Oden injury a bad omen?

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Is Greg Oden injury prone?

Today's news has to at least make you wonder. The league's first overall pick has had a broken wrist (last year), tonsillitis (this summer) and now a knee problem that has him slated for exploratory surgery later this week.

Perhaps it's just all a bad coincidence, but the Portland Trail Blazers have to hope something more sinister isn't at work. Because while athletic 7-footers usually are about as sure a thing as you can get in pro hoops, the biggest risk factor for players of that size is injuries.  
 

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  • John Hollinger John Hollinger

    John Hollinger began writing for ESPN.com Insider in 2005. He's best known for his analytical work, including creating the Player Efficiency Rating (PER), a statistical rating of an NBA player's per-minute productivity. He has developed several other statistical measures in recent years, and his PER and team rankings are updated daily on ESPN.com.

    Before joining ESPN, John authored four annual editions of the "Pro Basketball Forecast," which analyzed every NBA player and team and provided detailed advanced stats for each. His player and team profiles now live on ESPN.com's Insider section, along with all the stats. He also contributes to ESPN The Magazine, ESPNEWS and The New York Sun. His previous stints include work for SI.com and Oregonlive.com.

    John grew up in northern New Jersey and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1993 with degrees in Economics and Environmental Science. He made stops in Washington, D.C., and Portland before moving to Atlanta, where he lives with his wife.

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