellar frags, as noted on x-rays 2 mo after injury;
- typically frxs will have > 2 mm of gap between fracture fragments;
- non union can be diagnosed after 3-4 months of treatment;
- occassionally elderly patients tolerate nonunions well, however, younger patients do not tolerate nonunion;
- nonunion is most common in transverse frxs, but may be seen in comminuted frxs that have failed to acheive internal fixation;
- partial or total patellectomy is preferred in most pts w/ non union, esp if disuse osteoporosis or AVN is present
- malunion
- chondromalacia
- traumatic arthritis of the patellofemoral joint
- quadriceps weakness
- extensor lag
- avascular necrosis of the polar fragments
- arthrofibrosis of the knee joint;

Andy Katz joins those who feel terrible for the Big Guy

There’s a picture of the knee post-injury. It’s graphic. I’m not posting it, but in the interest of understanding how severe the injury is, here’s a link. I’ll take this down in about ten minutes when my conscience catches up with me. Jesus, poor kid.

From the Blazers’ Twitter Feed:

Oden: “I’m obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was,” said Greg Oden. ” This is a setback, but I’ll be back.

Here’s a piece from About.com, again, super reliable, but I’d expect expert discussion at basketball sites by Monday morning. Until then…

When is surgery necessary for a patella fracture?
Patients with nondisplaced, or minimally displaced, fractures who can perform a straight leg raise (as described above) can usually be treated without surgery. A long leg cast or a knee immobilizer can be used for treatment of these types of patellar fractures.

When surgery is necessary, an incision is made over the front of the knee joint. The fractured ends are realigned and held in place with some combination of pins, screws, and wires. In some cases, a portion of the patella can simply be removed, but this is usually done for smaller fracture fragments.

And here’s a lot of stuff that will mean nothing if you’re not a doctor, but is relevant.

Dave from BE with the brilliance you’d expect, including this:

For me, and I believe for the Blazers, Oden is still the right guy.  I would not want anyone else.  I’ve been watching this game for a long time.  I’ve been through the 62 stages of early fandom and have managed to come through passion intact but also, I hope, with a pretty good sense of distinguishing truth from wishes, that which is solid from that which is just convenient and noisy.  Greg has shown me something.  Even as raw as he is, even as little as we’ve seen of him compared to what we’d wish, his presence on the court is unique among his teammates and has the potential to be unique in this league.  More to the point, for the Blazers he has the potential to do something that a scoring small forward, speedy point guard, or burly power forward does not:  decisively fill–nay, overflow–a hole that potentially stands between us and a championship.  If Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge weren’t already on this team I might not be saying that.  If we didn’t have a glut of scoring forwards and guards besides I might not be saying that.  If I didn’t have faith that management will eventually settle the point guard position I might not be saying that.  But when push comes to shove the guy in the middle is still the hardest to find and a guy with the potential to bend the game like Oden does is all but impossible to find.  Other players would make this team better right now.  But I’m not as confident that other players would end up being the potential championship piece for this team in this situation that Greg Oden could be.

Take whoever you want.  Make whatever comparisons you want.  Give me #52.  Then talk to me in a decade and let’s see who came out ahead.  Greg was quoted by the Blazers, saying “I’m obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was. This is a setback, but I’ll be back.”  And we’ll be cheering for you:  now, then, and after.

After Simmons prompted, Carroll updated again, essentially saying this injury’s freak and will have no impact or correlation with the microfracture. So good news, he’s not having a recurring injury. Bad news, he’s apparently under some voodoo curse. THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!