Greg Jayne: For home debut, Oden lives up to billing

PORTLAND — It was the game for which Blazer fans had waited 510 days. Waited through one-plus NBA seasons. Waited through a Summer Olympics and a presidential election and more stories about Greg Oden’s knee than about his rebounding.

It was the day the fans finally got to see Oden play a counting game in the Rose Garden, 510 days after he became a Blazer, and it was worth the wait.

For the record, the Blazers on Wednesday defeated the Chicago Bulls, 116-74. Which was entertaining only if you derive pleasure from stepping on ants.

But it was memorable for the appearance of Oden.

Because while he was helping Portland dominate the paint, while he was abusing former first-round draft pick Joakim Noah, while he was treating every rebound as though it were his birthright, Oden showed flashes of living up to his billing.

We could talk about Oden’s rebounding or his defense, but here’s all you need to know about his impact: Noah played 10 minutes in the first half and committed five fouls. Four of those fouls were against Oden, which somehow added a new definition to the word “manhandled.”

But all of that was gravy. Because as Oden stripped off his warm-up pants and entered the game with 4:28 remaining in the first quarter, the moment could be viewed as the end of an extraordinary journey.

Here is a 20-year-old who for the past 510 days has felt the weight of a city on his shoulders. He has gone from being viewed as the savior of a franchise to being seen as merely an important cog in any number of future championships, but he has remained the symbol of the club’s resurgence.

Oden has handled the attention with grace and humor, even as the situation had been wearing on him. Not so much the expectations, but the inability to meet those expectations.

From the time he was in high school, Oden was considered an eventual franchise player in the NBA. And it’s almost unfathomable to imagine the self-doubt that would accompany somebody like that being relegated to the sidelines.

“He’s been through so many ups and downs,” guard Brandon Roy said. “He’s finally home now.”

Oden’s reaction?

“It’s fun when you’re actually playing and winning,” he said. “It was good, to come in and hear the ovation.”

Make no mistake, Oden is an unfinished product. His offensive game is unpolished, and that is the result of mediocre footwork.

For all the talk of size and strength and the ability to overpower opponents, footwork remains an underrated quality among big men. Shaquille O’Neal in his prime was a good player because he was bigger than everybody else; he was a great player because of his remarkable balance and footwork.

Hakeem Olajuwon was 7 feet tall with long arms and the ability to jump. But without the footwork developed from a childhood of playing soccer, he would have been Mel Turpin.

Oden is no Mel Turpin, but he probably won’t ever be Shaquille O’Neal, either. He’s still a work in progress, and his conditioning will be the key to his success — and his ability to remain healthy — for the rest of the season.

There’s no telling where that season will lead.

The playoffs?

The second round?

The conference finals?

Wherever the journey concludes, and wherever it takes this team in the coming years, Oden’s home debut will remain a night worth remembering.

Greg Jayne is Sports editor of The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4531, or by e-mail at greg.jayne@columbian.com. To read his blog, go to columbian.com/section/GregJayne