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Trail Blazers-Knicks Preview

Dec 7, 2009 - 5:06 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Portland (13-8) at New York (5-15), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Just when it appeared Greg Oden was settling into a groove with the Portland Trail Blazers, the former No. 1 overall draft pick was lost for the season again due to another serious knee injury.

The Blazers will try to move on without their promising center on Monday night, when they open a four-game road trip trying to prevent the New York Knicks from their first three-game winning streak of the season.

After Portland selected the 7-footer out of Ohio State in 2007, Oden missed an entire season following microfracture surgery on his right knee, and injuries cost him another 21 games during his rookie campaign in 2008-09.

But Oden had started every game and averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots this season before suffering a fractured left kneecap on Saturday night against Houston.

"I told everyone in the locker room I felt this was like a punch to the gut," Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said.

"The challenging part for me is sometimes life's not fair, you know?" Pritchard added. "I've seen this kid work his tail off. He has put in the work. He has done absolutely everything we've ever asked him to do, and more."

Oden's departure on a stretcher put a serious damper on the Blazers' 90-89 win over the Rockets, which snapped their three-game losing streak. Portland guard Brandon Roy, who led the team with 28 points, said Oden apologized to his teammates for the injury.

"He told us to keep fighting," Roy said. "Greg feels he is letting us down."

The Blazers (13-8) are no strangers to misfortune. Their owner, Paul Allen, was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and coach Nate McMillan will miss this road trip after rupturing his Achilles' tendon during practice. Assistant Dean Demopoulos is set to fill in.

Demopoulos may only have nine active players, as Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw also remain out. Rudy Fernandez missed Saturday's game due to sciatic pain, leaving his status unclear.

Portland will hope to stay afloat in the competitive Western Conference as it visits four East teams, including LeBron James and Cleveland on Friday.

While New York looks like the weakest opponent on the trip, the Knicks (6-15) may be more confident after winning back-to-back games and three of their last four, including victories over Phoenix and Atlanta. They beat the lowly New Jersey Nets 106-97 on Sunday afternoon.

Al Harrington, Larry Hughes and David Lee combined for 75 points against New Jersey, as the Knicks used their up-tempo style to score more than 100 points for the sixth straight game.

"Offensively the ball's just moving a little bit better," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We're taking advantage of some situations and recognizing where we need to go. So yeah, things are better."

New York's improvement has come with reserve guard Nate Robinson on the bench, even though the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanted "We want Nate!" during Sunday's game.

After averaging 17.2 points last season and winning the slam dunk competition during All-Star weekend, Robinson has been held out by D'Antoni for three straight games.

Robinson scored a career-high 45 points against Portland on March 8, 2008, but the Knicks still lost 120-114 in overtime at home.

The Blazers have won five in a row against New York, including their last three visits to Manhattan, and they'll try to use one of NBA's best defenses to slow down the Knicks. Portland ranks third in the league in scoring defense (91.2 points allowed) and field-goal percentage defense (43.8 percent), although Oden's absence is unlikely to help those numbers.