The Portland Trail Blazers are starting to get some of what they expected from Greg Oden when they made the 7-footer the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft. They can only hope Oden’s presence leads to more results like their latest victory.
Coming off their most lopsided win in 11 years, the Trail Blazers will kick off a brief two-game road trip on Friday against the Sacramento Kings, who are coming off their most impressive victory of the season.
Oden made his NBA debut on the road on opening night, then missed two weeks with a sprained foot before returning to Portland’s lineup last week during a five-game road trip.
After having a limited impact in his first game back, Oden has started to show signs of being a dominant presence in the paint for the Trail Blazers (7-5). He’s had three double-doubles in his last four games, during which he’s averaged 14.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.
His latest double-double came Wednesday against Chicago, but Oden (11 points, 10 rebounds) was hardly the only Blazer to have a positive impact. Portland built a 16-point lead midway through the first quarter when Oden came into the game and didn’t slow down, routing the Bulls 116-74 for its largest margin of victory since beating Dallas 120-75 on Nov. 17, 1997.
“We’ve been waiting to get him here, and he did a great job,” said guard Brandon Roy, who had a team-high 20 points. “He’s a huge part of what we are trying to do.”
The Blazers are easing Oden back into action by bringing him off the bench, plus Joel Przybilla is doing an outstanding job as a starter. He went 6-for-6 and scored a season-high 14 points against Chicago, also grabbing nine rebounds and blocking three shots.
Przybilla is shooting 81.0 percent from the field (34-for-42) this season, but according to coach Nate McMillan, it’s his defense that makes the difference.
“I think Joel is setting a great example for what we want from a ‘big’ at the defensive end,” McMillan said. “It’s good for Greg to see that from Joel to get a good idea of what we want from him.”
The Kings (5-8) had dropped three in a row heading to New Orleans on Wednesday - including a 109-94 loss at Memphis the night before - and looked like they might be on the verge of their second four-game skid of the season. But Sacramento rallied to beat the Hornets 105-96 behind 29 points from John Salmons.
“Our guys showed great character tonight,” coach Reggie Theus said. “We played horrible last night, and we came back tonight and played with a lot of heart, a lot of pride.”
Salmons has stepped up in the absence of leading scorer Kevin Martin (22.4 points per game), averaging 18.8 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Salmons has scored 26.0 points in his last three contests.
He may have to shoulder the load for a few more games as it appears Martin, who initially targeted Friday to return from his sprained right ankle, won’t be back until next week.
That news may also mean more playing time for Donte Greene. The rookie from Syracuse had played in just six games before Wednesday, scoring 13 total points, but he had 15 at New Orleans.
Sacramento has won its last three meetings with Portland.
By BRETT HUSTON, STATS Writer
