April 2007 Portland Trail Blazers Wiretap

Oden's Muscle Gain Worrying McMillan, Blazers

Nov 16, 2007 11:57 PM

Greg Oden might be too pumped up for his eventual NBA debut.

Oden is doing what most people with too much idle time tend to do: gain weight. Only Oden is bulking up instead of fattening up, and the No. 1 overall pick may be too buff, too fast.

"We don't want him to get bigger. That's going to come," Portland coach Nate McMillan said on Friday night. "It's very easy for him to put a lot of weight on having a year off. We've really got to be careful about the weight training with him."

Oden, who will miss this season after he had knee surgery, was in the weight room Friday night before the Trail Blazers played the Philadelphia 76ers, sculpting his upper body. The 7-footer looked chiseled and has gained nearly 30 pounds of muscle -- all in the upper body -- since he was drafted. He is up to 280 pounds.

That's too much weight to carry on a surgically repaired knee, and McMillan is mildly concerned.

"I would much rather have him be wiry strong than bulky, especially coming off a surgery," McMillan said. "When you're talking about putting on extra weight and having to carry that weight on a surgically repaired leg, that's not good. We want to be really careful with the weight training with him."

ESPN

Tags: Portland Trail Blazers, NBA

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Oden Gains 30 Pounds Of Muscle

Nov 16, 2007 6:46 PM

A high-ranking Blazers source told Jason Quick on Thursday that Greg Oden still has the same body-fat percentage (7.8 percent) as he did when the Blazers drafted him, yet he has gained nearly 30 pounds, bringing him near 280 pounds.

Translation: That's 30 pounds of muscle that has been attached to his upper-body (he hasn't been able to do any lower body weight training because of his knee surgery).

Oden wasn't able to lift during college because he was recovering from a wrist injury.

The Oregonian

Tags: Portland Trail Blazers, NBA

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Roy Scores 32 As Blazers Beat Mavs For The First Time Since 2003

Nov 11, 2007 10:17 AM

Brandon Roy scored a career-high 32 points and added seven assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers ended a 13-game losing streak to the Dallas Mavericks with a 91-82 victory Saturday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who extended their modest winning streak to three games after dropping the first three of the season.

Josh Howard had 20 points for Dallas, which had won its last three.

Dallas had won the previous 13 games against the Trail Blazers, a streak dating to the 2003-04 season, including a six-game winning streak at the Rose Garden.

ESPN

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Blazers' First Win Means Hornets' First Setback

Nov 8, 2007 6:28 AM

Jarrett Jack scored 20 points, nine in the fourth quarter, and the Trail Blazers earned their first victory of the season by beating the previously undefeated New Orleans Hornets 93-90 on Wednesday night.

"I just try to embrace my role," Jack said. "He [coach Nate McMillan] wants me to be more aggressive, so I came out with a sense of urgency."

Martell Webster added 20 points, and Brandon Roy had 17 points and seven assists for the Blazers (1-3), playing their home opener.

David West had 34 points and 18 rebounds for the Hornets (4-1), who had matched last season's start for the best in franchise history with four straight wins.

ESPN

Tags: New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, NBA

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No Band No Sweat For Randolph

Nov 5, 2007 6:06 AM

It looks like the no headband rule in Chicago was not as unique as many people may think.

In two games with the Knicks, Zach Randolph has shown he can put up numbers and change his wardrobe at the same time. He usually starts the game with his headband, only to play it bald later on before returning to the headband.

"When (coach) Nate (McMillan) came to Portland he said we couldn't wear them," Randolph said. "Nate messed me up."

New York Daily News

Tags: Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, NBA

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Unfair Scheduling For Heat?

Nov 1, 2007 6:53 AM

Heat coach Pat Riley wasn't quite caught up in nostalgia when he watched the San Antonio Spurs receive their championship rings before Tuesday's opening-night victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Instead, Riley pointed out what he believes was a bit of unfair scheduling. Last season, the Heat received their championship rings before playing the Bulls, who spoiled the ring ceremony with a 42-point victory.

"They sent our most bitter rival for ring ceremony night, and San Antonio got, basically, the worst team in the league," Riley said, half-jokingly, about the Trail Blazers, who used the first pick in the draft on center Greg Oden, who is injured. `"Thank you [commissioner] David [Stern]. We got the shark eater who wanted us badly. I would have liked to have seen maybe Atlanta or somebody."

The Bulls also swept the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

Miami Herald

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, NBA

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