Greg Oden hasn't played in an NBA game in four years and while the oft-injured former number one pick has made great strides since signing with the Miami Heat, he had a bit of a bump in road this week, as he dealt with swelling in his surgically repaired knee, forcing him to miss practice.
Oden is coming into the season after playing just 82 career games and according to ESPN.com, he missed practice on Wednesday after dealing with swelling in his left knee, which he has had multiple surgeries on. Oden previously had been practicing with the team and was thought to possibly be able to play in a preseason game for the first time with the Heat, but now any thought of him playing in the preseason probably will decrease. Oden signed with the Miami Heat over a number of other teams, including the Pelicans and the Kings and LeBron James said he was excited to add him to the roster.
Miami is trying to win their third straight NBA championship and signing Oden fits the mold of what the Heat have done over those title runs, as they have signed a number of veteran players like Oden, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and Chris Andersen. Miami has been very flexible with how Oden is handling his comeback and the team hasn't given a hard expectation of when he will start with the team. The Heat know they will be in the playoffs and they need Oden fresh in the postseason and the center said to reporters after practice that he was fine and the swelling wasn't serious.
The Heat are coming into the season after making it to three straight NBA finals and they ranked fifth in the league last year in both points scored and points allowed and the pressure will be on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade even more this year as they try to three-peat. Miami is 3-1 in the preseason after losing to the Wizards on the road and they started off with three straight wins against the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Bobcats and now they will play the Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets next.
