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Right: Greg Oden, doing his best Abe Lincoln impersonation, made his NBA debut last night.
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Who would of thought that two former Ohio State centers would make their NBA debut on the same night?
Well that’s just what happened with Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kosta Koufos of the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Of course one figures to be a prominent fixture in the starting line-up while the other will be fighting for garbage time even if he sticks in the Association.
Oden was in the starting line-up for the Trail Blazers as they hosted the Sacramento Kings in both team’s preseason opener at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden had to sit out all of last season after he underwent microfracture knee surgery in September 2007.
Oden scored on a two-hand jam just two minutes into the game and finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and was 3-of-5 from the foul line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 20 minutes of game action.
About his performance, Oden had this to say to Jason Quick of The Oregonian:
It was all right. But there’s always room for improvement. I know I’m not in the best shape of my life and all I can do is work through that.”
Portland went on to defeat Sacramento 110-81.
Meanwhile down the left coast, the Jazz were taking on the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Koufos, the 21st-overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, played just two minutes and scored two points and did not accue any other statistics.
Koufos entered the game with just under two minutes left in the first quarter and drained a 21-footer from the right baseline in his only shot attempt. Shortly thereafter he left the game with a slight hamstring injury and did not return.
Since the Jazz already have three centers on the roster, starter Mehmut Okur and backups Kevin Lyde and Jarron Collins, Koufos is likely ticketed for the NBA Development League as a rookie at some point during the season.
Leaving early wasn’t the wisest move, huh?
He was a dunking machine the entire night. What a beast. Its nice to see Oden out there, I hope he can stay healthy.